RSG | Facts & Data

"Over the last decade, there has been a marked shift in the content of public discussions about children and families. Discussions are now much more likely to be based on research and statistical facts rather than ideology and rhetoric. News stories are more likely to rely on objective facts regarding the status of children. Policy discussions are now more likely to be laced with objective information on various dimensions of child and family well-being."
-- William O'Hare, KIDSCOUNT, 1999

Ten Facts You Need to Know About Connecticut’s Children, and Their Families

• Young children are a small part of Connecticut’s population
• Connecticut is becoming more diverse
• Many families with children are working, and longer
• The purchase of early care is a substantial expense for families
• Achieving economic security is a challenge for families
• Many Connecticut young children are "economically insecure"
• Children’s brain development is dramatic in the early years
• Young children face health challenges
• Children attending preschool
• Connecticut's achievement gap

1. Young children are a small part of Connecticut’s population

Of Connecticut’s 3.4 million residents, only 6.5% (about 221,000) are under age five. For planning purposes, we can say that each age cohort from birth to five years represents about 44,000 children in Connecticut.

Data from the 2000 US Census, by age, are shown below:

About 20% of all Connecticut children under the age of five live in five communities, each of which has 8,000 young children (or more): Bridgeport, Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, and Stamford. One hundred and five municipalities account for another 20% of children under the age of five, and each has fewer than 1,000 under age five. The community with the fewest number of children under age five is Union with 48. Bridgeport has the greatest number of children under age five, 11,397. These data are all based on the 2000 US Census.

Looking back over the decade reveals that the number of babies born in Connecticut has declined dramatically, dropping from 53,123 in 1990 to 43,026 in the year 2000. Looking forward, the Census data suggest that the number of children entering kindergarten will decrease by about 10% over the next five years.

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2. Connecticut is becoming more diverse

Connecticut’s non-white population increased from 2% in 1900 to 18% in 2000. Now, 13% of Connecticut’s public school students come from homes where English is not the primary language spoken. Connecticut’s "limited English proficient" K-12 students speak 108 different languages.

Race and ethnicity data from the 2000 US Census show that, of the approximately 43,000 births in Connecticut, two-thirds were to non-Hispanic white families, 12% were to non-Hispanic African-American families, 15% were of Hispanic origin. By 2010, about 1/3 of Connecticut’s school children will be Hispanic, African-American, or Asian. Trends in births over the past decade are shown below:

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3. Many families with children are working, and longer

Data from the 2000 US Census tells us that in Connecticut more than six in ten (62%) of children under six have both parents, or the only parent, in the full-time workforce. And, nearly all children (92%) under the age of six have at least one working parent.

Over the past two decades, American families have significantly increased their hours at work. Connecticut’s married couples with children added nearly 11 extra weeks of work to their annual work year. Single parents also worked more, adding 7 ½ extra work weeks to their year.

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4. The purchase of early care is a substantial expense for families

The cost of early care for many Connecticut families with young children represents their second largest expense, just behind housing. Licensed early care costs for infants and toddlers can range from $7,000 to $15,000 (or more) per child per year. Licensed early care and education for preschool age children can range from $6,800 to $10,000 (or more) per year.

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5. Achieving economic security is a challenge for families

Family economic security means "having enough income to meet basic family needs: food, shelter, and clothing. It also means that families have the financial resources for safe homes in safe communities, quality early care and schools for their children, and adequate health care. In addition, economic security means having sufficient financial reserves to feel protected against unforeseen financial demands." ([2] Gathering Data for CT Towns: A Primer, March 2003)

The most basic level of family economic security is "economic self-sufficiency," defined as the amount of income necessary for families to be able to pay for basic needs (including housing, health care, food, child care and transportation) without reliance on state or local financial assistance. In Connecticut, this [3] "self-sufficiency standard" is roughly equivalent to 200% of the federal poverty level (about $36,000 for a family of four) but varies by region of the state and composition of the family.

The federal poverty level is set annually by the Census Department. It does not vary by geography but by the number of adults and children (if any) living in the family. In 2002, the federal poverty level for a family of four including two children was $18,244. Based on the most recent census data, 10.4% of Connecticut’s citizens lived at or below the federal poverty level.

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6. Many Connecticut young children are "economically insecure"

Living without sufficient family income places young children at risk of a wide range of adverse outcomes, including impaired health and development and lower school achievement. In Connecticut, poverty is also correlated with race and ethnicity.

The Connecticut State Department of Education uses eligibility for the federal Free and Reduced Price Meals Program to determine the number and location of children in Connecticut who are poor. A child is eligible for a reduced price meal if family income is below 185% of the federal poverty level. In Connecticut in 2001, nearly one in four Connecticut public school children (24%) in grades K-12 were eligible for this program. If we apply the same proportion to children ages birth to five, we find that about 53,500 of these young children live in families with incomes below 185% of the federal poverty level, that is, below "economic self-sufficiency" levels.

Based on the 2000 Federal Poverty Level, 25,000 (11.3%) Connecticut children under the age of 5 lived at or below the federal poverty level. For a family of four, including two children, the Federal Poverty Level in 2002 was $18,244. Connecticut young children living at or below the federal poverty level are disproportionately children of color: 41% of Hispanic origin, 28% African American, and 25% white.

US Census data, available on a town-by-town basis, also reveal the number of children living in extreme poverty, defined as 50% or less of the federal poverty level. In real dollars, that equates to $9,122 for a family of four including two children. In 2000, about 12,000 children under the age of five lived in extreme poverty in Connecticut. Nearly 60% of them resided in five communities: Hartford, Bridgeport, New Haven, Waterbury, and New Britain.

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7. Children’s brain development is dramatic in the early years

Although a newborn’s brain is only about 25% of the size of an adult brain, it grows to 80% of its mature size during the first three years of life and to 90% by age five. At birth, a child has 100 billion brain cells, but they are not connected. As children learn, each cell can connect with up to 15,000 other brain cells. By age 2, the brain’s "wiring" can have about 100 trillion connections.

This rich neural network developed through early engagement with a stimulating and richly verbal environment provides the base for continued learning throughout the balance of childhood and the adult years of life. National data show clearly that not all children enjoy this kind of richly stimulating early development, and their early language development reflects this. Children of middle and upper income families, for example, enter kindergarten with a productive vocabulary of some 20,000 to 30,000 words, while lower-income children enter with only 5,000 to 6,000 words.

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8. Young children face health challenges

Healthy development in a child’s earliest years depends on access to quality medical care, the reduction of risks in the child’s immediate environment, and the development of strong bonds to parents and other primary caregivers.

Across the nation and in Connecticut, there are significant disparities in health outcomes for young children based on family income and family race and ethnicity. Nationally, poor children are more likely to be born with low birth weight, to die before their first birthday, and to experience more infections and chronic disease. Data on Connecticut young children provided in "Too Young to Count," a report of the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut show dramatic disparities in health outcomes by race and ethnicity as well. African American and Hispanic young children are more likely than white children to be born with low birth weight, to die during their first year, suffer from infectious and chronic illness, experience delayed language development and social/behavioral problems, and have poor oral health.

Child abuse and neglect also present increased risk for our youngest children. Nationally, about 77% of all deaths due to abuse involve children under the age of five, and nearly 40% involve infants under the age of one year. As many as 5500 confirmed cases of abuse or neglect in Connecticut may involve children under the age of five.

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9. Children attending preschool

The CT State Department of Education reports annually on the number of four-year old children whose parents indicate that they attended some kind of formal learning environment within the six months before beginning kindergarten in the public schools.

Across all communities, three-quarters of the state’s four-year olds (74%) are said to have been enrolled in a Head Start program, nursery school, licensed family day care home, licensed child care center, or public school prekindergarten in 2001. Twenty-two school districts report that 90% or more of their entering kindergartners attended preschool. Nine school districts report that 60% or fewer attended some kind of preschool setting. In the 2001-02 school year, 10,250 young children attended formal prekindergarten classes offered by local school districts.

The Connecticut State Department of Education reports that 15,000 three- and four-year olds in priority school districts do not yet have access to needed full-day, full-year preschool experiences. At the same time, evidence is increasing that Connecticut’s high quality school readiness programs can decrease the numbers of children held back in kindergarten and first grade, decrease the need for elementary school special education designations, and reduce early reading performance gaps.

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10. Connecticut’s achievement gap

In October 2002, Connecticut Commissioner of Education Theodore Sergi declared Connecticut’s educational achievement gap "the issue of the decade."

In general, student academic performance is related to family and community economics. Students from Connecticut’s wealthier districts score higher on elementary and secondary school mastery tests than students in our least wealthy districts. Across the 4th, 6th and 8th grade mastery tests given in the 2001-02 school year, students in wealthy communities were five times more likely to meet state learning goals. More than 70% did so compared with about 14% of students in Connecticut’s poorest districts.

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