PRESS RELEASE:

Commission on Children and Families’ (CCF) Releases Stepping Stones 2010

CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA—The Charlottesville/Albemarle Commission on Children and Families (CCF) has issued the eleventh edition of Stepping Stones, the annual Charlottesville and Albemarle statistical report on the well-being of local children and families.

Stepping Stones was created to chart the health of children and their families in the City of Charlottesville and Albemarle County.  This year, CCF entered into a partnership with the Charlottesville/Albemarle Health Department and the Masters of Public Health Program at the University of Virginia to add a number of indicators related to community and family health.  Stepping Stones now includes sufficient longitudinal data to identify positive and negative trends on a growing percentage of the 66 indicators chosen to measure child and family well-being.  Some of these trends are highlighted below.

Stepping Stones is intended to stimulate community dialogue and action regarding regional trends in the Charlottesville / Albemarle community.  For more information on CCF and Stepping Stones please call Gretchen Ellis, CCF Director at 872-4548 or visit our website to view a PDF of the full document: www.ccfinfo.org.

Academic Achievement:

• The percentage of students identified for Special Education has significantly decreased in Albemarle County since 2003.
• The percentage of Grade 3 students who pass English, math, history, and science Standards of Learning tests has significantly increased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.
• The percentage of Grade 5 students who pass English, math, and science Standards of Learning tests has significantly increased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.
• The percentage of Grade 8 students who pass English and math Standards of Learning tests has significantly increased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Community Characteristics:

• The number of passenger rides per person on public buses has significantly increased in Charlottesville/Albemarle since 2000.
• The percentage of adults registered to vote has significantly increased in Albemarle County since 2000, with a slight decrease in the 2006 and 2007.
• The percentage of public school students with Limited English Proficiency has significantly increased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Community Health:

• There is a possible emerging upward trend in the percentage of alcohol use of persons involved in motor vehicle accidents in Albemarle County since 2003.

Community Involvement:

• After school program participation has significantly increased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000 and there is a possible emerging upward trend in Albemarle County since 2005.
• Enrollment in fine arts classes has significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Conduct in Community:

• Alcohol arrests for youth under the age of 21 have significantly increased in Albemarle County since 2000.
• The ratio of petitions for Children In Need of Services/Supervision have significantly decreased in Albemarle County since 2000.
• Delinquency judgments of youth ages 10-17 have significantly decreased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.
• There is a possible emerging downward trend of CSA cases for youth ages 10-19 in Albemarle County since 2005.

Discipline in School:

• Incidents of weapon possession in public schools have significantly decreased in Albemarle County since 2000.
• There is a possible emerging downward trend over the last 7 years in the ratio of student suspensions in Albemarle County.

Early Childhood Education:

• Children identified for reading intervention services have significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Family Characteristics:

• The ratio of divorces have significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.
• The amount of children in Foster Care has significantly decreased in Albemarle County since 2000.

Family and Community Safety:

• Domestic assault arrests have significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Financial Assistance Program Participation:

• The ratio of children receiving Temporary Assistance to Needy Families has significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.
• The percentage of students receiving free/reduced meals has significantly increased in the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

Financial Status:

• While there has been an increase in the average per capita income in the Charlottesville Metropolitan Area since 1998, after adjusting for inflation, the increase is less pronounced, but still significant.

Infant and Early Childhood Health:

• The percentage of pregnant females that receive prenatal care in the first trimester has significantly decreased in albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

School Characteristics:

• The percentage of children entering and withdrawing from school in one school year (community mobility) has significantly decreased in Albemarle County since 2000.
• The ratio of Instructional personnel positions has significantly increased in Albemarle County since 2000.

School Participation:

• The percentage of high school graduation rates has significantly decreased in the City of Charlottesville since 2001.

Youth Health:

• Births to teens have significantly decreased in Albemarle County and the City of Charlottesville since 2000.

CCF is a 28-member planning board that advises the Charlottesville City Council and the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors on improving outcomes for children and their families.  

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