Having a loved one diagnosed with cancer can turn a family’s life upside down, especially if that loved one is a child. A child’s days are supposed to be spent playing and learning about life’s wonders, not sitting in a hospital awaiting painful chemotherapy treatments.

To help raise awareness, September is recognized as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month; we thought we would mark the occasion by highlighting data on childhood cancer in California.

More than 8,500 children in California were diagnosed with cancer from 2002-2006, the most recent period for which data are available.  Moreover, the rate of childhood cancer diagnoses increased 49% from the 1997-2001 period to the 2000-2004 period; it held steady from 2000-04 through 2002-06.

Among California children diagnosed with cancer from 1996 through 2006, an estimated 76% survived for at least five years after their diagnosis. Survival rates vary by type of cancer. The most common form of childhood cancer, by far, is Leukemia.

Caucasian/White children have the highest rate and number of cancer diagnoses of all racial/ethnic groups, but also the highest survival rate.

Share these data with your colleagues, friends, and family members to help raise awareness about childhood cancer.

Posted by kidsdata.org

At kidsdata.org, we aim to give you the data you need to tell the stories you need to tell, whether those stories are about policies that need to change, programs that need support, or issues that need attention. New research commissioned by Child Advocacy 360 sheds light on the kinds of stories that move people to action on behalf of children and youth.

According to this report, child advocates will be most effective when they tell stories focused on solutions, not just problems. In their efforts to raise awareness about the problems facing many children and youth, advocates may undermine their effectiveness, leaving people with a feeling that “nothing works.” In contrast, effective stories about the many programs and policies that make a difference for children achieve the following:

• Connect to the Community: Help people see how communities can address the problems children face, rather than seeing children only in the context of individual families
• Help People See the Big Picture: Highlight several kinds of solutions to problems, or illuminate the role of public structures in solving the problem
• Reinforce the Need: Stories position the solutions they’re advocating as necessary, not just nice
• Invite and Inspire Action: Offer examples of people who are doing what you want others to do
• Demonstrate Effectiveness: Provide evidence that the proposed solutions work

You can find a video highlighting the report’s key findings, along with the full report and recommendations for advocates, here: http://sparkaction.org/content/telling-right-stories-new-national-research-messaging-child-advoc

How do you weave data into compelling stories? Please share your own examples from grant proposals, public testimony, letters to the editor, etc.

Posted by Sarah Marxer

Imagine losing a trusted, licensed child care provider for your toddler because their home – their place of business – was foreclosed. Then imagine finding a new provider, only to be laid off from your job.

This is a true story highlighted in a press release by the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. According to their 2009 California Child Care Portfolio, an already tight supply of quality, licensed child care in California is getting even harder to find due to the economic downturn.

Despite a roughly 20 percent increase between 2000 and 2008 of licensed child care facilities and the number of slots within those facilities, licensed child care in California was available for only 27 percent of children ages 0-13 with working parents.

Of course, not all working parents require licensed child care, but the potential demand for child care still far outweighs supply. In a time when foreclosures are high and jobs are hard to find, difficulty finding child care puts additional strain on working families.

Some other highlights from the newly available childcare data on kidsdata.org:

• From 2000 to 2008, the number of licensed child care facilities – and the number of slots within those facilities – increased by about 20 percent statewide. However, due to shortages of qualified staff and other issues, many child care providers do not fill all of their slots; therefore, the number of slots may overestimate the available care.
• In 2008, licensed child care in California was available for 27 percent of children ages 0-13 with working parents. As noted above, not all children with working parents need licensed care; some may be cared for by family members, nannies, or others.

• Almost 10 percent of parents statewide request child care during the evenings or weekends, according to the 2009 California Child Care Portfolio, and only 1-2 percent of licensed centers offer this type of care.

• While family child care homes are more likely to provide care during evenings or weekends, they represent only about a third of the licensed child care slots in the state.

On kidsdata.org, you can find child care data for counties statewide, as well as a “dashboard” of data highlights on child care in California. And please add a comment below to share your insights or experiences regarding child care issues in California.

Posted by kidsdata.org

Congrats to KQED on the launch of its new blog, Our State of Health, which explores health issues across California. To quote KQED’s outreach coordinator: “The blog was launched with the idea that the best way to learn about the health of our communities is to give voice to community members themselves.”

The blog highlights health issues affecting all Californians, including children, and already features posts about asthma and breastfeeding. Check it out at http://blogs.kqed.org/ourstateofhealth/.

Posted by Felicity Simmons

According to a study from the University of California, San Francisco, obesity rates among Caucasian and Asian American children have fallen in recent years. The study also found that child obesity rates have leveled off among Latino children.

What is the reason for this good news? Here’s an excerpt from a recent San Francisco Chronicle article:

“For the first time in more than three decades, obesity rates for white and Asian children are falling in California, and they seem to have leveled off for Hispanic kids – all good signs that public health campaigns aimed at keeping young people away from unhealthful sweets and fatty foods are starting to work, according to a UCSF study.”

But, it’s not all good news. The same study noted that obesity rates among African American and American Indian girls are rising. Researchers say this indicates that public education campaigns need to be more widespread. Also from the article:

“We can attribute the plateaus to increasing awareness of pediatric obesity in families and communities. And there’s been a consistent effort by pediatricians to identify overweight and obese kids,” said Dr. Padmaja Padalkar, an assistant chief of pediatrics who specializes in working with overweight children at Kaiser Permanente San Jose Medical Center. “But this study also reminds us that we’re far from being out of the woods.”

Do you think your community is doing all it can to combat and prevent child obesity?

Here are some links to related measures of child health on kidsdata.org:

• Students at a Healthy Weight
• Physical Fitness
• Students Who Eat Breakfast

Posted by Felicity Simmons

Over the last year, kidsdata.org has been phasing in data for all counties, cities, and school districts in the state. This  expansion is now complete, and more than 400 measures of child health and well being are available.

Watch this video to learn about kidsdata.org’s helpful features, and find tips to quickly locate the data you need. We’ll also continue to add new topics in the coming months, such as indicators related to environmental health.

Have any questions about kidsdata.org? Post them on our Data Questions page.

Posted by Felicity Simmons

You probably know that kidsdata.org can be a valuable resource for making your case on behalf of kids — whether you are working on a grant proposal, presentation, advocacy project, or other efforts. Here are some tips from our foundation on how kidsdata.org can help with grant proposals, in particular:

Making Your Case

Here’s a common way to organize making a case for the need:

1) Who are the people in need?

2) What is the need?

3) Evidence to support the claim.

Proposals typically include facts about the population or community to be served and the issues to be addressed.  When providing those facts, it’s important to provide context for the data. Context can mean different things – for example, it can mean putting your data in a larger geographic context by showing how your community compares to the county or state as a whole. Or, you can provide context by showing how a specific issue has changed over time; or by explaining why these data are important and what they mean.

Writing Your Proposal

In general, it’s important to spell out the key points you want to make, and explain assumptions. Make it easy for the funder to follow the train of thought and pick up your key points.

Funders want to see data as relevant as possible to the focus of the proposal. When the exact data you need are not available, it’s helpful to state that and then provide what is available. For example, if data aren’t available for the city you’re serving, school district or county-level data may be an acceptable replacement.

Use the best possible data, and explain the connection between the data you are including and what you are proposing to do. And always include the source. That will add credibility to your proposal.

Kidsdata.org Can Help

Kidsdata.org provides a wide range of specific facts about children and families, the particular issues they face, and about local communities – as well as the contextual information noted above.

Another type of data often necessary in proposals is data on program effectiveness; that is, citing research/data to demonstrate that your proposed program is likely to succeed. While providing info on program effectiveness is not the primary focus of kidsdata.org, the site has a Resources section with links to articles/research that may help you find evidence to support your program.

If you can’t find what you are looking for or if you have questions about the site, please post any questions on our Data Questions page.

Posted by JoAnna Caywood

The latest Kidsdata News Roundup now is available — read it here.

A few key items:

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Use

Anti-Smoking Efforts Compete Against Childhood Obesity for Attention and Funding
(NY Times, 7/27/10, by Wilson)

Health Care

Health Insurers Win Concession on Coverage for Children; Allowed to Set Limited ‘Open Enrollment’ Periods
(SF Chronicle, 7/28/10)

High School Dropouts

Teens with ADHD More Likely to Drop Out of High School, Study Shows
(CNN, 7/28/10)

Weight

Study: Obesity Drops Among Kids in School-Based Health Program
(NY Times, 7/12/10, by Rabin)

Know of news that we should include in our next edition of the Kidsdata News Roundup? Leave a comment.

Posted by Felicity Simmons

The Santa Clara County Public Health Department recently released its 2010 report on the overall health of adults and children in the county. Although there was a marked drop in smoking and teen pregnancy, obesity and diabetes in both adults and children are on the rise, and about 25 percent of students in middle and high school are overweight or obese.

County Health Officer Dr. Marty Fenstersheib notes that this kind of report can help create community action to improve health practices throughout the county. Tracking data over time is particularly important for the health of children. When issues are identified, the right intervention at the right time sometimes can prevent serious problems.

See more data for Santa Clara County at www.kidsdata.org/santaclara

Posted by kidsdata.org