1. Pawtucket Data In Your Backyard Findings from the 2009 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook Presented by Stephanie Geller Rhode Island KIDS COUNT June 25, 2009 Pawtucket, Rhode Island

2. Special Thanks Special thanks to Pawtucket School Department Child Opportunity Zone for hosting today’s presentation.

3. 2009 Rhode Island KIDS COUNT Factbook The 2009 Factbook is the 15th annual publication. The 2009 Factbook contains 63 indicators of child well-being, Including the new indicator, Housing and Health. Most indicators include city and town level information.

4. Family and Community

9. More likely to suffer from abuse or neglect

10. Less likely to be ready for school at kindergarten entry

11. Less likely to perform well in school

13. Unmarried

14. Without High School Degree

16. Economic Well-Being Economic Well-Being

18. Of the 40,468 children living in poverty, 44% lived in extreme poverty.

20. To afford the average rent of $1,232 in Rhode Island without a cost burden, a worker would need to earn $23.69 per hour and work 40 hours a week 52 weeks a year. This is almost 3 times the state’s minimum wage of $7.40 per hour.

22. In December 2008, 8% (1,413) of Pawtucket children were receiving cash assistance, yet 30% of children in Pawtucket live in poverty.

25. In October 2008, an average of 1,758 (26%) low-income children in Pawtucket participated in the Universal School Breakfast Program each day out of 6,691 who were eligible for a free or reduced-price lunch. Pawtucket’s school breakfast participation rate is lower than all of the other core cities.

32. Low-income families are more likely to lack the resources required to maintain, repair or improve their homes in ways that reduce residential health hazards, such as lead paint, unsafe stairs, leaks and cracks that may allow moisture and pests to enter the home.

34. In Pawtucket, the teen birth rate is much higher for older teens than for younger teens. Between 2003 and 2007, there were 92.3 teen births per 1,000 teens ages 18-19 versus 32.6 teen births per 1,000 younger teens ages 15-17.

37. In 2008, 953 families sought emergency shelter, a 21% increase from the previous year. More than 1 in 6 (16%) of the children in these families had experienced homelessness before.

39. Child abuse and neglect victim rates in the core cities ranged from a low of 14.4 victims per 1,000 children in Providence to a high of 28.2 in Woonsocket.

44. During this same period, the number of Pawtucket children receiving child care subsidies decreased by 47%.

48. In Rhode Island, students who move are absent more often than students who do not move. Those who did not change schools had a 92% attendance rate, compared with 75% for those who changed schools between one and three times during the 2006-2007 year.

49. The mobility rate in Pawtucket (24%) is higher than the state’s rate of 16%. *The mobility rate is the total children enrolled and exited during a year over the total year’s enrollment.

52. Stephanie Geller Policy Analyst Rhode Island KIDS COUNTOne Union Station Providence, RI 02903 sgeller@rikidscount.org (401) 351-9400 voice (401) 351-1758 fax www.rikidscount.org