HomeMy WebLinkAboutMINUTES - 02072006 - D.2 Do
TO: BOARD OF SUPERVISORS --------------- 0 Contra
.;-
FROM: SUPERVISOR JOHN GIOIA
Costa
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DATE: February 7, 2006
a
SUBJECT: Report on the State of Youth in West County ---.COUTi'- County
SPECIFIC REQUEST(S)OR RECOMMENDATION(S)&BACKGROUND AND JUSTIFICATION
RECOMMENDATION:
ACCEPT report titled "Hidden Challenges Affecting Juveniles in West County" AND
REFER the report to the Ad Hoc Committee on Violence Prevention for further review.
CONTINUED ON ATTACHMENT: YES SIGNATURE:
RECOMMENDATION OF COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR RECOMMENDATION OF BOARD COMMITTEE
APPROVE OTHER
SIGNATURE(S):
ACTION OF BOARD ON 7 APPROVE AS RECOMMENDED_< OTHER
VOTE OF SUPERVISORS I HEREBY CERTIFY THAT THIS IS A TRUE
�,�n AND CORRECT COPY OF AN ACTION TAKEN
UNANIMOUS(ABSENTAND ENTERED ON THE MINUTES OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS ON THE DATE
AYES: NOES: SHOWN.
ABSENT: ABSTAIN: ��� O�
ATTESTED
CONTACT: JOHN GIOIA (510)374-3231 JOHN SWEETEN,CI- R)( OF THE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS AND
COUNTY ADMINISTRATOR
CC:
BY rl DEPUTY
ADDENDUM TO ITEM D.2
February 7, 2006
On this day,the Board of Supervisors considered accepting an oral report titled
"Hidden Challenges Affecting Juveniles in West County" and referring the report to the
Ad Hoc Committee On Violence Prevention for further review.
Supervisor Gioia introduced this item, noting that to look at Countywide numbers and
statistics can hide the kinds of issues that exist within different communities.
The Chair asked for public comment. The following person presented testimony:
• Michael Ali,United Bay Area Native American Council,regarding
issues faced by native Americans. He said the Board can count on
cooperation from the United Bay Area Native American Council for
this effort.
The presenters were Sean Kirkpatrick, Southeast Asian Youth and Family Alliance
(SAYFA)Program Coordinator, and Beatrice Lee,Executive Director of Asian Pacific
Psychological Services. An outline of their presentation focused on highlights from the
"Hidden Challenges"report and presented recommendations based on findings and an
invitation to policy dialogue.
In conclusion Ms. Lee said data presented in the report is focused on Richmond but she
foresees the value of similar data collection and analysis in addressing issues in Bay
Point,Pittsburg, and the Monument corridor. She urged the five Supervisors to expand
data collection to all parts for the County to allow for funding to make this a possible
reality.
After the presentation, Chair Gioia noted the intent is to refer this report to the Violence
Prevention Ad Hoc Committee and discuss Juvenile Justice and Education Issues
Affecting Asian and Pacific Islander(API)Youth in Richmond with Health Services and
Employment and Human Services Department during their meetings. He said the County
would look for more grants among Departments to coordinate data among Health
Services and Employment and Human Services Department.
Supervisor DeSaulnier suggested asking Deputy County Administrator Sara Hoffman to
collect information on grants through the Violence Prevention Ad Hoc Committee.
Supervisor Uilkema suggested referring this item to the Richmond City Council and said
some of the probems she sees are interrelated to the lack of vocational education. She
suggested the committee examine vocational educational possibilities.
- 1 -
The Board of Supervisors took the following action by unanimous decision with none
absent:
ACCEPTED the recommendations as outlined in the Board Order dated February 7,
2006.
# # #
- 2 -
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
Hidden Challenges
A report in a series examining the status of API youth in West Contra Costa County,
California
Volume 1:
Juvenile Justice and Education Issues Affecting
Asian and Pacific Islander (API) Youth in Richmond,
California
by Poonam Juneja
National Council on Crime and Delinquency
In partnership with
West Contra Costa County Southeast Asian Youth & Family Alliance
J
National Council on Crime and Delinquency West Contra Costa County
1970 Broadway, Suite 500 Southeast Asian Youth & Family Alliance
Oakland. CA 94612 11780 San Pablo Avenue,Suite D
(510)208-0500 EI Cerrito, CA 94530
www.necd-crc.org (510) 374-3231
INTRODUCTION
On October 13, 2003, 15-year-old Chan Boonkeut, a Khmul girl, died from a gunshot
wound to her head, sustained as she answered the door to her Richmond, California
home. The fatal bullet was one of 12 that entered the Boonkeut home; Chan's father was
also injured in the leg. The alleged target, a family member reportedly affiliated with a
local Southeast Asian youth gang, was not at home. Two members of a rival gang are
awaiting trial in the incident.
The death of Chan, an honor student and a budding activist with the Asian Pacific
Environmental Network, underscored several key concerns of Southeast Asian youth in
West Contra Costa County —including youth violence, mental health and drug abuse—
and prompted organized community action to address these problems. Since March 2003,
the West Contra Costa County Southeast Asian Youth Task Force has met regularly to
investigate and address the issues facing local Southeast Asian youth. The Task Force is
comprised of a coalition of youth service providers, law enforcement and probation
officials, community organizations, community members, and local elected officials
including the county supervisor for the district.3
The National Council on Crime and Delinquency(NCCD), a nonprofit research agency
based in Oakland, California,joined the Task Force to assess the needs of Southeast
Asian youth in the city of Richmond. NCCD has experience in working with community
groups to profile the situation of API youth in several different communities through the
Asian& Pacific Islander Youth Violence Prevention Center(API Center), a collaboration
with the University of Hawai'i. In addition to conducting research in Waipahu, Hawai'i
and San Francisco,the API Center produced the first-ever, comprehensive profile of API
youth on a citywide scale, examining juvenile justice, behavioral health, and education
issues in Oakland.4
The intent of the present report is to provide a detailed assessment of the status of
Southeast Asian youth in Richmond. To this end,the report contains data from the areas
of juvenile justice and education, with relevant demographic data provided for context.
Previous research conducted by NCCD on API youth in Oakland revealed that these
areas are integrally connected; ethnic groups who were disproportionately represented in
the juvenile justice system were also underperforming academically. Anecdotal evidence
has also shown that the problems of youth in one area may carry over or contribute to
another; for example, a youth who experiences problems at home may struggle in school
and act out in the community, leading to encounters with the justice system.
Each section of the report focuses on a different piece of this larger assessment task. The
first section contains demographic data on the city of Richmond in order to provide a
'The Khmu ethnic group is native to northern Laos.
'-West Contra Costa County is commonly described as including the cities of Richmond,Hercules,Pinole,San
Pablo and El Cerrito,as well as unincorporated areas of Contra Costa County,including El Sobrante,
Kensington, Montalvin,North Richmond,and Tara Hills.
3 In 2005,the Task Force was formalized as a coalition,becoming the Southeast Asian Youth&Family Alliance.
This report,titled Under the Microscope:Asian and Pacific Islander Youth In Oakland,is located online at
www.api-center.org/documents/microseope_full_report.pdf
2
context for the rest of the data. Education data from the West Contra Costa Unified
School District on topics such as standardized test results, dropout rates, and Limited
English Proficiency(LEP) student enrollment are presented as a means of assessing how
different groups of students are faring in the educational system. Data regarding the
juvenile justice system in Richmond highlight local and statewide issues as well as the
movement of youth through the California juvenile justice system.
This data compilation should be useful to a wide audience for several reasons. The
information in this report has not been assembled previously in a convenient manner for
use by the community. By disaggregating by Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity,this
compilation also highlights the lack of adequate resources that address the needs of
Southeast Asian youth in West Contra Costa County. This report,then, is unique in its
capacity to be a useful tool for organizations and other community members for
developing programs, understanding the needs of Southeast Asian youth, and illustrating
these needs to others. Further,the data assembled here demonstrate that current research
in this area is woefully incomplete and needs to be expanded in order to present a
comprehensive picture of the state of Southeast Asian youth.
CONCLUSIONS
The data presented in this report illustrate the status of Asian and Pacific Islander(API)
youth in West Contra Costa County,providing a portrayal that often differs from
common stereotypes about their success. For example, broad categorizations of API
youth as being academic overachievers,quiet, and obedient may prevent the
acknowledgement of barriers that some API youth face. The data show that some API
ethnic groups cope with multiple issues that compromise their well-being and chances for
future success.
Demographic and educational data examined in this report indicate that API households
in Richmond have a wide range of household incomes and levels of linguistic isolation,
while API youth demonstrate a broad scope of academic achievement. For example,
census data show that most Asian ethnicities have high levels of linguistic isolation,
especially Vietnamese and Laotian households (47.4% and 42.7%, respectively, of
households are linguistically isolated).
In the area of education, while Asian students appear to achieve good results on the
CAT/6 standardized test, the aggregation of Asians into one category obscures the
struggles of certain ethnicities. As a comparison, more than half of Filipino youth tested
in the district performed at or above grade level, while almost 70%of Laotian youth
tested performed below grade level on the CAT/6 test.
Differences are also seen in the area of juvenile justice. Youth's contact with law
enforcement in the city of Richmond may vary by ethnicity and/or gender as well as by
type of crime committed. Overall in Richmond, API juveniles had relatively low numbers
of total arrests compared to other groups between 1990 and 2003. However,
disaggregation of arrest rates by specific API ethnicities reveals that certain ethnic groups
3
with seemingly low numbers of arrests have high arrest rates, such as Vietnamese and
Laotian youth. API youth were generally arrested for more property crimes than all
youth, and fewer drug crimes and crimes against the person.
In turn,the arrest patterns seen in Richmond often run counter to trends observed at the
state and federal levels. For example,while juvenile arrests have decreased at state and
federal levels over the last 10 years,this trend is not reflected in the city of Richmond. In
fact, the number of female juvenile arrests increased by 178%between 1990 and 2003.
The data also point out Richmond's Hilltop Mall as a possible area for intervention and
prevention efforts, as the mall was the location of almost 20% of youth arrests between
1990 and 2003.
In addition to illuminating some critical facets of the lives of Richmond youth,this report
also underscores the need for both increased disaggregation of data on API ethnicities
and additional data collection in related areas including mental health. Although the
original intent of this report was to examine the state of Southeast Asian youth in
Richmond,due to a lack of disaggregated data this goal was not fully realized, leading
researchers to concentrate on API youth overall.
CRITICAL FINDINGS
1. Disaggregation of data shows differences among API ethnicities.
The racial category of Asian and Pacific Islander encompasses a number of widely
varying ethnic groups that have different cultures,traditions, and histories. By combining
all of these diverse groups into a single unit for analysis,the obstacles facing some
groups are overshadowed by the successes of other groups.
• Asian youth in the West Contra Costa County Unified School District performed
above the national average on the CAT/6 test in the 9th, l 0th, and 11th grades.
However, when test performance is disaggregated by ethnicity, differences in
achievement emerge.
• Filipino, Chinese, and Japanese students performed better than the national
average. About 60%of Filipino students, 80%of Chinese students, and 90%
of Japanese students tested in the ninth grade in WCCUSD scored above the
50th National Percentile Rank(NPR).
o More than two-thirds of the Laotian ninth graders tested in WCCUSD scored
below the 501h NPR.
• Vietnamese and Asian Indian students in WCCUSD both had bimodal CAT/6
test scores. This means that students in these groups either performed very
well or very poorly. While about half of the Vietnamese students tested in the
top half of students tested nationally,most of the Vietnamese students who
tested in the bottom half tested in the bottom 25%. While only 36%of the
Asian Indian students were in the top half of the students tested in the United
States, all of these students were in the top 25%of the students tested.
4
• There were relatively few arrests of API youth in Richmond between 1990 and
2003. However, examining arrest rates rather than the total number of arrests
reveals that certain API groups have experienced high levels of arrests.
o Between 1990 and 2003, API youth were arrested a total of 508 times, while
African American youth were arrested 6,128 times and Hispanic youth 1,215
times.
o When arrest rates from 2000 were disaggregated by specific ethnicities, some
API ethnicities were found to have high arrest rates. African American youth
had the highest total arrest rate in that year(8 per 100 youth in population),
followed closely by Vietnamese (6 per 100) and Laotian (5 per 100) youth.
2. The challenges facing API youth are multifaceted.
API ethnicities—particularly Vietnamese, Laotian, and Pacific Islander youth—
experiencing problems in one area(economics,juvenile justice, and education) examined
in this report often also manifested issues in one or both of the other areas. Solutions to
any one of these problems,then, must be comprehensive and take into account the other
areas as well.
• The test scores of these groups were low compared to other ethnic and racial
groups.
o As discussed previously, 70% of ninth grade Laotian youth in WCCUSD
tested below grade level.
o While only about half of the Vietnamese youth tested performed below grade
level, most of those who did were in the bottom 25% of those tested.
o Further, while about half of the 9th grade Pacific Islander youth tested at or
above grade level, only about one third of the 10th grade Pacific Islander
students did.
• The overall educational attainment of the adult population for these ethnic groups
in Richmond was lower in 2000 than for other groups.
o Almost half of the Laotian population age 25 years and older had less than a
ninth grade education, compared with 11%for the adult population overall in
Richmond.
o While Vietnamese adults were overrepresented among those with less than a
ninth grade education, they were also overrepresented among those with
college degrees.
o Pacific Islander adults were underrepresented among those with degrees
beyond a high school diploma.
• After African American youth, Vietnamese and Laotian youth had the highest
arrest rates in Richmond in 2000, at 6 and 5 per 100,respectively. Each of these
groups also had lower per capita income levels and higher poverty rates than the
Richmond average in 1999.
5
o The per capita income of Vietnamese households was 20%below the
Richmond average,that of Pacific Islanders 31%below, and Laotian 51%
below.
o About 16% of Vietnamese and Laotian households were below the poverty
line, while about a third of Pacific Islander households were below the
poverty line.
• In 2000, several of these ethnic groups also had high levels of linguistic isolation,
which means that no one in the household 14 years old and above speaks English
fluently.
o About 43%of the Laotian households in Richmond were linguistically
isolated, while 47%of the Vietnamese households were.
3. Other racial/ethnic groups also face a range of issues.
During the course of data gathering, it was apparent that other racial/ethnic groups,
specifically African American and Hispanic youth., were also struggling in these areas
and should be addressed as well. These two groups are of particular interest, as they
constitute the two largest youth populations in Richmond as well as in the West Contra
Costa Unified School District.
• In 2000, African American youth had the highest arrest rate in Richmond at 8
youth arrests per 100 in the population.
• African American and Hispanic students appear to be struggling academically.
Low percentages of African American and Hispanic youth performed at or above
grade level during the 2002-2003 school year. About a quarter of the Hispanic
students and 10%or fewer of the African American students tested in the 9th, 10th,
and l It' grades achieved this level. Both of these groups of students also had the
lowest rates of students completing UC/CSU entrance requirements in the 2002-
2003 school year.
o African American and Hispanic students had the two highest dropout rates in
WCCUSD during the 2002-2003 school year. Dropout rates for both groups
were more than double the county and state average rates.
• Hispanic and African American youth also must deal with economic challenges.
o The per capita income of Hispanic families was almost 40%below the
Richmond average in 1999, and about 18%of Hispanic households were
below the poverty line.
o More than one-fifth of African American households in Richmond were
below the poverty line in 1999. The per capita income for African Americans
was about 12% below the Richmond average.
• In addition, Hispanic students face language barriers. About 30% of Hispanic
households in Richmond were linguistically isolated in 2000, and 74% of students
who spoke Spanish in WCCUSD were designated as English Learners.
6
4. West Contra Costa USD youth struggle in comparison to youth at the county
and state levels.
In large part, students in WCCUSD face greater issues than those in all of Contra Costa
County and the state of California.
• Fewer youth tested in the 91h, 10th, and 11th grades in WCCUSD performed at or
above the 50th NPR, or their grade level, on the CAT/6 test in the 2002-2003
school year than in Contra Costa County and the state of California as a whole.
o About 30%more of the ninth grade students tested in all of Contra Costa
County than those tested only in WCCUSD achieved grade level.
o About 10%fewer of the students in each grade in WCCUSD tested at this
level than in the state of California.
• The high school dropout rate for WCCUSD in 2002-2003 was about three times
that of Contra Costa County as a whole and of the state of California.
o Further,the dropout rate for each race or ethnicity in WCCUSD was also
significantly higher than the overall county and state dropout rate.
• A much lower percentage of 12th grade graduates from WCCUSD in 2002-2003
completed the classes necessary to be eligible for the University of California and
California State University systems than the percentage of all graduates in Contra
Costa County or the state of California who did so.
o While Asian youth in WCCUSD completed the university eligibility
requirements at rates similar to the state and county levels, youth in all other
racial and ethnic categories, including Filipino, white, African American, and
Hispanic youth, did not.
• Compared to the state and countywide levels, English Learner students have
difficulty being redesignated to regular classes. English Learner students as a
whole scored very low on the CAT/6 test. More than 75% of the students
classified as English Learners spoke Spanish as their primary language; most of
the remaining students spoke an API language.
o In WCCUSD, less than 15%of the English Learner students tested in the 91h
10th, and 11`h grades achieved grade level on the CAT/6 reading test in the
2002-2003 school year.
o While the number of English Learner students increased significantly between
1995 and 2003 in WCCUSD, Contra Costa County, and the state of
California, the redesignation rate to regular classes for students in WCCUSD
declined by more than 70%. During this period,the redesignation rates for the
county and the state remained relatively stable.
o Particular ethnic groups are differentially affected by English Learner issues.
About 65% of students with a primary language other than English are
7
designated as English Learners. This proportion is higher in certain language
groups, including Spanish, Tongan, and Portuguese students.
5. Hilltop Mall is a possible area for intervention.
Analysis of the Richmond police data showed that a well-known local mall, Hilltop Mall,
was the site of 18% of youth arrests between 1990 and 2003 and was associated with the
offending patterns of youth, indicating that the mall may be a possible location for
intervention and prevention efforts.
• In Richmond as a whole, it was found that API youth and females of any race
displayed similar offending patterns, that is,both of these groups were far more
likely to have been arrested for property crimes than other youth were, and were
more likely to have been arrested at Hilltop Mall than other youth were.
o While about half of the total arrests of juvenile youth in this time period were
for property crimes, a much larger proportion of the female youth and the API
youth were arrested for property crimes (67%and 72%, respectively).
o In recent years, about half of the arrests of female youth took place at Hilltop
Mall and about 40%of API youth were arrested at the mall.
• The large number of girls and API youth arrested at the mall skewed the results
and created differences in type of crime committed. When the location of a
youth's arrest(Hilltop Mall or not) is controlled for,many of the differences in
offending patterns by gender and by race are diminished. The proportion of girls
arrested for property crimes at the mall was similar to the proportion of boys
arrested for property crimes at the mall. A comparable result was found between
API youth and youth of other races.
• This finding indicates either that being at Hilltop Mall led to an increase in the
probability of committing property crimes or that youth likely to commit property
crimes were more likely to be at the mall.
6. Significant differences exist in the positions of girls and boys in Richmond.
When education and juvenile justice data in Richmond were disaggregated by gender,
vast differences in the positions of boys and girls were found, indicating that strategies to
improve the position of youth must be adapted to the differing issues faced by each
gender.
• Academically, girls appear to be achieving at a higher level than boys in
WCCUSD.
o In each high school grade, at least 5%more of the female students performed
at or above grade level on the CAT/6 reading test than of the male students
during the 2002-2003 school year. Of the ninth graders, 32%of the male
students tested achieved this level, while 45% of the female students did so.
8
o In each racial/ethnic group, a higher percentage of female 12`h grade graduates
completed the requirements necessary for admission to the University of
California and California State University systems than of male graduates in
WCCUSD in the 2002-2003 school year.
• While female youth continued to constitute a much smaller proportion of total
juvenile arrests than male youth, their representation in arrest numbers increased
at both the local and state level.
o While the number of male juveniles arrested in Richmond decreased slightly
over the last decade,the number of female youth arrested increased by over
150% in this period.
o A similar pattern was observed in the arrest trends of juveniles in the entire
state of California and was also apparent in the proportion of males and
females in the California Youth Authority.
• The characteristics of the arrests of male and female youth differed a great deal
between 1990 and 2003.
o Female youth were significantly more likely to have been arrested for
property offenses and less likely to have been arrested for drug offenses.
o A substantially greater portion of the arrests of female youth took place at
Hilltop Mall, especially after 1998,than of male juveniles.
7. Further research is needed.
More in-depth research is necessary to adequately assess the status and issues of youth in
the Richmond area.
• This data collection effort was hampered by a lack of data that could be
disaggregated into specific Asian and Pacific Islander ethnicities.
o While categories existed for each API ethnicity, most records in the Richmond
police data did not make use of these categories. To deal with this problem,
the researchers assigned specific ethnic groups to youth in the general "Asian"
category and in the "Other"category based on the last name of the youth. This
limited the reliability of the data, as it was not based on the self-reported
ethnicity of the youth.
o In the data available from the school district, only test results on the CAT/6
achievement test were available disaggregated into specific Asian and Pacific
Islander ethnicities. This meant it was not possible to determine whether
specific ethnic groups were struggling, especially in areas where API youth as
a whole appeared to do well, such as dropout rates.
• Due to the interdisciplinary nature of problems facing youth, research must be
done along mental health and behavioral dimensions as well. Past research has
shown that ethnic groups with high levels of problems in the education and
juvenile justice areas also often manifested issues in these areas as well.
9
The Southeast Asian Youth
& Family Alliance
�A
Background:
The West Contra Costa County Southeast Asian Youth Task Force was formed in
March, 2003, to address rising youth violence in the Southeast Asian communities living
in West Contra Costa County. In 2005, the Task Force changed its name to the
Southeast Asian Youth & Family Alliance (SAYFA), to reflect its evolution into a formal
coalition.
Mission and Vision:
The Southeast Asian Youth & Family Alliance (SAYFA) — a coalition of youth service
providers, law enforcement, probation, community-based organizations, community
leaders, concerned parents and community volunteers, local elected officials, the County
Supervisor, the West Contra Costa Unified School District, and youth —is convened to
assess and address the needs of at-risk Southeast Asian youth. The Alliance seeks to
strengthen community resources for Southeast Asian youth through education,
substance abuse awareness, and other appropriate means in order to decrease the
number of youth who reach the juvenile justice system. The Alliance conducts its
activities in a manner responsive to the perspectives of Southeast Asian youth.
Key Accomplishments:
Since its inception, SAYFA has contributed to community-wide efforts to address youth
violence and root issues related to its manifestation, particularly in the Southeast Asian
communities of West County. SAYFA's efforts include:
• Southeast Asian Youth Stopping Violence Summits (2004 and 2005)—
SAYFA, working with the Southeast Asian Young Leaders (SEAYL) youth group
established to partner with the Alliance, has hosted 2 youth violence prevention
summits in West County.
• Southeast Asian Young Leaders (SEAYL)—SEAYL was established to
organize the first Youth Violence prevention summit in 2004, and have continued
to meet for activities, leadership training, and advocacy work. SEAYL serve as
SAYFA's active youth advisory body. SEAYL youth attend community events,
conduct research projects, and have produced videos on community issues_
• STEP/AHEAD, a collaborative juvenile justice diversion, health education and
youth development program for Southeast Asian youth, ages 13-19.
STEP/AHEAD received 2 years of pilot funding from The California Endowment
in December 2004. The program is designed to combine wraparound-style case
management with life-skills/health curricula and youth development for up to 50
youth referred to the program from Probation, Juvenile Drug Court, WCCUSD,
and community-based providers. Collaborative agencies include Asian Pacific
i�
k!
Psychological Services (fiscal agent), Opportunity West and Lao Family
Community Development, Inc.
• Asian Family Outreach Project—the STEP/AHEAD Collaborative has received
4 years of funding from DHHS for a family support program targeted at Southeast
Asian adults and their families. The program includes healthy relationships
workshops and case management. Partners include Lao Family (fiscal agent),
Asian Pacific Psychological Services, Opportunity West and Child and Family
Services.
• Drug-Free Communities Support Program — In Fall 2004, SAYFA received
funding from SAMHSA/CSAP in support of coalition efforts, including needs
assessment, community mobilization, and building coalition capacity. SAYFA is
currently in its second year of Drug-Free Communities funding. APPS is fiscal
agent for this grant.
• Tobacco research —With APPS as fiscal agent, SAYFA received 3 years of
funding from APPEAL in support of community-based research on tobacco use in
West County in the Southeast Asian community. SEAYL youth are trained in
mapping and community documentation, and are studying their communities for
positive and negative factors affecting tobacco use.
• Prop 63 research—SAYFA received a grant from Asian Pacific Fund (APPS is
fiscal agent) in support of conducting interviews and focus groups towards the
production of a report focusing mental health needs in the Asian and Pacific
Islander communities living primarily in West Contra Costa County. The report
will be presented to the County as part of Proposition 63 planning.
• Town Hall meetings
• School Crisis Teams
2
i°Hidden Challenges: Volume I" Highlights
Contra Costa Board of Supervisors Meeting Presentation
February 7, 2006
Overview: This handout highlights selected demographic, educational and juvenile justice data
contained in the forthcoming report, "Hidden Challenges: Juvenile Justice and Education Issues
Affecting Asian and Pacific Islander(API) Youth in Richmond, California,"authored by the
National Council on Crime and Delinquency in partnership with the Southeast Asian Youth&
Family Alliance (SAYFA). The entire report will be released in March 2006.
Highlights of Data: The areas of juvenile justice and education are integrally connected.
Racial/ethnic groups that are disproportionately represented in the juvenile justice system are also
underperforming academically. Also, anecdotal evidence shows that the problems of youth in one
area may carry over or contribute to problems in another area. Finally, when disaggregated by
ethnicity,the data show that some API ethnic groups cope with multiple issues that compromise
their well-being and chances for future success.
Demographic Indicators
Poverty Status (City of Richmond, 2000)
• Of Richmond's total population, 16.2%of households had incomes below the poverty line in
1999.
• A significant percentage of Pacific Islander(32.9%), African American (22.1%), Hispanic
(18.3%), Laotian (16.8%), and Vietnamese (16.2%)households in Richmond lived below the
poverty line.
Household Size (City of Richmond, 2000)
• In 2000,the average household size in Richmond was 2.82 persons.
• Samoan, Laotian, and Cambodian households are significantly larger than the average
Richmond household, by 90.4%, 79.8%, and 58.5%, respectively.
Linguistic Isolation (City of Richmond, 2000)
• Linguistic isolation refers to households in which no members age 14 years or older speak
English only or speak English very well as a second language. In the city of Richmond in 2000,
9.2% of all households were linguistically isolated.
• Many Asian ethnicities have high levels of linguistic isolation, especially Vietnamese (47.4%of
households are linguistically isolated) and Laotian (42.7%)households.
• About 30%of Hispanic households are linguistically isolated.
• Linguistic isolation presents a significant problem for many ethnic groups; for example, it may
further hinder those already struggling to receive assistance from service providers.
Educational Attainment (City of Richmond, 2000)
• Hispanic and Laotian adults have particularly low levels of educational attainment, with more
than 50%of their populations age 25 years or older having less than a high school diploma.
Notes for data in Demographic Indicators section:
• Data in this section was obtained from the 2000 U.S.Census. Data sources: U.S. Census Bureau,2000 Census:
Summary Files 2 and 4.(http:/.!factfinder.census.gov)
• Populations for racial groups given do not include those of Hispanic/Latino ethnicity.
1
Educational Indicators
Academic Performance (State, County, and WCCUSD)
• In California, approximately 50%of the students tested in each grade achieved the 50th National
Percentile Rank(NPR) on the 2002-03 CAT/6 reading test(a standardized test). (See Figure 1.)
• In Contra Costa County, more than 50% of students in each grade tested at or above the 50th
NPR, or grade level. Of ninth graders tested in Contra Costa County, 62% achieved this level,
significantly higher than the national average.
• In the West Contra Costa County Unified School District(WCCUSD), however, fewer than
40% of the tested students in any grade performed at or above grade level.
Figure 1
Percent of Students Attaining the 50th NPR on the CAT/6 Reading Test
WCCUSD, Contra Costa County, and California, 2002-2003
70
60 1INGrade 9 62
®Grade 10
0 Grade 11 ---------- -3e------------------------------
54
50 ! { so
39 39
40 ---------------------
+ ---
il 35
ti
30
k
20 -- ---
_...
�t
r
10 -- --- -
E �
West Contra Costa USD Contra Costa County California
Note: The horizontal gray line on the above chart marks 50%. If a group reaches this line, it means that half of the group is
performing at or above the 50th National Percentile Rank(NPR),the national standard.The 50`h NPR is the level at which half
of the students tested in the nation performs above and the other half below.
Academic Performance by API Ethnicity (Ninth Grade Students, WCCUSD)
• On average, API students in WCCUSD scored better than the national average on the 2002-03
CAT/6 reading test(with more than 50% scoring above the 50th NPR). However, when
disaggregated by specific ethnicity, some ethnic groups within this category performed better
than others.
• Japanese and Chinese youth scored very well,with 88%and 76%,respectively, of these youth
achieving at or above the 501h NPR.
• While about 48% of Vietnamese students scored at or above the 50th NPR,43%of all
Vietnamese students tested below the 25"NPR.
• Most Laotian students(69%)failed to achieve the 50th NPR on this test.
2
Dropout Rates (WCCUSD)
• All racial/ethnic groups in WCCUSD had higher high school dropout rates in the 2002-03
school year than the state and county average dropout rates. (See Figure 2.)
• The two largest racial groups in WCCUSD, African American and Hispanic students, also have
the highest dropout rates.
Figure 2
One-Year High School Dropout Rates (Grades 9-12) by Race
WCCUSD,2002-2003
16
----
1*1 12 ------------------------------------e-Jol",0
y District Average
0210 -----------------------------
s
0 8 -------- - -----
Cl-
2 g a 145
6 {,
a
74 Y
pp � � giv �� �� � �� County Average
Ma
80 1 � M( �$= State Average
2 OF 3
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f q A l
d'. d7 c/ 7o d7 Cd7 0
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7
Notes:One-year dropout rates were calculated by dividing the total number of dropouts from grades 9-12 by the total
enrollment in these grades at the beginning of the school year.
Notes for data in Educational Indicators section:
Data source:California Department of Education,DataQuest(http://datal.cde.ca.gov/dataquest)
Juvenile Justice Indicators
Trends in Juvenile Arrests, 1990-2003 (City of Richmond)
• Juvenile arrests in Richmond rose in the 1990s,peaking in 1994 with 744 total arrests and again
in 1998 (733 total arrests),before falling after 1999. The number of juvenile arrests in 2003
(491 total arrests) was lower than in 1990.
• Arrests of African American youth fluctuated throughout this time span, finishing the period at a
level 23% lower than the beginning.
• Other racial groups experienced a general rise in arrests, most notably Hispanic juveniles
(+112.5%). White youth and API youth also had a general increase (+57% and+36%,
respectively).
• Of the API subgroups, Laotian youth had the most total arrests in this period, with a peak of 47
arrests in 1998. In the time span shown here, Laotian youth contributed about half of the API
arrests in Richmond, while in 2000, Laotian youth only made up about 22% of the city's API
population.
3
Juvenile Arrest Rates, 2000 (City of Richmond)
• In 2000, compared to other racial/ethnic groups,African American youth have both the highest
number of total arrests and the highest arrest rate (8 per 100 in population). (See Table 1.)
• Arrest rates reveal that communities with seemingly low numbers of arrests may be heavily
affected. Vietnamese and Laotian youth have the second and third highest arrest rates (6 and 5
per 100 in the population, respectively), while having relatively low numbers of arrests (4 and
22,respectively).
Table 1
Juvenile Arrest Rate Per Hundred of the Juvenile Population, by RacelEthnicity
Richmond,2000
Total Arrest Juvenile Arrest Rate
Ethnicity Incidents in Population Per 100 in
2000 10-177 Ydears Population
Ol
African American 421 5,139 8
Vietnamese 4 64 6
Laotian 22 439 5
White 41 1,504 3
Cambodian 1 30 3
Japanese 3 107 3
Hispanic 82 3,477 2
Asian Indian 2 160 1
Filipino 5 462 1
Chinese 1 380 0
American Indian 0 122 0
Korean 0 50 0
Pacific Islander 1 0 1 129 1 0
Other Asian* 4 - -
Other 1 - -
*Note:The category of Other Asian includes youth who could be identified as Asian by their surname,but the specific Asian
ethnicity could not be determined.Because thesejuveniles could not be placed in their proper ethnic category,the arrest
numbers/rates for specific Asian ethnicities may be higher than shown here.
Notes for data in Juvenile Justice Indicators section:
• Total arrests include multiple arrests of the same youth.
• Data sources: Richmond Police Department;U.S.Census Bureau,Census 2000(h4://factfinder.census.gov)
For More Information:
Contact:
Sean Kirkpatrick, Coordinator Mary Lai, Research Associate
Southeast Asian Youth&Family Alliance National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Prevention Director Tel. 510.208.0500 x323
Asian Pacific Psychological Services mlai(d�SF.NCCD-CRC.ORG
Tel. 510.233.7555 x23
skirkpatrickCa.APPS Web.or�-)
4
7), 2---
Hidden
). 2---Hidden Challenges: Background
The State of Youth In
West Contra Costa County
• What is SAYFA?
Volume I:
Juvenile Justice and Education Issues
• Presentation Overview
A Presentation to
The Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors • A few words on this process
February 7,2006
by the Southeast Asian Youth&Family Alliance and its
Partners
Overview of today's
SAYFA Presentation
• Southeast Asian Youth&Family Alliance(SAYFA)
• Founded March 2003 to address rising youth violence in • Highlights from"Hidden Challenges'
Southeast Asian community report(see Executive Summary and
• Multi-sector members and partners,including public Highlights handouts)
systems(County,cities,and WCCUSD),community-
based organizations,youth,etc. • Recommendations based on findings
• Multi-ethnic,multi-cultural,multi-racial membership • An invitation to Policy Dialogue on full
Key activities include:program development; report(March 10,2006)
community organizing;youth leadership;policy
development;advocacy
Some notes on Highlights of Data in
this Process "Hidden Challenges" Report
• Report was written to highlight issues faced by Asian&
Pacific Islander(API)youth living in West County
• However,SAYFA and NCCD collected and analyzed data Data fall Into three categories:
for all youth in West County Demographic Indicators-2000 US Census Data
• Recognized that the report has value for all communities, Juvenile Justice Indicators-City of Richmond
looked for way to share it more broadly
• Invited partners from the Latino/Hispanic and African Education Indicators-State,County and
American communities to the table to endorse a policy WCCUSD
dialogue centered on report,scheduled for March 10,
2006
Full report will be available at the Policy Dialogue
• Our hope:that this process marks the beginning of a
community-wide collaboration addressing issues related
to youth violence in Contra Costa County
1
Highlights from
Demographic Indicators Poverty Status
• 16.2%of households in Richmond lived below
• Poverty Status poverty line in 1999
• Ethnic/Race-specific data:
Household Size Pacific Islanders-32.9%of households
• African Americans-22.1%of households
• Linguistic Isolation Hispanic-18.3%of households
• Laotian-16.8%of households
Educational Attainment Vietnamese-16.2%of households
Message:
Poverty and Household Size are
Household Size Connected
In 2000,average household size in Richmond 2.82 Richmond median household income:$44,210
persons per household per year($19,788 per capita per year)
Asian and Pacific Islander-specific data: Laotian median household income:$37,639 per
• Samoan average household size:5.37 year($9,625 per capita per year)(51%below
• Laotian average household size:5.07 Richmond median)
•
Polynesian(includes Samoan,Tongan,
Cambodian average household size:4.47
Chamorro,etc.)median household income:
$35,859 per year($11,261 per capita per year)
Educational Attainment
Linguistic Isolation (City of Richmond, 2000)
• Linguistic isolation-households in which no members
age 14 years or older speak English only or speak English
very well as a second language(US Census definition) Hispanic and Laotian adults have
• Many Asian ethnicibes have high levels of linguistic particularly low levels of educational
isolation,especially Vietnamese(47.4%of households attainment,with more than 50%of their
are linguistically isolated)and Laotian(42.7%) populations age 25 years or older having
households less than a high school diploma
• About 30%of Hispanic households are linguistically Relates to linguistic isolation,immigrant
isolated. status,refugee status
• Linguistic isolation aggravates many issues,including Affects employment,abilityto het children
access to services,ability to find employment,ability to p
advocate for oneself,older relatives and children with school work,ability to find services,etc.
2
Highlights from Education Academic Performance
Indicators (State, County, and WCCUSD)
• In California,approximately 50%of the students tested in
each grade achieved the 50th National Percentile Rank(NPR)
• Academic Performance(State, County, on the 2002-03 CAT/6 reading test(a standardized test)
and WCCUSD) In Contra Costa County,more than 50%of students in each
grade tested at or above the 50th NPR,or grade level.Of
• Academic Performance by API Ethnicity ninth graders tested in Contra Costa County,62%achieved
(Ninth Grade Students,WCCUSD) this level,significantly higher than the national average
• In the West Contra Costa County Unified School District
• Dropout Rates(WCCUSD) (WCCUSD),however,fewer than 40%of the tested students
in any grade performed at or above grade level
Percent of Students Attaining the 50th NPR on Academic Performance
the CAT/6 Reading Test by API Ethnicity
WCCUSD,Contra Costa County,and California,2002-2003 (Ninth Grade Students,WCCUSD)
ro
• On average,API students in WCCUSD scored better than the
w national average on the 2002-03 CAT16 reading test(with
more than 50%scoring above the 50th NPR).However,when
w a4 disaggregated by specific ethnicity,some ethnic groups within
this category performed better than others
do
Japanese and Chinese youth scored very well,with 88%and
76%,respectively,of these youth achieving at or above the
50th NPR
zd ': '-
i; While about 46%of Vietnamese students scared at or above
the 50th NPR,43%of all Vietnamese students tested below
la Athe 25th NPR
o ( ¢ '» Most Laotian students(69%)failed to achieve the 50th NPR
vac•n rm um caa.rww.er �*..
on this test
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One-Year High School Dropout Rates(Grades 9-12)by
Dropout Rates (WCCUSD) Race,WCCUSD,2002-2003
• All racial/ethnic groups in WCCUSD
had higher high school dropout rates in max"
the 2002-03 school year than the state °
and county average dropout rates
• The two largest racial groups in
WCCUSD,African American and a'.. �
_`
Hispanic students,also have the • � �
highest dropout rates e to
Notes:One-year dropout lata uem calculated by di.iding the will number of dropouts from
gads 9-12 by the total enrollment in drese pada at the beginning of tae School 7w.
3
Trends in Juvenile Arrests, 1990-
Juvenile Justice Indicators 2003 (City of Richmond)
• Juvenile arrests in Richmond rose in the 1990s,peaking in 1994
with 744 total arrests and again in 1998(733 total arrests),
before falling after 1999.The number of juvenile arrests in 2003
• Trends in Juvenile Arrests, 1990-2003 (491 total arrests)was lower than in 1990
(City Of Richmond) Arrests of African American youth Fluctuated throughout this time
span,finishing the period at a level 23%lower than the
• Juvenile Arrest Rates,2000(City of beginning
• Other racial groups experienced a general rise in arrests,most
Richmond) notably Hispanic juveniles(♦112.5%).White youth and API
youth also had a general increase(+57%and+36%,
respectively)
• Of the API subgroups,Laotian youth had the most total arrests
in this period,with a peak of 47 arrests in 1998.In the time span
shown here,Laotian youth contributed about half of the API
arrests in Richmond,while in 2000,Laotian youth only made up
about 22%of the city's API population
Juvenile Arrest Rates, 2000 (City of Juvenile Arrest Rate Per Hundred of the Juvenile
Population,by Race/Ethnicity
Richmond) Richmond,2000
In 2000,compared to other racial/ethnic groups, J—rlla
African American youth have both the highest ratlareae Papwauan Arrest Rare
Y g Ethnicity Incident in 70.17 Vee s Per tat in
number of total arrests and the highest arrest rate(8 2000 old Population
per 100 in population) Afican American 4211 5.139 e
Vietnamese 41 64 0
Arrest rates reveal that communities with seemingly Laotian 221 439 5
low numbers of arrests may be heavily affected. While 411 1.504 3
Vietnamese and Laotianouth have the second and cembodien 1 1 30 3
Y Japanese 3 107 3
third highest arrest rates(6 and 5 per 100 in the rtaperie az 3 M 2
population,respectively),while having relatively low Asianlndien 21 160 1
numbers of arrests 4 and 22,respectively) FaP 5 462 1
( P Y) cninasa 1 350 0
American Indan 0 122 0
Korean 0 50 0
Pacific lean der 01 129 0
Other Asian' 4 -
otner
Critical Findings and Recommendation:
Recommendations Resource Allocation
Resource Allocalion Allocate more resources to prevention and early intervention:violence
prevendon atwits h—
Allocate more resources through eammunitybased providers:we are
• Cultural Competency ,onnetted to the wmmunities we serve,and can help public systems
achieve cultural competency
• Building Support and Approaches Across Diverse Communities Cities,
preserved here suggest that public systems such as the County,
Cities,and School District should pay careful attention to the following:
The challenges youth face in West CoMa Costa are multFfaceted:
• Disaggregating Data multiple issues that are interconnected
• The issues faced by WCCUSD youth are greater than those in all of
Contra Costa County and the State
• More Research Early childhood indicator data can help us understand and address
negative adult outcomes
4
Recommendation: Recommendation:
Building Support and Approaches Across Diverse
Cultural Competency Communities
• PUbIIC Systems Can and Should d0 When multiple communities face difficult issues,
they often find themselves competing with each
more,and Community-Based other for limited resources
Organizations can help achieve cultural This report illustrates that no one community
Competency goals 'deserves"more resources exclusively;rather,we
• Examples:cultural competency need a"bigger pie"in general to address
community-wide issues
trainings provided through our
STEP/AHEAD program to public "Hidden Challenges"helps define a common
P 9 P ground for cross-community partnership based on
systems;workforce development what the data tells us are the most critical issues
Recommendation: Disaggregating Recommendation:
Data More Research
• Report shows the value of disaggregating data,
especially for API communities while presented in this report is focused on Richmond,
we foresee
the the value of similar data collection and analysis in
• Issues faced by relatively smaller communities(e.g., addressing issues in other parts of the County(such as Bay
Lao,Mien,Khmu,Vietnamese,Cambodian,Pacific Point,Pittsburg,Monument Corridor,for example)
Islander,etc.)are often hidden when lumped as"Asian We are excited by the potential of our model for public
and Pack Islanders" systems/community needs assessments,and the power this
• Public systems can begin to collect disaggregated data will have in designing and implementing interventions in
data more uniformly,making sharing,analyzing and our community
comparing data easier and more effective across all We are available to provide technical assistance on data
relevant systems collection,cultural competency,and program development
• Are there other communities within the Latino/
Hispanic category,for example,with issues we cannot
see because they are hidden in this larger category?
Questions about SAYFA
or"Hidden Challenges"?
Contact:
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