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as compared to almost 14.3% in the 35-44 age group. Conversely, the percentage of <br /> residents with a Bachelors Degree is shrinking. <br /> Our birth statistics highlight the issue of the pockets. Eight percent of mothers receive <br /> either 3rd trimester or no prenatal care (compared to 5% in Florida) and are concentrated <br /> in the pockets.At the same time, our infant mortality rate exceeds the State and is driven by <br /> infant mortality rates among blacks that are 8x that of whites in IRC. <br /> Opportunities for early childhood education are also lacking. There is no Early Head Start <br /> Program (except for a small RCMA program in Fellsmere) and Head Start funds for 3-year <br /> olds have been reduced. While there are a sufficient number of child care slots, many <br /> parents cannot afford to send their children and there are disparities in the quality of the <br /> various providers. There is also a shortage of infant/toddler slots - and most care is at <br /> home or with family/neighbors. <br /> The Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten and K-12 programs also have significant problems. <br /> Twenty-nine percent of our children are "not ready" to attend Kindergarten. This is even <br /> worse in the poverty pocket areas where this number rises to 66%. 44% of our 3rd graders <br /> are reading below grade level. While we have a better high school graduation rate than the <br /> State (79.1%vs. 76.1%), it has been decreasing (85% in 2006). <br /> While child abuse and neglect statistics have improved, including a reduction in foster care <br /> placements (with the exception of children 5-11), focus groups highlighted weak parenting <br /> skills and lack of parent involvement. The stress on single parent, dual parent working <br /> households and households with unemployment, is very high. <br /> Statistics on our youth are troubling. It appears that they are not going to school at the rate <br /> they should and are engaging in risky behavior ruinous to their futures. We have chronic <br /> school absenteeism of 11.1%. Our school suspension rate, bullying, and teen pregnancy <br /> exceed State averages. Tobacco, marijuana and alcohol use in Middle and High Schools also <br /> exceed State averages. It should be highlighted that there has been a material improvement <br /> in the alcohol and tobacco statistics for IRC since 2006 -which may be a result of the <br /> LifeSkills program. LifeSkills, an evidence based prevention program given to all IRC 6th, 7th <br /> and 8th graders, is a unique collaboration between Substance Awareness Center and SDIRC. <br /> We need to ask why our youth is so unhappy and disconnected.We heard in our interviews <br /> that there is a lack of out of school activities, particularly for those 12+. Most that exist <br /> require parents to pay for them and deliver the children to practice and games (baseball, <br /> soccer, etc.). This is difficult if one can't afford it and lack transportation to get there. A <br /> single mother who is worrying how to pay the bills can't get organized to get her children <br /> to activities. Notable positive exceptions to this are Boys & Girls Club, Gifford Youth <br /> Achievement Center, Youth Guidance and other programs. <br /> Another message we heard loudly in the interviews is that there is a lack of awareness by <br /> end users of the available resources. We have some very good services in IRC and people <br /> 2 <br /> 124 <br />