The 2022 Children Now Report Card, released Wednesday by the Oakland-based research and advocacy organization, offers a glimpse into the struggles -- and victories -- children have experienced as the pandemic approaches the end of its second year.
Education, child care, physical and mental health, homelessness, poverty, juvenile justice and food security are among the topics explored in the report, which issues A-through-F letter grades based on data and state policies.
Ted Lempert, president for Children Now, said, QUOTE "For years, policymakers have been saying, 'Of course, of course, kids are a priority,' but what we know is, that it's not enough," UNQUOTE
The non-profit has been compiling the annual surveys since 1990.
Of particular concern is the disparity in learning loss during last year's school closures. Using data from the Policy Analysis for California Education, the report shows that English learners, low-income, American Indian, Black and Latino students lost far more ground academically in math and English language arts than their white and Asian peers.
American Indian students and English learners, for example, had lost nearly four months of learning compared with just over a week for Asian students. The data is based on third-through-eighth-graders' scores on interim assessments given in fall 2020 compared with the previous year.
Another noteworthy statistic is the surge in suicides among Black youth. According to the report, the suicide rate among Black 10-to-24-year-olds has more than doubled since 2014 while the rate among other groups has remained steady or dropped. In 2020, 12 of every 100,000 Black young people died by suicide, compared with a statewide average for all racial groups of just over six of every 100,000 young people.
