Advocates for Children of New Jersey Kids Count: Mercer County September 26, 2017 Lawrenceville, NJ

Special Thanks to:

What is KIDS COUNT? Kids Count is the only place that has comprehensive data related to children and families in one place Objective use of data Assess change over time with trend data; provide a baseline for future comparisons Give you a “snapshot” of children and families Easily accessible and meaningful

Where do we get our data? U.S. Census Bureau Bureau of Labor Statistics Centers for Disease Control State Departments and Agencies Department of Health Department of Children and Families Department of Human Services Department of Education Local Organizations/Agencies

Where can you find KIDS COUNT Data? Browse the KIDS COUNT data center datacenter.kidscount.org Visit acnj.org New Jersey County Pocket Guide Newark Hard copies available.

Mercer County Demographics New Jersey Total Population 371,398 8,958,013 Child Population 80,760 1,998,865 % Child Population 22% % Black or African American under 18 14% % White under 18 38% 48% % Hispanic under 18 24% 26% % Asian under 18 13% 9%

This year’s rankings… 4 areas of child well- being, “domains” Child/Family Economics Child Health Safety and Well-Being Education 3 indicators contributing to each domain Rankings compare counties to each other, not to itself over time Important to also look at the performance of each county on each indicator over time and how it has changed. A county could rank poorly, but the actual data on the indicator may have improved. Need to look at the whole picture.

2017 Mercer County Rankings Domain Rank Child and Family Economics 6 Child Health 7 Safety and Well-Being 10 Education 19

Economic Well-Being Mercer County: Median income households with children: $92,341 Some improvement-- decrease in the number of children living in poverty from 2011 to 2015 Fewer children living in families receiving TANF or SNAP from 2012 to 2016 NJ EITC: increase in average credit $ amount received $573  $888

Mercer Maternal and Infant Health Slight decrease in low- birthweights, but overall little change. Fewer women receiving prenatal care in their first trimester.

Racial Disparities in Infant Health Infant Mortality Rate, 2011-2015 Mercer NJ White, non-Hispanic ** 2.9 Black, non-Hispanic 15.1 9.7 Hispanic, of any race 5.5 4.4 Asian, non-Hispanic 2.8 % Low Birthweights, 2011-2015 Mercer NJ White, non-Hispanic 7.1% 7.0% Black, non-Hispanic 13.5% 12.4% Hispanic, of any race 7.4% Asian, non-Hispanic 8.1% 8.9% **The value has been suppressed because it does not meet standards of reliability or precision.

Child Health 13% increase in the number of children receiving NJ Family Care Fewer than 3% of children living without health insurance in Mercer—better than state rate of 3.7%. Lower percentage of children tested for lead from 2012 to 2015. 2015 children with BLLs above 5 µg/dL: 4.0%

Child Welfare Decrease in the number of Mercer children reported for abuse/neglect from 2011 to 2015. Increase in the % of children with substantiated/established findings of abuse/neglect. 8.8%  9.7% More children in foster care Mercer out-of-home placements increased by 26% from 2011 to 2015, compared to a 9% decrease for the state.

Early Education Slight decrease in Mercer County enrollment in public preschool and public kindergarten from 2011-12 school year to 2015-16 school year. Statewide only 37% of young children not enrolled in school, compared to 53% of young children nationwide.

Mercer County Child Care # of licensed child care centers: 202 Capacity of 19,566 % of Children 0-5 with all parents in labor force: 63%

School-Age Children 89% of Mercer County students graduate from HS in 4 years. NJ: 90% 12% of Mercer County K-12 students chronically absent Compared to 10% of NJ students 3rd and 4th grade reading PARCC results for Mercer on par with state. 32% of F&RP eligible Mercer County students receiving breakfast, ranked 17th in state. Trenton served 43% of its eligible students

Hedgepeth Williams MS—Trenton, NJ

Mercer Teens 6% of Mercer teens not working or not enrolled in school. Sometimes called idle or disconnected youth Teen births figures continue to decline 4.7% of births in Mercer to females ages 10-19 in 2015 Down from 6.5% in 2011.

Juvenile Justice Juvenile arrests in Mercer down by 55 percent from 2011 to 2015. Statewide juvenile arrests down by 37 percent during same time period. Mercer: fewer than 15 juvenile commitments in 2015 Statewide 128 commitments Admissions to juvenile detention: 138 Decline from 2014: 178 Disparity in admissions by race for Mercer county: 84% to African-American youth 4% to white or Caucasian youth 7% to Hispanic youth

2 Mercer Municipalities Year Hamilton Trenton Child Population 2011-2015 17,920 21,159 Median Income (hh’s w/ children) $94,102 $32,713 % Children below Poverty 12% 41% % Children Uninsured 4% 5% Infant Mortality Rate 5.8 11.1 Graduation Rate 2016 92% 67% Chr. Absenteeism 2014-15 11% 32%

Questions?