Report gives city’s
youths mixed grades

By Tom Waring
Times Staff Writer

How are the city’s youth faring, according to the annual report card issued on Tuesday by Philadelphia Safe and Sound?
"I think the picture’s mixed," said Kathleen Meyers, vice president of research for the organization, which works to improve the health and well-being of children and youth by collaborating with government, non-profits, foundations, corporations and community groups.
Philadelphia Safe and Sound last week gave the news media an overview of its findings during a gathering in the conference room of its headquarters at 1835 Market St. The official release of the results was timed for the last day of school for students in the School District of Philadelphia.
The organization announced indicator-rating changes in four categories:
• A Healthy Start was upgraded from promising to commendable because the number of children with elevated blood lead levels in 2006 was 69 percent lower than in 1998.
• Healthy Behaviors was downgraded from mixed to challenging because the 2005 death rate for ages 15 to 19 was the highest since 1997 and an 11 percent increase from 2004.
• Safe and Supportive Communities was downgraded from mixed to challenging since last year’s number of homicide victims ages 7 to 24 was the highest in a decade.
• Productive Young Adults was upgraded from mixed to promising due to a falling school dropout rate for the sixth year in a row. The rate dropped from 25.9 percent in 2004-05 to 23.0 percent in 2005-06.
Mayor John Street, who responded to the report card at a City Hall news conference on Tuesday morning, describes the eighth annual assessment as the single greatest accountability tool the city has at its disposal.
"This shared journey to improve the lives of Philadelphia’s children and youth is a marathon, not a sprint," he said. "We are making progress, but there is still much work ahead."
Street is leaving office at the end of the year, but City Council in May unanimously voted to provide the funding for the report card to be published every year.
Data was compiled by ZIP codes, and in many ways, children in the Northeast seem to be getting a better start than their counterparts in other neighborhoods.
For instance, the citywide percentage of women who reported smoking during the third trimester of pregnancy was 12 percent in 2005. In ZIP codes 19111, 19115 and 19116, the rate was below 10 percent.
As for juvenile (ages 7 to 17) victims of gunshot wounds in 2005, there were none in all but two Northeast ZIP codes. In terms of gunshot victims 18 to 24, there were only a handful in almost all local neighborhoods. The bulk of the shootings took place in North and West Philadelphia.
The data for 2005 truancy incidents reported by police show 250 or fewer cases in ZIP codes 19115 (Bustleton area) and 19116 (Somerton area) and average or above-average numbers in most other Northeast neighborhoods. One exception was 19124, consisting largely of Frankford, where truancy incidents numbered between 1,501 and 2,000.
In the fall, Philadelphia Safe and Sound will release community report cards for 11 neighborhoods, including the Lower Northeast and Upper Northeast.
The last report was issued in 2005, and the data is not expected to change dramatically. The figures from two years ago show that the Northeast, compared to the rest of the city, has high immunization rates for children 18 to 35 months old; low rates of births to mothers ages 15 to 17; low percentages of juvenile arrests for drug-related offenses; and relatively high rates of public high school students graduating in four years.
Since then, the city Department of Recreation has opened a teen center at Lawncrest Recreation Center. It’s one of 11 centers in the city, with a few more in the planning stages.
The staff at Philadelphia Safe and Sound believes the centers provide constructive activities for young people. At Lawncrest, they can use computers, lift weights and play video games and pingpong.
"They’ve got their own space," Meyers said.
Philadelphia Safe and Sound is also hoping that a variety of initiatives will keep the youth engaged in meaningful activities this summer. Among them is the city’s Urban Idol competition, which made a stop at Jardel Recreation Center in Burholme on June 7.
Already, mayoral candidates Al Taubenberger and Michael Nutter have met with Philadelphia Safe and Sound personnel. The group thinks the next mayor, along with the state and federal governments, will play a big role in reducing the city’s poverty rate.
In 2006, about 4,000 children spent at least one night in a shelter.
"You’ve got more people living in poverty and fewer people receiving cash assistance," said Anne Shenberger, president and CEO of Philadelphia Safe and Sound.
The city’s low graduation percentage among public high school students is a factor in the increasing poverty rate, officials at the organization believe. They want the state and federal governments to provide more funding for schools and economic development programs that will create living-wage, family-sustaining jobs.
Poor people without jobs, they say, are more likely to find other ways to make money.
"When poverty increases, crime increases," Meyers said.
In the future, the organization will continue to work with advocacy groups to strengthen laws against illegal guns. In 2006, there were 206 juveniles arrested for carrying illegal guns.
In addition, the group will team with the Maternity Care Coalition to provide cribs for families so that infants do not have to sleep in bed with their parents.
While the group’s focus is on minors, it has a concern for teenagers who are about to turn 18 and no longer under the jurisdiction of the city Department of Human Services. If those teens are left without any support, studies show, they will be more likely to become homeless, unemployed, drug addicted and incarcerated.
"They’re a population that people need to pay attention to," Meyers said. ••
Reporter Tom Waring can be reached at 215-354-3034 or twaring@phillynews.com