A Region and Its Children Under Stress
California’s San Joaquin Valley: A Region and Its Children Under Stress
Authors: Cassie Hartzog, Carolyn Abrams, Nancy Erbstein, Jonathan K. London, and Sara Watterson
Is a new report commissioned by the San Joaquin Valley Health Fund, with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and Sierra Health Foundation, and prepared by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change. To enrich the report, CRC collaborated with the Pan Valley Institute and UC Cooperative Extension to engage with residents and advocates working with and on behalf of Valley communities to learn about their experiences and priorities for policy and systems change.
Children flourish when their physical, emotional and intellectual needs are met, but for many children in the San Joaquin Valley, these basic necessities are lacking. With high rates of poverty and large concentrations of immigrants and non-citizens, the San Joaquin Valley is a place where children are more likely to have inadequate access to healthy food, to live in communities with unsafe drinking water and harmful air pollution, to face discriminatory policies and practices in schools that disproportionately impact children of color, and to be exposed to violence in their neighborhoods.
Repeated exposure to adversities can produces toxic levels of stress that can have negative and long-lasting effects on learning, behavior and health. At the same time, a wide range of community organizations and residents are working to mobilize local strengths to address these challenges, providing new opportunities for achieving improvements in child well-being in the region.
Report Highlights
Economy and environment: One in three children in the region live in poverty, and in some counties, nearly half of all children live in neighborhoods with high poverty rates; tap water is unsafe to drink for students in one in four schools; and more than one in four children don't have regular access to nutritious foods.
Youth opportunity: San Joaquin Valley children ages 10-17 face a greater risk of ending up in jail, with the felony juvenile arrest rate higher in every SJV county than the statewide average. There are also significant disparities in educational opportunities and performance between the diverse racial and ethnic populations in the Valley.
The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund strengthens the capacity of communities and organizations in the San Joaquin Valley to improve health and well-being by advancing programs and policy changes that promote community health and health equity for all.
Equity on the Mall: State Capitol, February 9, 2017
When more than 1,000 people showed up at the Capitol to call for social and health equity in the region, politicians took notice. The day, called Equity on the Mall, highlighted the inspiring work of community advocates and leaders across the San Joaquin Valley. It also served as the public launch of The San Joaquin Valley: A Region and its Children Under Stress. Elected officials speaking at the event included, Senator Richard Pan,, Senate President Pro-Tem Kevin de Leon, Assembly member Joaquin Arambula, and Stockton Mayor Michael Tubbs.
Video of the report presentation in the Capitol:
The San Joaquin Valley Health Fund strengthens the capacity of communities and organizations in the San Joaquin Valley to improve health and well-being by advancing programs and policy changes that promote community health and health equity for all.
Read the shortened Spanish version of the report, The San Joaquin Valley: A Region and its Children Under Stress, in the Vida en el Valle website.