Poverty, Gangs on the Rise

More Orange County children are living in poverty and more are joining gangs, according to the 16th annual Report on the Conditions of Children in Orange County.

The report will be discussed Nov. 17 at Cal State Fullerton during the 9th annual Community Forum on the Conditions of Children in Orange County.

As the economy continues to struggle, so do Orange County’s children, said Michelle Berelowitz, director of the CSUF Center for Community Collaboration. The center and the Orangewood Children’s Foundation produced the report, which is sponsored by the county of Orange and the Children and Families Commission of Orange County.

The report is filled with statistics on the health, economic status, safety and education of Orange County’s youth. It is used by agencies throughout the county to help determine what can be done to improve children’s lives.

Among the findings in this year’s report:

• In 2009, gang members numbered 1,851— a 123 percent increase from 2002 when 830 gang members were counted in Orange County.

• Forty-four percent of the county’s public school kids are eligible for free or reduced-price lunches. A family of four with a household income of $40,792 or less qualifies.

• In 2008, the county had 4,022 high school dropouts. The number represents 2.4 percent of the total high school population in the county. Of the total dropouts, most (5.9 percent) are African American, followed by those who are Pacific Islander (3.9 percent), Latino (3.8 percent) and Native American (1.7 percent).

“Poverty impacts children in many ways,” Berelowitz said, adding that this year’s forum will focus on what can be done to boost high school graduation rates and college admission.

Forum speakers include:

• Ted Smith, chairman and CEO of the Mind Research Institute. He will deliver the keynote address.

• Sharon Barlow, owner of the Santa Ana-based Sharon & Sons Floor to Ceiling; Al De Grassi, vice president of Plaza Bank in Irvine; and Alicia Berhow, director of Orange County Business Council’s Workforce Development. They will answer questions about investing in education.

• Talitha Jones, a Cal State Fullerton Guardian Scholar and human services major. She will share her story about growing up as a foster youth and her journey to college.

The 8 a.m.-noon forum will be held in the Titan Student Union, 800 State College Blvd., and is open to the public. Additional information is available from the university’s Center for Community Collaboration at 657-278-5681.