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• Report Summaries
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Content Summary
The 2002 KIDS COUNT Factbook provides statistical data on the status of children in cities and towns across the state of Rhode Island, and is an important resource for community leaders and policy-makers. This eighth annual work also includes an aggregate profile based on data from five core cities (Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Newport, and Central Falls) in which more than fifteen percent of children are impoverished. Using the most current available data, The 2002 KIDS COUNT Factbook presents 49 indicators in the areas of Family and Community, Economic Well-Being, Health, Safety, and Education. New health indicators for 2002 include “Children with Special Needs” and “Breastfeeding.”

Major Findings
All data is specific to the state of Rhode Island, unless otherwise mentioned.

Children’s Health Insurance
Rates of uninsured children in three of the five core cities are greater than the state average.
Access to Dental Care
Minority families, low-income families, and families with low education levels are most likely to be uninsured for dental care.
Participation rates of dentists who serve low-income children are very low.
Impoverished children and minority children have the greatest extent of untreated dental problems.
Children’s Mental Health
External risk factors for developing a mental disorder include poverty, deprivation, and other stressful family situations. Children with prenatal damage due to low birthweight, and exposure to alcohol and drugs are at a higher risk of developing a mental disorder.
Children with Special Needs
Risk criteria for developmental delay include teen parents, poverty, and poor nutrition.
Services and equipment required by children with special needs are often a financial burden for families of all income levels
Women and Children Receiving WIC
Poor, minority, or poorly educated mothers and children continue to benefit the most from WIC.
Three of the five core cities have WIC participation rates exceeding the statewide average.
WIC is not able to serve all of the mothers, infants, and children who are eligible for the program.
Breastfeeding
Nationally, the highest rates of breastfeeding occur among women who are White or Hispanic, over 30 years old, higher-income, and college-educated.
Black women have the lowest breastfeeding rates, statewide and nationally, due to an earlier return to work, and jobs that make continued breastfeeding more difficult.
Women with Delayed Prenatal Care
Early prenatal care is especially important for women who face multiple risks for poor birth outcomes.
In the past few years, white mothers were much more likely to receive adequate prenatal care than mothers from other racial/ethnic groups.
Low Birthweight Infants
Black women are twice as likely to have a low birthweight infant than White women, and the rate is higher than any other racial or ethnic group, due to higher rates of preterm delivery. Causes of preterm delivery are not well understood.
In the past ten years, the percentage of low birthweight infants has increased in all racial and ethnic groups.
Infant Mortality
Low birthweight and delayed prenatal care are two of the top causes of infant mortality.
Children with Lead Poisoning
Low-income children and minority children are most likely to be affected, due to a lack of newer and affordable housing, inadequate nutrition, and anemia.
The core cities have child lead exposure rates that are three times the statewide levels.
Children with Asthma
Black and Hispanic children are more likely to suffer from asthma, due to associations between the prevalence of asthma and poverty levels, urban air quality, indoor allergens, and lack of patient education and adequate medical care.
A disproportionate percentage of hospitalizations for childhood asthma are for Black, Asian, and Hispanic children.
Births to Teens
Teen birth rates have declined significantly in the past decade.
Teens who give birth are more likely to come from economically disadvantaged families and communities.
Alcohol, Drug, and Cigarette Use by Teens
The greatest risk factors for cigarette and alcohol use are frequent academic problems and number of friends who smoke or drink regularly.
Students use alcohol and cigarettes less now than in 1998.
Additional Children’s Health Issues
A recent survey collected information on factors related to risky behavior in the following categories: weapons, dating violence and rape, suicide, sexual activity, pregnancy and STDs, and obesity.
More information is needed on adolescent health care access.

Unaddressed Issues or Concerns
In the section on children with special needs, this report refers to risk criteria for developmental delay that are more prevalent among minority populations than among Whites. These generalized criteria include teen parents, poverty, and poor nutrition. A 1990 report, however, addresses differences between ethnic minorities within racial groups and demonstrates the problems of generalizing among subpopulations in Rhode Island. The author shows how cultural beliefs, care giving practices, health status, health care practices, family structure and characteristics, socioeconomic factors, and biological factors are the major influences upon the developmental outcomes of minority infants. Another report by Gould et al. attempts to explain how race can negatively influence perinatal outcome, even when a socioeconomic advantage exists.

Reference List
Garcia Coll, Cynthia T. “Developmental Outcome of Minority Infants: A Process-oriented Look into Our Beginnings.” Child Development 61 (1990): 270-289.

Gould, Jeffrey B., Ashima Madan, Cheng Qin, and Gilberto Chavez. “Perinatal Outcomes in Two Dissimilar Immigrant Populations in the United States: A Dual Epidemiologic Paradox.” Pediatrics 111.6 (2003): e676-682.

How to Access Report
http://www.rikidscount.org/matriarch/LinksPage.asp
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