Are Denver's Communities Ready for Kids?
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ARE DENVER’S COMMUNITIES READY FOR KIDS? A Brief for Individuals and Organizations Working to Improve Child Outcomes in Denver, Colorado A Collaboration between The Piton Foundation and the National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership, through support from the Annie E. Casey Foundation Matthew Barry Lisa Montagu Pam Buckley, Ph.D. The Piton Foundation September 2008 Acknowledgements The Piton Foundation would like to thank the following individuals and organizations for their contribution to this brief: JENNIFER ATLER, JD PAMELA HARRIS, PH.D. STEVEN POOLE, MD Executive Director Chief Operating Officer Pediatrician Invest in Kids Denver Preschool Program The Children’s Hospital Invest in Kids is a statewide nonprofit organization The Denver Preschool Program (DPP) is the Director that partners with communities to improve the health result of a voter approved initiative to provide tuition Colorado Children’s Healthcare Access Program and well-being of Colorado’s children (prenatal to credits for parents, and quality improvement grants age eight), particularly those from low-income families, to preschools. DPP is open and voluntary for all Colorado Children’s Healthcare Access Program is a through advancing programs that work. Denver children the year before they are eligible for nonprofit organization devoted to ensuring that every kindergarten. A Denver family may use the tuition child enrolled in Medicaid and the Child Health Plan SUSAN GALLO, PH.D. credit with any preschool provider who is licensed Plus (CHP+) receives comprehensive healthcare Deputy Director by the state and enrolled with the Denver Preschool from a primary care provider. Mayor’s Office for Education and Children, Program, regardless of where that preschool is located. City and County of Denver LISA ROY The Mayor’s Office for Education and Children (MOEC) LISA PISCOPO, PH.D. Early Childhood Education Officer was created in 1996 to develop programs and projects Kids Count Coordinator (through July 2008) to reflect the Mayor’s commitment to support the Colorado Children’s Campaign The Piton Foundation successful education of the City’s children and to The Colorado Children’s Campaign is a statewide strengthen the City’s partnership with Denver Public nonprofit organization established in 1985. The Schools. MOEC is committed to helping families of organization uses indicators like poverty, income, Denver ensure that every child grows up with all child and maternal health, and test scores to draw a the strength, knowledge and skills necessary to be statistical picture of the well-being of Colorado’s successful in an information- based economy and children as a way to inform the public and policy- to be good neighbors and citizens of Denver. The makers about important children’s issues. For more office advocates for the children and youth of Denver, than 11 years, the Colorado Children’s Campaign serves as the City’s liaison to the Denver Public has released KidsCount in Colorado!, a state and Schools, and helps develop policies and initiatives county-by-county project supported by The Annie E. to help every child in the City grow up confident, Casey Foundation to track the status of children in strong, smart and skillful. Colorado to guide the state’s policy trends and goals on behalf of children. NANCY GARY, PH.D. Psychologist Private Practice Table of Contents Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................................................................4 Section 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................................................................................6 Section 2: Overview of Children in Denver ....................................................................................................................7 Section 3: Framing of School Readiness – The Ready Child Equation .................................................9 Section 4: Ready Families (The Family Context for Vulnerable Children) ..................................... 10 Section 5: Ready Communities ............................................................................................................................................ 19 Section 6: Ready Services ....................................................................................................................................................... 23 Early Learning ......................................................................................................................................................... 23 Health ............................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Social, Emotional and Mental Health ................................................................................................. 28 Family Support and Parent Education ................................................................................................ 30 Section 7: Ready Schools ........................................................................................................................................................ 32 Section 8: Opportunities and Obstacles ....................................................................................................................... 35 Section 9: Conclusion .................................................................................................................................................................. 37 Appendix A: About the Research ........................................................................................................................................ 38 Appendix B: Description of Programs Included in the Brief ....................................................................... 39 Appendix C: Academic Assessments .............................................................................................................................. 45 Appendix D: Additional Resources .................................................................................................................................... 46 Executive Summary As an operating foundation, The Piton Foundation • Ready Schools, which describes critical with low education; and 3) elementary school-aged conducts and disseminates relevant research, develops elements of schools that influence child students attending public school who participate in initiatives, and works to improve public systems and development and school success. the federal free and reduced lunch program - which institutions that serve low-income families. This brief serves as a proxy for low socio-economic status. The was prepared as part of a grant awarded by The Families – In an effort to establish a description of 2006 sample of Denver’s vulnerable children, newborn Annie E. Casey Foundation, in collaboration with the children with a high probability of living in a low- to age eight, totaled 48% of the entire sample of National Neighborhood Indicators Partnership and income family, this brief draws from birth characteristics children in Denver (newborn to age eight). Vulnerable the Urban Institute, to support data-driven policy and income measures for children. Vulnerable children are concentrated in west Denver and far advocacy around children’s issues. Available data children are defined using three indicators: 1) births northeast Denver. Except for a few pockets, there is are used to compare relevant circumstances of to teen mothers; 2) births to mothers over age 19 little concentration of vulnerable children living young children in low-income neighborhoods with those in other neighborhoods in Denver. The analysis Density of Vulnerable Children in Denver by Subarea draws implications for programs and policies aimed at improving school readiness and early-grade success for low-income children in Denver. Multiple factors influence how prepared children are for school. Improving school readiness therefore requires efforts that speak to both children’s skills and their environments. The National School Readiness Indicators Initiative created the “Ready Child Equation” to begin to track the different indicators that influence school readiness. This equation includes: • Ready Families, which describes the children’s family context and home environment; • Ready Communities, which describes the community resources and supports available to families with young children; • Ready Services, which describes the availability, quality and affordability of proven programs that influence child development and school readiness. This brief organizes services in Denver according to the early childhood system framework used in Colorado. This framework includes four domains: 1) early learning; 2) health; 3) social, emotional and mental health; and 4) family support and parent education; and page 4 Executive Summary in central and southeast Denver. Since 2000, most children (including central and northwest Denver) SChools – The few elementary schools in Denver neighborhoods in northwest Denver experienced are spatially correlated with areas also experiencing rated “high” or “excellent” according to the state’s a decrease in the total number of vulnerable children, home price appreciation, indicating that many School Accountability Report (SAR) are not located whereas much of southwest Denver and pockets of low-income families