Report on Children Paints Bleak Picture of the Future

By LISA RICHARDSON

April 15, 1995 12 AM PT

TIMES STAFF WRITER

Orange County children are healthier and better educated than many children throughout the state, but their lives are becoming increasingly violent as they fall victim to abuse, neglect and gangs, according to a new county report.

The second annual Report on the Condition of Orange County Children is a 118-page look at the health, educational achievement, economic well-being and safety of the county’s 600,000 children, and it paints a bleak picture of the future, in virtually every category.

Even worse, child advocates warn that the 1993-94 statistics do not anticipate the increased poverty and hardship likely to face children because of the cutbacks in abuse-prevention programs, health care and social services brought on by the county’s bankruptcy.

Overall, the study states, Orange County had fewer child abuse and neglect reports in 1993 than the two previous years, although there has been a rise in severe and general neglect cases. But more recent figures, not included in the study, indicate that child abuse actually is on the upswing and some officials said they fear the increase will continue.

“My prediction is that with the increased pressures on families as a result of the bankruptcy, we’ll see additional problems for children in the coming year,” said Supervisor William G. Steiner, the former director of Orangewood Children’s Home. “We know there is a direct correlation between difficult economic times and child abuse and neglect.”

Much of the information in the report was compiled from existing databases from various agencies, and in some cases the statistics are not new or even current. But one trend the report brings into sharp relief is that children are at greater risk than ever before of becoming involved in violence, as victim or perpetrator.

Between 1990 and 1993, 138 children were murdered or committed suicide; 487 were arrested for possession of a weapon and 3,361 were arrested for a violent felony. About 2,700 gang members under the age of 18 were identified in 1994.

The report cites parental neglect as a major factor contributing to juvenile delinquency, as well as a media saturated with violent images.

“In many single-parent families, children are not under constant supervision and guidance. . . .” the report states. “(Also) by the age of 16, the average kid has witnessed 33,000 murders on television. Both the media and parents must take the responsibility for any impact screen violence has on youth violence.”

A theme running through the report is the growing number of children living in poverty and its effects on their lives. More than 77,000 children, or 12% of all those in Orange County, received welfare in 1993. While the figure was well below the statewide average of 21%, the Orange County total represents a 92% increase in the last five years, compared to a statewide rise of 42%.

Recent cutbacks in the Social Services Agency, moreover, will increase the hardship of poor people seeking county help, advocates say.

“If you need help right now because your family’s going to be out on the street, instead of getting a check right away, now you’ll be getting a check 45 days from the time the application is approved,” said Jean Forbath, who sits on the board of a Costa Mesa charity.

Unlike the news about the economic condition of the county’s children, the findings about education have a greater mix of good news with the bad.

Orange County students continue to have consistently higher SAT scores than both the state and national averages, and lower dropout rates than the state. But the dropout rate for Latino students continues to be high, representing 66% of all dropouts countywide for the 1991-1992 school year.

“Our schools are serving an ever-growing population of diverse needs, with 27.2% of children speaking English as a second language and 15.5% in special-education classes,” the report states.

The news in health also has positive aspects, although the county still has cause for concern.

Overall, Orange County does better than both the state and nation in its rates of infant mortality, early prenatal care, teen births and immunizations, the report said. But blacks and Latinas continue to have higher rates of low birth-weight babies and infant mortality than whites. Latinas receive less early prenatal care than either group and have higher rates of teen-age births.

The numbers of teen-age births among various ethnic groups have not changed significantly in the last year. About 71% of all teen births in Orange County are to Latinas, 20% to Anglos, 4.1% to Asians and 2.8% to blacks. The trend is nothing new to health care officials, but some fear the cutbacks at the Health Care Agency will exacerbate the problems.

Barbara Talento, chairwoman of the United Way Health Care Council in Orange County, said, “Public health deals with preventing low birth-weight babies, tracking sexually transmitted diseases and AIDS. And in every one of those areas there have been significant cuts.”

But teen-age pregnancy should be made the county’s top priority, Talento said, and she called for sex education for children at an early age.

“Morality is something parents ought to be teaching, that churches ought to be teaching. But biology, schools ought to be teaching. And the sex act is biology.”

While the second annual report was much like the first, officials said that because of cutbacks in county staffing and funding, it is not yet possible to predict what trends next year’s report might reveal--or whether the financial crisis might prevent it being written at all.

“I hope that we can somehow identify money--private or public or some combination--so it does continue to be put out,” said Board of Supervisors Chairman Gaddi H. Vasquez, who first suggested that the county take a comprehensive look at the status of its children.

“I would hate to see it set aside because it is in these times of financial hardship that you probably need to know more about where the needs are and to make sure you spend the little you have in the most appropriate places,” Vasquez said.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Innocence Lost

Childhood in Orange County is not untouched by violence, neglect and poverty. A look at what an annual report says about children under 18:

1990-1993

* Deaths: 105 homicides, 33 suicides

* Assaults on children (1991): 108

* Weapons: 487 possession arrests

* Violent felonies: 3,361 arrests

* Single parents (1990-92): 24.8% born to unmarried parents

* Teen parents (1992): 1,579 teens between 15 and 17 gave birth in 1992

1993

* Battery deaths: 11 inflicted by family member or care-giver