‘Summit’ zeroes in on child abuse

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Kern County Network for Children Research Analyst Kim Silva (left) and Child and Family Services Facilitator Jayme Stuart made sure everyone got a copy of “Report Card 2008.”

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Child Support Services employees (from left) Sarah Meza, Ely Espiritu, Tracy Chaidez, Juan Vega Jr. and Nina Fein had plenty to share with ‘Summit’ visitors.

Awareness was the key word organizers stressed at the Child Abuse Prevention Summit held on April 9 at the Holiday Inn Select in Bakersfield. The free to the public event, sponsored by Kern County Network for Children (KCNC), Kern Child Abuse Prevention Council and Kern County Department of Human Services, attracted approximately 550 local citizens in the fields of child abuse/neglect prevention seeking to enhance their skills and knowledge.

One of the most anticipated documents released each year at the Summit is the "Kern County Network for Children Conditions of Children Report Card," an annual "barometer of where the county is in terms of health and well-being of children." KCNC Director Tom Corson said of this year’s report card, "It is a mixed message showing for instance a decline in substantiated reports of child abuse, but there were still approximately 1,700 children needing foster care. The report also shows that poverty, education, health and social development are areas we have to move to the forefront."

KCNC Research Analyst Kim Silva, who compiled and wrote the report from information gathered by dozens of government, public and private agencies dealing with children, agreed there were many areas of optimism in the report and areas where work still needs to be done.

Notes of optimism included:

  • Third-grade reading and math scores increased four and 10 percent
  • High school graduation rate of 82 percent nearly mirrors state average
  • Infant mortality decreased to 6.3 percent
  • Births to teenagers decreased to 62.3 percent
  • Substantiated reports of child abuse decreased to 19.5 percent
  • Entries into Foster Care decreased to 1,792
  • Juvenile arrest rate has fallen 37 percent since 2000

Areas of increased concern included:

  • 29 percent child poverty rate is higher than state average
  • Only 31 percent capacity to serve county’s estimated child care needs
  • Highest Chlamydia rate in California for females ages 15-24
  • 35.6 percent of county fifth, seventh and ninth-graders unhealthily overweight
  • 51 percent of county households spent more than 30 percent of income on rent
  • Average per capita income $13,000 below state average; unemployment of 8.2 percent almost three percent higher than state average

There was more to the summit than statistics. It offered real solutions and opportunities to join the effort to make life better for children in the county. Prevention programs were highlighted in morning-long group discussions. Public service agencies hosted booths to acquaint attendees with the availability of services to address particular needs. Keynote speaker Donna Beegle offered realistic advice based on a mountain of practical experience she has gathered through her life experiences.

Beegle’s address was titled "It Only Takes a Minute to Brighten a Child’s Life." She has a Doctorate in Educational Leadership and is CEO of nonprofit PovertyBridge. But Beegle grew up in migrant labor poverty. She is the only member of her family who has not been incarcerated. Beegle left school for marriage at age 15 and then turned her life around as a single mother of two, 10 years later. Her lecture stressed communicating effectively across race, class, gender and generational barriers. She complimented the assembled group for the large numbers in the community who are collaborating to help children.

Collaboration was also the word on the lips of Corson. KCNC helps bring communities together with agencies that can help through a group of community collaboratives. Currently, there are 23 county-wide, a huge increase from the six that existed when KCNC was founded in 1992.

"The collaboratives are much stronger and more effective than they were back then," Corson said. "They have truly become advocates for the communities they serve. In fact, Kern County Supervisors act as chairs for two of the collaboratives. Collaboratives give families the opportunity to meet and work with the leaders in their communities. As the 11th largest metropolitan city in the state, we have a ways to go. We have to continue focusing on our children as a community issue."

If you would like more information about KCNC, how to join a collaborative in your community, take part in free monthly trainings or attend a monthly General Collaborative meeting, please visit the network’s Web site, http://www.kcnc.org.


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