Report: County’s kids among poorest in state

Douglas County’s median family income is 18 percent lower than the state’s median.

The county isn’t alone. Coos, Curry and Josephine counties all have a median household income of $45,600, which is $100 less than Douglas County. The median family income in Oregon is $55,700.

Jerry Waybrant, district manager for the Oregon Department of Human Services, said Southern Oregon needs to work together to solve the problem of poverty.

“The consequences of that reach across all the social service fields,” he said. “It should remind us that social services are connected to the bigger picture ... This is really about all of us together.”

A report released last week by Children First for Oregon compares the status of Oregon’s children in each county with the state average.

Mike Fieldman, executive director for Umpqua Community Action Network, wasn’t surprised by the number of children living in poverty in Douglas County.

The Children First report references 2006 census data that show Douglas County has the highest child poverty rate in the state, with 25.2 percent of children living below the federal poverty level.

But 47 percent of the county’s 22,762 children are considered low-income.

Fieldman believes the real numbers are higher, given how many children are eligible for the free preschool program Head Start.

“We’ve seen it only increasing,” Fieldman said.

Gillian Wesenberg, director of the Douglas County Commission on Children and Families, agrees that the numbers could be low.

Waybrant isn’t sure, but even if that’s not the case, child poverty is a major problem, he said.

The number of people receiving emergency food boxes at UCAN has been increasing regularly, Fieldman said.

“Food is the area that people can cut back in,” he said. “If they have to go without a meal, adults will. Kids can get food at school.”

And they do. The report said 45.6 percent of public school children are eligible for free or reduced price lunches in Douglas County. An average of 5,584 children use the program during the school year.

But only 684 children eat at summer meal sites, according to the report.

Wesenberg said the county has been working with UCAN, schools, recreation programs and churches to expand the summer meal program.

“If they don’t eat except at school during the year, what do they do during the summer?” Wesenberg said. “That’s a basic necessity. It’s like trying to drive a car without fuel.”

Fieldman said there are many causes of poverty, and Waybrant said Southern Oregon is struggling with the transition from manual labor to white-collar jobs.

“A lot of it’s because of the economy,” Fieldman said.

Gas prices, rent, utilities and the cost of food are all going up.

“Unfortunately, people’s salaries are not keeping pace with the increased cost,” he said.

Both Waybrant, Fieldman and Wesenberg talked about the working poor. Waybrant said they would generally fit in the “low-income” category, as opposed to those who meet the federal poverty guidelines.

Fieldman said it doesn’t make sense that people who work are still poor, but society accepts it.

“Generally those are jobs without health care, they’re without certain benefits,” Waybrant said. “Those are the folks that tend to struggle.”

“You still have basic needs that are going unmet,” Fieldman said. “Unfortunately, kids are caught up with that.”

Wesenberg said many of the “working poor” have been raised in hard-working, low-income families. When people are struggling to survive, they are not encouraged to deal with dental, medical or mental health problems, she said.

Children with mental health problems are being identified when they are younger, and the county has a group working on mental health issues for children from birth to 8 years old.

“I think that the earlier we can deal with that, the better off we are,” Wesenberg said.

According to the Children First report, Douglas County has made gains in the number of children who are insured and is 20 percent better than the state. The county’s immunization, teen pregnancy and early prenatal care rates are better than the state’s averages, too.

And Douglas County’s rates of children who are abused or neglected are improving, as is the recurrence of maltreatment.

“I think there’s a lot of good work going on,” she said.

People from nonprofit and government agencies are working together to prevent child abuse, she said.

Waybrant said the numbers may not be reliable because a small number can skew the data, so it should be looked at over time.

But he believes the community is doing a good job in preventing abuse and in tackling poverty. He said relationships with state, county and nonprofit agencies are collaborative, and community support is working.

“We are really as a community in a place that’s kind of unique,” he said. “I don’t think we’ve ever had more alignment about what we’re trying to do.”



• You can reach reporter Teresa Williams at 957-4230 or via e-mail at twilliams@newsreview.info.

So you know ... According to Children First for Oregon’s 2007 Status of Oregon’s Children report, in Douglas County: • $45,700 is the median family income, 18 percent lower than the state median. • 18.6 percent of students changed schools during the 2006-07 school year. • 3,433 households with children receive assistance through the WIC nutrition program in a typical month. • 45.6 percent of public school children are eligible for free or reduced price lunches during the school year. • 13 of every 1,000 children are victims of child abuse, neglect or threat of harm. • 55 percent of those victims are under the age of 6. • 463 children have been in foster care at least once during the past year. • Of the county’s 22,762 children, 10,781 are considered low-income; 25.2 percent are considered to live in poverty. • 7,065 children are covered by the Oregon Health Plan. • 6,814 children live in households that receive food stamps. For more county statistics, visit www.cffo.org and click on “County Data Book.”