Name of Report: 2004 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook (Safety Indicators)
Organizational Affiliation: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Author: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT
Contact Information: Rhode Island KIDS COUNT, One Union Station, Providence , RI 02903 401-351-9400 (phone); 401-351-1758 (fax); rikids@rikidscount.org (email); www.rikidscount.org (website)
Date: 2004
Pages: 144
Content Summary
The 2004 Rhode Island 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 tenth annual work also includes an aggregate profile based on the data from six core cities ( Providence , Pawtucket , Woonsocket , Newport , Central Falls , and West Warwick ) in which more than fifteen percent of children are impoverished. Using the most current available data, the 2004 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook presents 54 indicators in the areas of Family and Community, Economic Well-Being, Health, Safety and Education. A new safety indicator for 2004 is “Gun Violence.”
Major Findings
The findings presented here reflect information from the 12 indicators in the Safety section of the 2004 Rhode Island Kids Count Factbook. All data is specific to the state of Rhode Island , unless otherwise mentioned. The Factbook also includes additional data on Rhode Island ’s 39 cities and towns.
Child Deaths
- Unintentional injuries disproportionately affect poor children, young children, males, children in families with low levels of education and employment, children with developmental disabilities, and minority children.
- The death rates for Blacks and Native American children are higher than the rates for other children.
- Children living in poverty are at the greatest risk for injury and death, and are five times more likely to die from infectious diseases and parasites.
Teen Deaths
- The teen death rate for the core cities remained consistently higher than the death rates for the remainder of the state between 1988 and 2002.
Gun Violence
- Nationally, the firearm death rate for Black male teens is four times that of White teen males.
- In 2000, the most common cause of death for all adolescents in the U.S. was motor vehicle traffic injury, except for Black males, who were twice more likely to die from a firearm injury than from a motor vehicle injury.
- In the U.S. Black children and youth are more likely than their White counterparts to be victims of firearm homicide. White children and youth are at a higher risk for firearm suicide than their Black counterparts.
Homeless Children
- Poverty, low wages, lack of affordable housing, and domestic violence are factors in family homelessness.
- The average length of stay in shelters increased from 2002 to 2003.
Homeless Youth
- There has been a 148% increase in the number of youth entering the Rhode Island Emergency Shelter system since 1997.
Juveniles Referred to Family Court
- In 2003, 55% of juveniles referred to Family Court were White, 17% Black, 12% Hispanic, and 2% Asian or Pacific Islander.
Juveniles in the Training School
- Black youth are incarcerated at five times the rate of White youth nationally.
- Of the juveniles in the Training School in December 2003, 37% were White, non-Hispanic; 24% were Black, non-Hispanic; 29% were Hispanic; 1% was Asian; less than 1% was Native American; and 3% were Multiracial.
Children of Incarcerated Parents
- Of all parents incarcerated in 2003, 49% were White, 29% were Black, and 21% were Hispanic.
Children Witnessing Domestic Violence
- Black and Hispanic women are over-represented in police reports of domestic violence. One research study indicates that Black women in more affluent neighborhoods report incidents of domestic violence to police at higher rates than White women.
Child Abuse and Neglect
- Families overwhelmed by multiple personal, social or economic problems may lack the resources to meet their child’s needs and require a variety of readily accessible childcare services as well as parenting education and counseling for substance abuse, domestic violence and other problems.
Children in Out-of-Home Placement
- In the U.S. Black and Hispanic families are more likely than non-Hispanic White families under similar circumstances to be reported for child abuse and neglect and to have their child removed and placed in foster care.
- Once in foster care in the U.S., children of color are more likely than non-Hispanic White children to remain there for longer periods of time, to receive fewer familial visits, fewer contacts with caseworkers, fewer written case plans, and fewer development assessment.
- In 2004, 53% of children in foster care homes in Rhode Island were White, 19% were Black, 19% were Hispanic, 2% were Asian, and 2% were American Indian/Alaskan/Pacific Islander.
Adoption and Permanency
- National experience indicates that permanency may be more difficulty to achieve with older children, children with disabilities and minority children.
- Of the children adopted in 2003 in Rhode Island , 52% were White, 17% were Black, 16% were Hispanic, and 15% were other racial/ethnic groups or unknown.
- Of the children awaiting adoption in December 2003, 44% were White, 29% were Black, 22% were Hispanic, and 6% were other racial/ethnic groups or unknown.
Related Issues
This report notes that Black youth are incarcerated at five times the rate of White youth but fails to offer an explanation for this phenomenon. A 2002 article (Juszkeiwics) confirms this statistic and goes a step further by citing data demonstrating that African American youth were significantly less likely than Caucasians to be represented by private counsel, which impacts sentencing. It was also found that Caucasians were twice as likely as African Americans to have their charges reduced to misdemeanors. The article concludes by stating that there is a strong need for more comprehensive research on the reasons why the disparities exist.
Reference List
Juszkiewics, Jolanta and Marc Schindler. “Youth Crime/Adult Time: Is Justice Served?” Corrections Today 63.1 (2001): 102-107.
How to Access Report
http://www.rikidscount.org/