Los Angeles County 2008 Children’s Scorecard

Los Angeles County 2008 Children's Scorecard has been published by the Children's Council of L.A. County.

This report, produced by the Children's Council of L.A. County, assesses the state of children in L.A. County using several measures of well being. These measures of well being address health and safety (such as teen birth rates, health insurance coverage), economic well-being (rate of children supported by Cal Works, youth employed), social and emotional well-being (youth on probation, youth in foster care), and education/workforce readiness (rate of high school graduates college ready, educational attainment of mother/father). The Scorecard contains historical data going back to 2002. Finally, data is also broken down by service planning area (or SPA).

Selected Findings:

• More than 4,000 children 5 years old and under are homeless on any given night in L.A. County (referenced on pg. 4).
• More than a third of parents of preschool aged children in L.A. County have trouble finding childcare that is both affordable and suitable in quality (referenced on pg. 4).
• The percent of children watching 3 or more hours of television a day (in 2006) was the most for SPA 1 (Antelope Valley) at 28.6% and lowest for SPA 5 (West L.A.) at 12.9% (referenced on pg. 3).
• Teen birth rates (among females ages 10 -17) in L.A. County went in the years from 2002 to 2006- from 9.1 per 1,000 to 8.3 per 1,000 (referenced on pg. 2).
• The (2006) child obesity rate (in grades 5, 7 and 9) was greatest in SPA 6 (South L.A.) at 28.9% and least for SPA 5 (West L.A.) at 16.6% (referenced on pg. 3).
• In L.A. County, about 92% of public school teachers (in 2006) were fully credentialed (referenced on pg. 3).