Scope In looking at social well-being, this report provides a snapshot of some of the region’s most vulnerable residents. For adults with significant economic needs, the study identified the percentage of families and individuals in the region who lived in poverty in 2000 and 2005. Related to children, the report examined substantiated reports of child abuse or neglect for 2004-05 and 2005-06. The report also looked at child poverty, gauging the percentage of children living at or below the poverty level from 2000 through 2004. The data on teen parenting looked at the pervasiveness of the problem and the trend. With elderly care, the spotlight was on the percentage of persons 65 or older who needed assistance in performing at least one of the Activities of Daily Living (ADL), such as eating, dressing and communicating. Regional Context As the region continues to grow, it will continue to be faced with more challenges. For many, economic growth in the region has not translated into a better quality of life. Too often those that are faced with challenges are the most vulnerable residents. In fact, many of the most vulnerable residents do not have basic necessities such as: food, clothing, shelter and water. Many social service organizations have made attempts to address these problems. Programs supported by city and local government bodies have made progress, as have some outreach efforts by the faith community and programs put forth by non-profit organizations. Despite these efforts, the need to address issues of poverty, elderly care, teenage pregnancy and child abuse across this 14-county region remains. To look only at percentages masks the number of residents that are in need of assistance. Summary of Indicator Results The most encouraging finding among this year’s indicators is the decline in teen pregnancies from 2000 through 2003. The downward trend stems from the myriad of approaches used to combat teenage pregnancy. These approaches include different methods of contraception, public education curricula, and the continued concentration of policy makers on finding ways to sustain recent declines. Of concern, however, is the increase in teen birth rates from 2003 to 2005 in most of the region’s North Carolina counties, erasing almost one-third of the decline achieved from 2000 to 2003. (South Carolina data are not yet available for 2003-2005.) Assessing trends in child abuse and neglect remains inconclusive throughout the 14-county region since only one year of data is available for South Carolina counties. Available data from 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 suggest that in North Carolina, two of the eleven counties saw negligible change in the substantiated percent of child abuse or neglect reports, four experienced a decrease, and five experienced an increase. While these indicators illustrate how individual counties are doing as it relates to reported child abuse or neglect, it is expected that many cases are still not reported. Measures of child poverty varied. While the child poverty rate rose from 2000 through 2004, stabilization did occur for many counties in 2003 and 2004. Despite this stabilization in certain counties, the region’s child poverty rate increased faster than either of the two state’s rates from 2000 to 2004. And, according to recent reports, it is estimated that the number of homeless children is continuing to grow in the region. One of the biggest challenges for the region is raising income levels for those living in poverty. For families and individuals, the percentage of the population living in poverty rose between 2000 and 2005 in each county that reported data. Whereas the region’s poverty rates were below the national averages in 2000, as of 2005 they were slightly above. Another regional challenge is elderly care. The rate of people age 65 or older who need assistance with at least one of the Activities of Daily Living, such as eating, dressing and communicating, ranged by county from roughly 40 percent to 50 percent. Currently it is unclear whether a larger or smaller percentage of Baby Boomers will need assistance performing Activities of Daily Living, given the fact that they are not yet old enough to report major health problems in significant numbers. Missing and Future Indicators In future reports, the authors would like to include the following: percentage of foster children who age out of foster care, number of homeless persons turned away by shelters due to overcapacity, race relations (interracial trust), and percentage of children in out-of-school self-care (latch-key kids). These indicators were not included this year because data sources were not available in all of the region’s 14 counties. Data could possibly be available for one of these indicators if funds were received to conduct a regional Social Capital survey. For instance, this survey could assess attitudes and opinions about race relations (interracial trust) in this 14 county region. This survey could also serve as a benchmark on race relations in this region. The report’s authors would also like to find better ways to compare social well-being indicators across state lines. |