Teen birth rate, youth violence grows in state

Wednesday, May 6, 1998 | 9:58 a.m.

Over a 10-year period, the teen birth rate in Nevada increased by 42 percent and the juvenile violent crime arrest rate increased by 49 percent.

This is according to a nationwide, state-by-state breakdown of the conditions of children in America by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a private charitable, child advocacy program, established in 1948 and based in Baltimore, Md.

The foundation's primary mission is to foster public policies, human service reforms and community supports that meet the needs of children and families.

The "Kids Count Data Book" for 1998 profiles the conditions of children in America over the span of a decade from 1985 to 1995.

Brian O'Hare, senior associate of the foundation, said the reason why the statistics are somewhat dated is because they are based on government sources which usually lag a year or two behind.

The categories used in the study range from the percentage of low birth-rate babies to the percentage of families headed by a single parent. Nevada ranked 34th overall.

O'Hare said the "Kids Count Data Book" is published to raise public awareness about the well being of children in America and is distributed to governors, legislatures and the media.

The juvenile violent crime arrest rate reflects youth between the ages of 10 and 17, who are arrested on charges of homicide, rape, robbery, or aggravated assault.

While the juvenile violent crime arrest rate in Nevada increased by 49 percent, it increased by 66 percent nationwide.

In 1995, 384 out of every 100,000 juveniles were arrested for violent crimes in Nevada. In the United States, 507 out of every 100,000 juveniles were arrested for violent crimes.

The number of teen deaths by accident, homicide and suicide in Nevada increased by 12 percent, compared to 3 percent nationwide.

Darlene Terrill, director of youth services at Westcare's Emergency Runaway and Homeless Youth Shelter, said that the number of children the shelter receives, whether from Metro Police or Child Protective Services, has increased from 100 children per month to 250 children per month since she began working there in 1991.

Terrill said it is hard to pinpoint an exact reason for the increase in problems among children and teens, but she said most of the youth say that their problems are directly related to household dynamics, whether it's parents, step parents or guardians.

She added that the youth come from a broad base of family income levels.

"The days of Ozzie and Harriet are gone," Terrill said, "Times are different. Both parents are working. Life is more fast paced and things are more expensive than they used to be. There is less time for family outings and for conflict resolution."

Sixty-four percent of children in Nevada are in families where both parents are working.

The "Kids Count Data Book" notes that more than 3 million children in America, 13 and under, spend some time home alone each week and that most juvenile crimes are committed between the hours of 2 p.m. and 6 p.m., while they are unattended.

The report points out that quality child care is a critical resource for these children, adding that parents on the Welfare-to-Work program have difficulty affording quality child care since the jobs they find are modest paying.

An estimated 24 million school-aged children in America are in some form of child care before and after school.

Clark County Social Service, along with agencies and organizations nationwide, is declaring Friday as "Provider Appreciation Day," to recognize child-care providers across the country.

Although Nevada ranks 49th in the nation for teen pregnancy, preliminary data from the Nevada State Health Division indicates that Nevada's overall teen pregnancy rate is declining.

The Nevada State Health Division states that the pregnancy rate among 18 and 19 year olds has decreased from 141 pregnancies per 1,000 adolescent females to 134 per 1,000. The rates among 10 to 14 year olds decreased from two pregnancies per 1,000 adolescent females, to 1.8 per 1,000 in 1997.

But the rate increased among the 15 to 17 year olds from 53 per 1,000 in 1996 to 54 per 1,000 in 1997.

Gov. Bob Miller recently declared May as Teen Pregnancy Prevention Month in Nevada.

The "Kids Count Data Book" notes that in 1995, 20 percent of Nevada children under the age of 18 were without health insurance.

Nevada Check-Up, a new state children's health insurance program which could provide 45,000 children with coverage, begins July 1. The program assists children of families who earn too much for Medicaid, but not enough for private insurance.

Lisa Taylor, eligibility specialist for Nevada Check-Up, said that they've already received 1,099 applications for 2,347 children.

"There's a really strong need out there," Taylor said. "To my knowledge, these people basically did not have any insurance at all. That's pretty scary."

According to the study, pregnant mothers who are not receiving prenatal care due to the lack of health insurance are more likely to give birth to a low birth-weight baby.

"Babies weighing less than 5.5. pounds at birth have a high probability of experiencing developmental problems," the book says. " The percent of low birthrate babies reflects a group of children who are likely to have problems as they move through the growth stages."

The percentage of low birth-weight babies in Nevada worsened by 7 percent over the past decade, according to the book.

But there is some good news: the state's infant mortality rate decreased by 33 percent.

Although the high school drop-out rate in Nevada worsened by only 8 percent, Nevada still ranks 50th.

The report notes that eight to 12 years after birth, a child born to an unmarried, teen, high school dropout is 10 times as likely to be living in poverty as a child born to a mother with none of these characteristics.

Children in Nevada who are living in poverty stayed the same and Nevada ranks fourth in the nation.

According to the study, the improvements of the infant mortality rate is largely due to improved medical technology.

Also according to the study: the state's child death rate worsened by 3 percent; the percentage of teens not attending school and not working improved by 8 percent; and the percentage of families with children headed by a single parent worsened by 4 percent.