On kidsdata.org, child/youth death rates are provided by age, ethnicity, and cause of death.
Specifically, the following indicators are available:

• Child/Youth Death Rate
  • by Age
  • by Race/Ethnicity

• Death Rate, Ages 1-4, by Leading Cause (State Only)
• Death Rate, Ages 5-14, by Leading Cause (State Only)
• Death Rate, Ages 15-19, by Leading Cause (State Only)
• Death Rate, Ages 20-24, by Leading Cause (State Only)
• Deaths, Ages 1-4, by Leading Cause
• Deaths, Ages 5-14, by Leading Cause
• Deaths, Ages 15-19, by Leading Cause
• Deaths, Ages 20-24, by Leading Cause

The Infant Mortality Rate is shown separately. Figures are provided as three-year averages. To show comparable information at the local and state levels, kidsdata.org lists only the leading causes of death in children for the state of California. The leading causes of child deaths in California are very similar to the leading causes locally and nationally.

The leading cause of death for children/youth ages 1-24 in the U.S. is unintentional (accidental) injury (1, 2, 3). In recent years, the leading cause of unintentional injury-related deaths among 1- to 4-year-olds was drowning; among 5- to 24-year-olds, it was being an occupant in a motor vehicle crash (2, 3). Homicide, suicide, cancer, heart disease, and congenital abnormalities are the other leading causes of death for 1- to 24-year-olds (3).

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention emphasize that many fatal injuries can be prevented through environmental, behavioral, social, legislative, and governmental policy change (1). It is estimated that preventable deaths (including both unintentional injuries and assault/homicide) accounted for 27% of total child/youth deaths in 2005 (4). Injury death rates, and overall death rates, are higher for boys than girls (2, 5). Differences between racial/ethnic groups also are evident, with death rates among American Indian/Alaska Native and African American/Black children consistently higher than those of other groups, nationwide (2, 5).

Find more information about child and adolescent death in kidsdata.org's Research & Links section.

Sources for this narrative:

1. National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2010). Unintentional injuries, violence, and the health of young people. Healthy Youth! Injury & Violence. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/injury/facts.htm
2. Borse, N. N , Gilchrist, J., Dellinger, A. M., Rudd, R. A., Ballesteros, M. F., & Sleet, D. A. (2008). CDC childhood injury report: Patterns of unintentional injuries among 0 -19 year olds in the United States, 2000-2006. Atlanta, GA: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.  Retrieved from:  www.cdc.gov/safechild/images/CDC-childhoodinjury.pdf
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Injury Prevention & Control: Data & Statistics. (2010). Ten Leading Causes of Death and Injury: 2005-2008. Retrieved from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/LeadingCauses.html
4. Friebert, S. (2009). NHPCO facts and figures: Pediatric palliative and hospice care in America. Alexandria, VA: National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Retrieved from: http://www.nhpco.org/files/public/ChiPPS/Pediatric_Facts-Figures.pdf
5. Child Trends. (2011). Infant, child, and teen mortality. Retrieved from: http://www.childtrendsdatabank.org/?q=node/273

The untimely death of a child over 1 year old most often results from preventable causes that public policy can address—such as accidents, the leading cause of death among ages 1-24 in California (1). Among adolescents and young adults, homicide and suicide are the second and third leading causes of death, respectively. Youth homicide most often occurs at the hands of a relative or acquaintance or in a gang-related incident (2).

According to research and subject experts, policies that could reduce child and youth death include:

• Ensuring that existing motor vehicle safety laws are enforced, including those concerning seat belts, car seats, and drunk driving (3)
• Preventing child abuse/neglect and supporting positive emotional health by promoting safe, stable, and nurturing relationships between caregivers and children; this may be done through efforts such as home visiting programs, hospital-based education programs for new mothers, and comprehensive child development centers that provide resources for children and parents (4). Social factors associated with child maltreatment also should be addressed, e.g. neighborhood economic stress and poverty.
• Setting school policies that foster "school connectedness" (i.e. the belief by students that adults and peers care about them), which is a strong protective factor against risk-taking behaviors, such as violence, drinking and driving, and not wearing a seat belt (5)
• Providing routine and accessible mental health screening and services to youth to address depression and prevent suicide (6, 7)
• Addressing risk factors for gang involvement by strengthening families (e.g. stability, parental supervision and support, and financial security) and schools (e.g. promoting safe, caring environments with evidence-based discipline policies), improving community supervision and engagement of youth, training teachers and parents to effectively manage disruptive behavior by youth, and teaching students interpersonal skills (8)
• Supporting continued pediatric cancer research to promote advances in understanding of risk factors and treatments, as cancer is among the leading causes of childhood death (9)

For more policy ideas about preventing injuries that can result in death, see the California Injury Prevention Network and SafeKids USA. Also see kidsdata.org's Research & Links section and the Policy Implications under these topics: Injuries, Suicide and Self-Inflicted Injury, Gang Involvement, School Connectedness, Cancer, and Infant Mortality.

Sources for this narrative:

1. As cited on kidsdata.org, Death rate, ages 1-24, by leading cause, 2007-2009. California Department of Public Health, Center for Health Statistics, Vital Statistics Section, CD-Rom Public Use Death Files; State of California, Department of Finance, Race/Ethnic Population with Age and Sex Detail, 1990-1999, 2000-2050.  http://www.dof.ca.gov
2. Tita, et al. (2010). Homicide in California 1981-2008: Measuring the Impact of Los Angeles and Gangs on Overall Homicide Patterns. Governor’s Office of Gang and Youth Violence Policy. http://www.calgrip.ca.gov/documents/Homicide_CA_1981_2008_Tita.pdf
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2001). Recommendations to reduce injuries to motor vehicle occupants: Increasing child safety seat use, increasing safety belt use, and reducing alcohol-impaired driving. Guide to Community Preventive Services, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK14104/
4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). Preventing Child Maltreatment Through the Promotion of Safe, Stable, Nurturing Relationships Between Children and Caregivers. http://www.cdc.gov/ViolencePrevention/pdf/CM_Strategic_Direction--Long-a.pdf
5. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2009). School Connectedness: Strategies for Increasing Protective Factors Among Youth. http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/adolescenthealth/pdf/connectedness.pdf
6. TeenScreen National Center for Mental Health Check-ups at Columbia University, Research Studies of Note. http://www.teenscreen.org/library/research-studies-of-note 
7. Mann, et al. (2005).  Suicide Prevention Strategies: A Systemic Review. JAMA. http://dhmh.maryland.gov/suicideprevention/Suicide%20prevention%20strategies-systematic%20review.pdf
8. Howell, J. C. (2010). Gang Prevention: An Overview of Research and Programs. Juvenile Justice Bulletin, U.S. Department of Justice. http://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/ojjdp/231116.pdf
9. Castellino et al. (2010). Outcomes for Children and Adolescents with Cancer: Challenges for the 21^st Century. Journal of Clinical Oncology, 28(15); 2625-2634. http://jco.ascopubs.org/content/28/15/2625.full.pdf

In California, the rate of deaths among children and youth ages 1-24 declined from 41.1 per 100,000 in 1996-98 to 33.8 in 2007-09. This trend was echoed in county-level data; between 1996-98 and 2007-09, child/youth death rates declined in 33 of the 41 counties with available data. Child/youth death rates vary widely among counties, ranging from 19.1 to 53.6 per 100,000 in 2007-09. Variation also exists among age and racial/ethnic groups. Specifically, young adults ages 20-24 consistently have the highest death rate (76.1 in 2007-09) compared to other age groups, and children ages 5-14 have the lowest (11.5). Among racial/ethnic groups, African American children and youth have the highest rate of death (66.5 in 2007-09), more than twice that of Asian and Pacific Islander and Caucasian/White children (24.1 and 31.5 respectively). Over the last decade, the leading cause of death for all children/youth ages 1-24 has been unintentional injury (accidents).

• California Injury Prevention Network
• Child Safety and Injury Prevention Resource Brief, Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University
• ChildStats.gov, Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics
• Infant, Child, and Teen Mortality, Child Trends Databank
• National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
• Pediatrics Journal
• Safe Kids USA

• California Adolescent Health, 2009, Department of Health Care Services & California Department of Public Health, Office of Women’s Health
• Cancer-Related Symptoms Most Concerning to Parents During the Last Week and Last Day of Their Child's Life, 05/2008, Pediatrics, Pritchard et al.
• CDC Childhood Injury Report: Patterns of Unintentional Injuries among 0-19 Year Olds in the United States, 2000-2006, 12/2008, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Borse et al.
• Characteristics of Juvenile Suicide in Confinement, 02/2009, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Hayes
• Gun Storage Practices and Risk of Youth Suicide and Unintentional Firearm Injuries, 02/09/2005, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Grossman et al.
• Pediatric Palliative and Hospice Care in America, 04/2009, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, Friebert
• Report to the Nation: Trends in Unintentional Childhood Injury Mortality and Parental Views on Child Safety, 04/2009, Safe Kids USA
• Suicide Prevention Strategies: A Systematic Review, 2005, The Journal of the American Medical Association, Mann et al.
• Traffic Crash Victimizations of California Children and Teenagers by Drinking Over-21 Drivers, 2009, California Journal of Health Promotion, Males

• 2011 Community Assessment: Health and Quality of Life in San Mateo County, 2011, The Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County
• San Diego County Report Card on Children & Families, 2011, The Children's Initiative and Johnson Group Consulting, Inc.
• The 17th Annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County, 2011, Orange County Children's Partnership (OCCP), Center for Community Collaboration, California State University, Fullerton, Orange County Board of Supervisors, Children and Families Commission of Orange County

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