A Closer Look at the Growth in Autism Diagnoses
A few years ago, we published an issue brief, “Autism Diagnoses on the Rise,” that explored the steep climb in autism diagnoses across California. So what does the trend look like these days? About the same, it turns out. Newly released data from the California Department of Education show that the growth in special education students diagnosed with autism continues unabated, from roughly 17,500 California public school students in 2002 to nearly 60,000 in 2010.
As you dig deeper, however, some other trends emerge. First, while students with autism comprise a greater share of all special education students in California compared to roughly a decade ago (from about 3% of all special education students in ’02 to about 9% in ’10), numbers are on the rise for another diagnosis, too — “other health impairment.” The California Department of Education defines this as “having limited strength, vitality or alertness, due to chronic or acute health problems, such as a heart condition, tuberculosis, rheumatic fever, nephritis, asthma, sickle cell anemia, hemophilia, epilepsy, lead poisoning, leukemia, or diabetes.” Meanwhile, the percent of special education students diagnosed with a learning disability has dropped considerably, from 52% of all special education students in 2002 to 42% in 2010.
This Google animation, which uses data from kidsdata.org indicators, shows the relative growth/decrease in special education enrollments by the three conditions noted above. First click on the bar graph icon in the top-right, then press play in the bottom left.
We encourage our readers to provide some perspective on these trends. We do know that research shows that federal and state finance reform may be contributing to declining learning disability rates in California (and across the nation). As for autism, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that whether the increases are “attributable to a true increase in the risk for developing ASD [autism spectrum disorders] symptoms or solely to changes in community awareness and identification patterns is not known.” Comments from users like you can help us illuminate what’s going on both locally and statewide, and provide broader perspective on the growth in autism diagnoses.
Posted by Andy Krackov
Tags: Child Health Issues, CSHCN, New Data
California Ranks 44th Nationally on Child Health System Performance
A Commonwealth Fund study released today, The State Scorecard on Child Health System Performance, finds that California ranks 44th in the nation on a scorecard composed of 20 indicators measuring health care access, affordability of care, health system equity, and other issues.
The report specifically assessed some indicators regarding children with special health care needs, and these new rankings echo the findings of a related report that was released recently recently by the Lucile Packard Foundation for Children’s Health. That study found that California ranked worst in the nation on a composite index that measures whether children with special health care needs have adequate health insurance, receive basic preventive care, and receive medical care that is comprehensive, ongoing and family-centered.
The two studies together serve as a reminder that the system of care as it currently exists is not working well for California children, particularly those with special health care needs. The California budget crisis only exacerbates the situation, so it becomes increasingly imperative to find innovative ways to preserve vital services for these highly vulnerable children.
The Commonwealth Fund study reiterates data that were highlighted in our report, including the fact that California ranks 49th in whether children with special health care needs had problems receiving medical referrals when needed. The state ranked 31st on children with special health care needs whose families received all needed family support services.
Children with special health care needs comprise about one in seven children in California. They have a chronic condition that requires health care beyond what is needed by most children. Conditions may range from relatively mild asthma to highly complex conditions such as cerebral palsy or heart disease. Many have multiple health conditions.
Please consider joining the new California Collaborative for Children with Special Health Care Needs, which will work toward improving the system of care so that it can support these children and their families on a consistent and sustainable basis.
Posted by kidsdata.org
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Act Fast to Enroll in Affordable Health Insurance for Your Child
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones and other state officials are urging families to take advantage of a new state law and sign up their children for private health insurance plans before open enrollment ends March 1. Under the new law, insurers must offer child-only policies despite pre-existing conditions, and can not charge more than twice the standard rate for children who have prior conditions.
For more details, see this article in the LA Times, or visit the website of the California Insurance Commissioner.
In California, about 6% of children ages 0-17 were uninsured in 2007. The children perhaps most affected by the preexisting condition clause are children with special health care needs — about 15% of the state’s child population. Some of these children have complex conditions, many of which include functional limitations requiring constant care. And about 35% of children with special health care needs have parents who say their insurance coverage is not adequate.
We encourage you to spread the word about this open enrollment period for child health insurance, so that all families, especially those with a special needs child, can take advantage of affordable options.
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: Child Health Issues
January News Roundup Features Articles About Homelessness and Parenting, Smoking Around Kids, and More
The January issue of the Kidsdata News Roundup now is available – you can read it here.
A few highlights:
Homelessness
Article Chronicles Impact of Homelessness on Parenting
(SF Chronicle, 1/4/11, by Gurley)
Low Birthweight
More Tiny Newborns Survive, but Often Face an Array of Health Problems as They Grow Up, Study Finds
(Reuters, 12/28/10, by Peeples)
Sexual Health
Study Finds More Than 10% of ‘Abstinent’ Teens Test Positive for STDs, and Urges More Screenings for All Teens
(Washington Times, 1/3/11, by Wetzstein)
Sleep
Kids Who Don’t Sleep Enough Are at Greater Risk for Depression and Anxiety Later in Life, Studies Show
(Wall Street Journal, 1/18/11, by Petersen)
Smoking
Kindergarten-Age Kids with Parents Who Smoke Have Higher Blood Pressure, Study Finds
(LA Times, 1/14/11, by Brown)
Posted by Jordan Handcox
Tags: Child Health Issues
Demographic Data Show Make-Up of California’s Children
Several measures of demographic data recently were updated on kidsdata.org. These data, which come to us from the American Community Survey, are important because they show trends in child population, racial/ethnic breakdowns and family structure that can help project potential needs for education, child care, health care, and other services for children.
Data Updates for Regions with 250,000 Residents or More:
- Child population, by city
- Households with and without children
- Households with children, by type of household
- Children in the care of grandparents
Here are some interesting highlights of the data:
- The child population in Los Angeles has declined slightly, from 1 million in 2005 to 932,000 in 2009; and, after declines earlier this past decade, Oakland’s child population has grown in recent years.
- About 4.5 million households in California have children, but the percentage of CA households with kids has declined slightly, from 39% in 2000 to 37% in 2009.
- Nearly 50% of households in Kern, Tulare, and San Bernardino counties have children, compared to less than 20% in San Francisco.
- About 3% of kids in California are being raised by their grandparents.
- There are about 1.5 million single-parent households in California. About 415,000 households in California — or 9% of households with kids — had single fathers raising children in 2009.
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: New Data
SacBee Op-Ed: Student-Level Data Are Needed
We recently came across this opinion piece from the Sacramento Bee and, given its data focus, thought it might be of interest.
Written by former state legislator Dede Alpert and former state superintendent of public instruction Jack O’Connell, the article outlines the need for a tool to measure student progress over time. While California has such a system — the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) — funding has been cut to support it.
In encouraging the state Legislature to restore funding for the system, Alpert and O’Connell note the following:
“Now more than ever, accurate student information is needed for sound decision-making, transparency, accountability and good stewardship of taxpayer dollars.
Read the entire article, as well as comments supporting and opposing the system, here.
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: Data Challenges, Data Projects
Find Children’s Data Related to Governor’s Budget Proposal
California Gov. Jerry Brown proposed his 2011-12 budget this week, which includes many cuts aimed at reducing the state’s deficit. Here’s a round-up of resources that explain the details of the budget’s impact on programs for children, along with links to related data on kidsdata.org. Know of other resources? Share them in the comments field below.
- This release from the California Budget Project offers specific breakdowns of cuts to child programs, including foster care (see data) and child care (see data). The release also notes cuts to the CalWORKs program. Kidsdata.org includes data on several measures of poverty, including child poverty, family income, and enrollment in the free/reduced price school lunch program.
- This article on HealthyCal.org outlines proposed cuts to the state’s health insurance programs, including Healthy Families. See data about health care for children in your area>>
- The Sacramento Bee published a summary of key points from the state budget proposal. The summary notes cuts to the state’s 21 regional centers that provide services to developmentally disabled Californians. See data about children with developmental disabilities and other special health care needs>>
- The California Department of Finance breaks out budget proposals by category. Here, you can view specific changes to budgets for K-12 education, health and human services, and realignment of some state programs to the county level. This realignment includes some juvenile justice programs. See data on juvenile arrests for your region>>
- The Los Angeles Times has created an interactive budget balancer tool. Try your hand at balancing the budget. Here’s a summary of all the newpaper’s budget coverage>>
- Read the full budget summary >>
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: Child Health Issues
What Our New Truancy, Suspensions and Expulsions Data Don’t Tell Us
The truancy, suspensions, and expulsions data we just added to kidsdata.org offer perspective on an important topic related to children’s well being. Research has shown, for example, that truancy, which is defined as missing more than 30 minutes of instruction without an excuse three or more times during a school year, is linked to academic failure, dropping out, substance abuse, gang involvement, and criminal activity (more info). In addition, there are high costs associated with truancy. Not only does truancy diminish revenue for schools due to lower daily attendance, it also contributes to costs related to delinquent behavior.
Likewise, our understanding of the effects of expulsions and suspensions is key. Excluding students from school by relying too heavily on suspensions or expulsions as a disciplinary strategy can exacerbate problems such as poor academic achievement, high dropout rates, and students’ involvement in the juvenile justice system.
On kidsdata.org, we offer the data that are publicly available from the California Department of Education – the number and percent/rate of expulsions, suspensions, and truancies for school districts and counties statewide. It’s a wealth of data, yet we need more data – in particular, better breakdowns. Some examples:
- There is growing concern about truancy in elementary schools, but data are not available by grade level or age, making it difficult to understand the extent of the problem in California. Related to this, data on chronic absences, which may or may not be excused, would help us further clarify our understanding about this issue.
- Similarly, other demographic breakdowns (e.g. socio-economic status, race/ethnicity) are not publicly available, so it’s challenging for officials to accurately identify students that need additional support.
- There is debate now on using suspensions and expulsions as part of a strategy to combat bullying. However, we don’t have data that give us detailed reasons students are expelled or suspended. Are more California students today being suspended or expelled because of bullying? We simply don’t know.
These are critical data gaps that we hope can be addressed in the coming years, but they shouldn’t prevent us from using what’s available now. At kidsdata.org, our hope is that policymakers and others will begin to acquaint themselves with these just-published indicators, and use these data in their work by bringing attention to these issues, stimulating discussions, deepening our understanding of what’s going on and overall helping to inform decisions that are made. By using these data, we’ll all better understand, too, the limitations of what’s available, thus putting us in an even better position to advocate for improved data on these important issues.
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: Data Challenges, New Data
Are Some Children’s Data Too Old to Be Useful? Thoughts from a Guest Blogger
This guest post comes to us from Rob Shotwell, chair of the Yuba County Children’s Council. If you have a data question or issue you’d like to express through a guest post on Data Points, e-mail us at [email protected].
We did a Children’s Report Card in 2007 for the first time. It reflected what many other county report cards have reflected, and in most of the categories that kidsdata.org uses. The frustrating thing that we experienced then was the age of the data. In 2007, we were forced to use data that was 2 to 4 years old. Some data were current (previous year), but most were not.
This diminishes the usefulness for documents such as county Report Cards or this website. The data are interesting two or three years later, but not as useful for planning a timely response in areas where the data indicate a clear problem. A local response to such a problem, of course, depends upon state and federal resources, but counties and school districts have less leverage when the data available are not current.
Obviously, the data are collected/recorded locally, and are compiled on a state and national level. This system is ponderous and inefficient; however, I admit I don’t know the solution to the data dilemma. Current data would have more of a punch when we approach our local Boards of Supervisors, county executive management, Offices of Education, county Superintendants of Education, city councils and even the state legislature.
It’s difficult to present this data, then explain why some of it is older and why current data was not available, THEN reach a conclusion or recommendation.
Our efforts on behalf of child health and safety I’m sure are comparable to what other counties are doing, given the current economy and state budget in California. While kidsdata.org continues to be helpful in some of the areas because the data are current, some is interesting but less impactful because of its age. Nonetheless, I and I’m sure my colleagues will continue to use Kids Data as a primary source of annual information for Yuba County.
Editor’s Comment: If you’ve experienced similar issues with the age of data you’re using, or if you know of a solution, please note it here.
Posted by Guest
Tags: Data Challenges
2010 Children Now Report Card Sets Agenda
Every year, Children Now offers a Report Card to grade key areas of child well being in California. This year, the advocacy organization has taken this tool a step further by offering a children’s health agenda to incoming lawmakers.
The agenda addresses and recommends action on several key issues, including:
- Strengthening California’s afterschool infrastructure
- Establishing a comprehensive, longitudinal data system to track educational outcomes
- Coordinating and streamlining the state’s delivery of children’s services
- Providing quality health coverage and improving access to care
Overall, the state received an average grade of C- in the report card, with grades ranging from a D for oral health services and K-12 education, to a B+ for afterschool programming. The report cites disproportional budget cuts to children’s programs as the reason for consistently low grades.
Posted by kidsdata.org
Tags: Data Projects