STRAFFORD
COUNTY COMMUNITY NEEDS
CHILD
CARE AND EDUCATION
N.H ranks best in 'Kids Count' ratings
New Hampshire continues to be one of the
best states in the nation to raise children, but a sharp increase in child
poverty rates has caused child advocates to worry about the future of children
in New Hampshire. The findings were released in June 2006 as part of the annual
Kids Count report on the health and well-being of children and teens, compiled
by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
For the fifth consecutive year, New Hampshire ranked first in the nation when
it comes to children's health. But the report also found that child poverty
levels in New Hampshire increased by 67 percent in the last four years. In
2000, 6 percent of New Hampshire children lived below the poverty level; by
2004, that number increased to 10 percent. The Annie E. Casey Foundation ranks
every state each year on 10 health indicators for children, including infant
mortality, poverty rates, single-parent families and babies born with low birth
weights. Here are the indicators for which New Hampshire ranked best in the
nation:
—Teen birth rate (births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19)
Best: New Hampshire, 18.
—Infant mortality rate (deaths per 1,000 births)
Best: New Hampshire, 4.
—Child death rate (deaths per 100,000 children ages 1 to 14)
Best: New Hampshire, 12.
States in the Northeast and upper Midwest scored the best. At the top: New
Hampshire, Vermont, Connecticut, Minnesota and Iowa.
According to the survey, areas where New Hampshire has seen improvement over
the past few years include reducing infant mortality, child death, teen death
and teen birth rates, as well as reductions in the percentage of teens drop out
of high school and teens who are neither working nor attending school. However,
the survey does note an increase in the percentage of children living in
poverty — from 6 percent in 2000 to 10 percent in 2004 — and percentage of
children living in families where no parent has full-time employment.
Child
Well-Being in New Hampshire at a Glance
2006 KIDS COUNT New Hampshire Fact Sheet
New Hampshire ranks highest in the nation in
a new state-by-state study of the well-being of America's children. According
to the 2006 KIDS COUNT Data Book, the Granite State has shown improvement
across a number of child health indicators. On measures of family economic
security, however, the news is mixed, with a growing number of children living
in poverty.
Sharp rise in state's child poverty rate, despite top national
ranking.
New Hampshire has experienced a 67 percent increase in child poverty from 2000
to 2004, rising from 6 to 10 percent of the state's children living in poverty.
For children under age six, 13 percent live below the federal poverty level.
Despite this dramatic increase, New Hampshire is tied with Connecticut for the lowest
child poverty rate in the nation.
State sees improvements in health indicators.
Between 2000 and 2003, several health indicators improved for New Hampshire
infants, children and teens. The teen birth rate in New Hampshire decreased by
22 percent, outpacing the national average improvement of 13 percent. The
infant mortality rate fell by 30 percent, and the child death rate fell by 14
percent. New Hampshire ranks first nationally on these three measures of child
health.
New Hampshire falls to 20th in nation for high school dropout rate.
With a high school dropout rate of 7 percent, New Hampshire scored below l9
other states - its worst ranking among the 10 key indicators. Although the
Granite State did see an improvement from a 9 percent drop out rate in 2000,
that improvement did not keep pace with the national average.
Nearly one quarter of New Hampshire children live in low income
families. with most of these families spending beyond their means for housing.
In 2004, 23 percent of children in New Hampshire lived in low income families
(with annual family income below 200 percent of the federal poverty level.) The
high cost of housing in New Hampshire posed an additional challenge, with
nearly three quarters of low income families spending more than 30 percent of
their income on housing (compared to 62 percent nationwide.)
Note: The 2004 Federal Poverty Thresholds set the poverty rate at $15,219 for
family of three (one adult and two children), and $19,157 for a family of four
(two adults and two children.)
CHILDREN W1TH DISABILITIES
Developmental Services of Strafford County, Inc., as of the year 2001,
served over 525 eligible individuals over the age of three as well as over 100
in the Early Supports and Services Program (0-3). In 2001, the State of New
Hampshire designated DSSC the community mental health provider for Straffford
County. The name of Developmental Services was officially changed to Community
Partners in 2003.
Community Partners, Early Supports and Services (0-3) identified and provided
services to 249 children in Strafford County during 2006-2007.
LEAs serving children ages 3-5 have identified the number of children by town
requiring disabilities services for this report. The LEAs serving Rochester,
Dover and Somersworth serve identified Head Start children at the centers where
they attend Head Start. Identified Head Start children in the towns of Milton
and Farmington have a dual placement.
The numbers of children, ages 3-5, identified in each School District for the
2006-2007 year were: Rochester School District - 133; Dover School District -
29; Somersworth School District - 30; Milton School District - 17; Farmington
School District - 28.
The types of disabilities were not provider by Community Partners or the LEAs.
Families struggle to find quality child care that is affordable.
A median-income family spends 11% of its annual income on child care and a
low-income family spends 24% of its annual income on child care.
Source: The Governor’s Business
Commission, New Hampshire’s Child Care Challenge, Spring 2000
CHILD CARE PROGRAMS
Child Development and child care programs that are serving Head Start eligible
children are difficult to estimate as this information is not currently
provided to the Agency by the Resource and Referral Agency serving Strafford
County. However, there are approximately 130 licensed child care providers in
the county. Four known providers, Milton Children's Center, Dover Head Start,
Center, Farmington Child Care, and Rochester Child Care serve approximately 70
Head Start children. Other Head Start children or Head Start eligible children
are generally provided for by kith and kin care. Kith and kin provider numbers
and locations are not provided by the New Hampshire Child Care Bureau.
At
a Glance: Child Care in New Hampshire
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public Policy
• 60% of working New Hampshire parents with children under six need child care
outside their homes.
Source: Child Care Resource and
Referral Network of NH
• It is estimated that NH employers annually lose between $12 and $24 million
to child care related absences.
Source: Gallagher, Callahan & Gartrell,
Concord, NH
• In 1997, 2,620 welfare recipients entered the workforce, creating the need
for 6,5OO additional child care slots.
Source: Gallagher, Callahan &
Gartrell, Concord, NH
• In 1997, an estimated 89,072 NH children needed care outside their homes. New
Hampshire had 32,093 licensed child care slots available, which means there was
only enough child care for 37% of the children that needed it.
Source: Child Care Resource and
Referral Network of NH
In New Hampshire:
• 44% of children age 16 or younger are in child care during the regular school
year.
• Among two parent families where only one parent works, only 20% use child
care.
• Among two parent families where both parents work, 55% use child care.
Among those who use child care:
• About one-fourth (23%) are enrolled in a child care center.
• About 32% receive child care from an established child care provider who is
not a friend or a family member.
• Nearly one-half of children use some type of child care through a friend
(18%) or a family member (27%).
• Children of families with low annual income are equally as likely to be
placed in child care as children of families with high annual income. However,
one-third of families with annual income below $18,000 obtain child care from a
family member, while only 9% of families with annual income above $50,000 rely
on family members to provide care.
Based on the actual cost parents pay for child care, and the reported number of
hours spent in child care per week, it is estimated that for 40 hours per week
parents are paying an average of:
• $134.80 per week/$7,009.60 per year to provide child care for an infant.
• $112.40 per week/$5,844.80 per year to provide child care for a toddler age
1-3.
• $107.20 per week/$5,574.40 per year for a pre-school child age 4-5.
The Governor's Business Commission on Child Care and Early Childhood Education
found that the average New Hampshire family spends about 18% of its annual
income on child care and that businesses in the state lose up to $24 million
because of child care related absenteeism.
Union Leader, September
24,1999
Cost of Child Care in New Hampshire
|
Single Parent/ |
Single Parent/ |
Two Parents/ |
Two Parents/ |
|
$479.82/mo |
$782.27/mo |
$479.82/mo |
$782.27/mo |
New Hampshire Basic Needs and a
Livable Wage
The Josiah Bartlett Center for Public
Policy, June, 2000
Source: From Cradle to Career,
Quality Counts 2007, Editorial Projects in Education
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KIDS COUNT New Hampshire is a project of the Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, in partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The Children's Alliance is a multi-issue child advocacy organization working to move public policy to make New Hampshire one of the best places anywhere for a child to grow up – a place where every child is valued and no child is left behind. |
A Child Potential Index score was calculated
for over 200 New Hampshire communities, summarizing the degree to which risk
factors that limit children from realizing their full potential are present in
each community. The index combines seven community-level measures of child risk
known to be highly correlated with poor outcomes for children. A high incidence
of these risk factors among children in a community can be expected to limit
the long-term social and economic success of children as well as the long-term
social and economic success of the community as a whole. Scores range from a
potential high of 100 (if no child risk factors were present in the community)
to a theoretical but unlikely score of O if all child risk factors were present
among all children in a community).
The factors comprising the index affect the well-being of children from the
earliest days of life. These factors focus attention on the importance of early
interventions that not only impact longer-term health and behavior patterns,
but also have the greatest potential for long term economic and social
paybacks.
The seven components of the Child Potential
Index are:
• Teen births as a percentage of all births
• Percentage of mothers who smoked during pregnancy
• Percentage of births to single mothers
• Percentage of births to mothers with less than 12 years of education
• Percentage of children receiving free or reduced lunch
• Percentage of births to mothers not receiving prenatal care
• Unemployment rate
The Children's Alliance of New Hampshire's
KIDS COUNT project groups every city and town in the state into one of five
clusters according to its ranking on each of four factors that create an
economic environment: per capita income, median family income percent of
children living below poverty, and percent of children living below 185% of
poverty. Cluster 1 towns (red) are the wealthiest and cluster 5 towns (dark
grey) are the poorest.
Education is the most important force that affects income inequality.
The behavior of relative wages of skilled and unskilled workers is an outcome
of an education race between technological change and increases in educational
attainment.
The median earnings for workers without college are still low, hovering
around 150 percent of poverty for a family of three.
Source: The Urban Institute, 2000
Source: From Cradle to Career,
Quality Counts 2007, Editorial Projects in Education
From The Bottom Line, Children's Alliance of New Hampshire, Fall 2001
Low Educational Attainment
In the new economy, the best jobs go to those with higher education. The recession
of the late 1980s and early 1990s was a key factor in the growing gap between
the top and middle income groups in New Hampshire. During this recession, many
New Hampshire workers lost jobs in traditional manufacturing and related
industries—jobs that paid good wages and did not require advanced education.
These types of employment opportunities have not returned, and never will.
Structural changes in global, national and state economies mean that good wages
are more dependent than ever before on higher levels of educational attainment.
And yet, New Hampshire youth are lagging behind in high school completion and
matriculation in higher education.
Low Post Secondary Graduation Rates
In New Hampshire today, approximately 66% of public high school graduates go on
to post-secondary education, compared to 75% in New Hampshire's economic peer
states.
Youth who end their education with a high school degree have limited prospects
in the New Hampshire economy. For example, average annual income is 40% lower
for high school graduates than for those with a four-year college degree.
New Hampshire's relatively low high school
completion and postsecondary matriculatian rates reflect, in part, New
Hampshire's continuing support of education at levels significantly below that
of other states. In per capita spending on education at both the local and
state level, New Hampshire ranks 14th nationwide, below its northern New
England neighbors (Maine and Vermont), and in sharp contrast to its 6th place
ranking in per capita income.
At the post-secondary level, local and state support for New Hampshire's public
colleges ranks 49th in the nation—about half the national average. As a result
of this under-funding, the total college costs for in-state students is the
third highest in the nation. And New Hampshire funds scholarships and student
aid at the lowest rate in the nation. The low level of state support for public
colleges and for in-state students has resulted in New Hampshire ranking 46th
among all the states in the percentage of high school graduates going on to
college in state. This has resulted in a "brain drain," with the best
and brightest New Hampshire students leaving the state.
The death rate for individuals with less than 12 yrs. education and age
45-64 and age 65+ are 39.2% and 31.9% higher respectively in the Rochester
health service area than at the state level. (1993-1997)
Source: NHDHHS - OCPH, Primary Care
Access Data Report: Assessing New Hampshire's Communities,1993-1997
Compared to other communities in the state, Rochester hovers near the bottom
in the New Hampshire Educational Improvement Assessment Program scores. The
scores are divided into four categories: novice, basic, proficient and
advanced. The Legislature has determined that all students should score in the
basic category, indicating they understand the subject matter. This year, 27
percent of the 10th grade class scored in the basic and above category. Seventy
percent of 10th-graders scored in the novice area, a level the state ranks as not
understanding the subject matter.
Source: Foster's Daily Democrat,October
22, 1999
There are more babies born to mothers with less than a high school education
in the poorer communities of Strafford County. The fact that in poorer
communities more children live with undereducated parents could be a major
factor for variations in the test scores, since the parents' educational
attainment could affedt whether learning in school is reinforced at home.
Source: 1995 Kids Count New
Hampshire Data Book
The "Wealthiest" to "Poorest" clusters were determined
by the 1996 Kids Count New Hampshire Data Book.
The five clusters are based upon:
1993 Income per Capita
1989 Median Family Income - the best available measure of family income
(excludes college students and other single persons).
% of Children in Families Below Poverty - the best measure of the presence of
very poor children in a community.
% of Persons Below 185% of Poverty - the best measure of the presence of the
“working poor” in a community.
One of almost every 10 students at Somersworth High School and one of almost
every 15 students at Dover High School end up dropping out.
According to updated school profiles compiled by the state Department of
Education, 9.5 percent of Somersworth High School students dropped out of
school during the 2000-01 academic year. At Spaulding High School in Rochester,
7.8 percent, or one of every 12 students, dropped out during that same year.
Statewide, an average of 5.4 percent of high school students dropped out.
Some school districts in the Seacoast had better than the state average dropout
rate, including 1.5 percent at Oyster River High School.
Source: NH Department of Education,
February 2002
From One in Four:School Drop-Outs
in New Hampshire, New
Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies, June 2002
Approximately 25 percent of New Hampshire's high school students drop out,
yet few parents or policy makers in New Hampshire seem aware of the magnitude
of the problem. Imagine, though, the impact that a little honesty might have,
if every high school graduation ceremony this spring included empty chairs
among its graduating class for those students who had dropped out along the
way. In Nashua and Milton and Somersworth, every third chair would be empty. In
Pembroke and Lincoln-Woodstock and Winchester, every fourth chair would be
empty. Every seat in Hopkinton would be occupied with a graduating student, but
in Franklin, every other seat would be empty.
"The attrition over four years
of high school, termed the cumulative rate, is approximately four times the
annual rate."
The U.S. Department of Education and the NH Department of Education have
traditionally issued reports that contain annual drop-out rates. The
February 2002 report for New Hampshire high schools stated a state average
drop-out rate of 5.4 percent for school year 2000-01. The public's general
understanding is that this is a measure of how many students in a given class
do not graduate. For example, a Portsmouth Herald editorial, reacting
to the announced rate of 3.8 percent for Portsmouth High School, condemned that
fact that "about one out of every 25 students (leave) school before
graduation."' This is incorrect. The editorial should have alerted readers
to the fact that about one out of every six students at the high school drop
out before graduation. In a similar manner, a New Hampshire high school
principal and a key state lawmaker separately expressed concern about the
announced drop-out rate for their local high schools. Both were appalled when
shown that the rate that had concerned them was only a quarter of the true
cumulative rate.
A new report says the state has reduced the high school dropout rate to
about one in five children, but is still undercounting dropouts and failing to
adequately track students who switch schools.
From 1999 to 2004, the dropout rate fell from 25 percent to 20 percent, "a
significant change," according to the report released September, 2006 by
the New Hampshire Center for Public Policy Studies.