New Study: East Bay Needs Outweigh Limited Resources PDF Print E-mail

More Partnerships Among Business, Government, Philanthropy Recommended; Findings Feed New Direction for East Bay Community Foundation

Oakland, CA, July 31, 2008 -- New research indicates the East Bay has become a group of pluralistic communities where poverty and hunger levels are increasing; where there is little growth in mid-range, living-wage job opportunities; where housing is least affordable; where needs for quality child care are going unmet; where wide disparities exist among school districts as high school graduation rates fall; and where more than 4,500 adults on parole challenge the range of supports and services necessary to re-integrate them into society.

The findings from the study, commissioned by the East Bay Community Foundation, feed the Foundation's new priorities of providing support for young children to be successful in the education system and of promoting economic independence for families in need. "Ample data exist leading to the conclusion that assisting people toward a higher quality of life involves success in education and economic opportunity," said Nicole Taylor, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Foundation.

The research is a synthesis of more than 58 different studies concerning Alameda and Contra Costa counties. It indicates needs of such magnitude that the limited resources of the private, public, and philanthropic sectors must be combined and focused in order to achieve change, according to Taylor. The research was authored by David Pontecorvo and Nina Bohlen, consultants to the philanthropic and non-profit sectors in the Bay Area.

Key findings include:

  • The number of East Bay residents living below the official poverty level increased about 2%, to 244,153 in 2006.
  • An estimated 600,000 residents live in households earning less than the amount required to afford basic necessities.
  • High-school graduation rates have fallen in 19 out of 24 East Bay school districts since 2002.
  • Unemployment has risen from 4.5% in March 2006 to 5.5% in March 2008. Unemployment was 8.4% in Oakland, 9.2% in Richmond and 9.0% in Pittsburg in March 2008.

    See additional key findings below.

 

Research Feeds New Priorities for the East Bay Community Foundation

The research updates a study conducted by the Foundation in 2005 and feeds the Foundation's new priorities on education success for young children and on economic opportunity for adults and families.

Enhancing economic opportunity involves job training and development, microenterprise and accumulation of economic assets to develop family stability. Providing support for children to succeed focuses on children at pre-school and school-age level up to the third grade, providing them and their families with quality child-care and early education programs.

The Foundation is focusing on these two issues to transform lives of low-income, disadvantaged, impoverished, underserved and underrepresented people in the East Bay by combining its own resources with those in government, business, and private foundations.

"Given the magnitude of needs in the East Bay," Taylor said, "creating the power of many by combining resources of the public, private, and philanthropic sectors provides the best chance to achieve significant change."

"These new priorities," said Michael Dalby, Chair of the Foundation's governing Board of Directors, "are the result of a six-month assessment of where change could realistically be made, the expectations of our stakeholders, and of how different centers of power can be harnessed in one direction. This is a path to achieve change and transformation for the East Bay."

The Foundation manages more than 400 charitable funds for individuals, families, and corporations valued at approximately $385 million. The Foundation' s donors and the Foundation itself made grants of more than $60 million in 2007-08.

Additional Findings of the Study:

DEMOGRAPHICS

  • Alameda County had 1.5 million residents in 2007, an increase of 6% over 2000. Sixty-two percent of residents are people of color, as compared to 59% in 2000.
  • Contra Costa County had 1.04 million residents in 2007, an increase of 10% over 2000. Forty-six percent of residents are people of color, as compared to 41% in 2000.


FAMILY SELF-SUFFICIENCY & THE ECONOMY

  • The number of East Bay residents living below the official poverty level increased about 2%, to 244,153 in 2006. An estimated 600,000 residents live in households earning less than the amount required to afford basic necessities.
  • The East Bay continued its transition to an "hourglass economy," where new jobs are divided between low-wage, low-skill jobs and high-wage jobs, with little growth of living-wage jobs in the middle.
  • An emerging "green economy" in the East Bay has the potential to create thousands of "green-collar" jobs with livable wages and benefits for East Bay residents dislocated from the old economy.
  • Unemployment fell from 2003 to 2006, but has risen from 4.5% in March 2006 to 5.5% in March 2008. Unemployment was 8.4% in Oakland, 9.2% in Richmond and 9.0% in Pittsburg in March 2008.
  • The prevalence of hunger increased in both counties, most sharply in Contra Costa County.
  • The East Bay continues to be one of the least affordable regions in the country for home ownership and renters. About 53% of East Bay homeowners and renters in 2006 paid more than 30% of their household income for housing, up from 48% in 2003.
  • The sub-prime lending crisis has affected both homeowners and renters, particularly in low-income neighborhoods of west and east Contra Costa County, Oakland, Hayward and Emeryville. The crisis has not yet peaked, and thousands of East Bay homes are at continued risk of foreclosure, with as-yet undetermined consequences to the economic and social fabric of the neighborhoods most affected by the crisis.


EARLY CARE AND EARLY EDUCATION

  • The East Bay has a persistent unmet need for quality child care for working families of all incomes. Low-income communities have a gap of 3,584 infant/toddler care slots and a gap of 26,110 slots for school-age children. Proposed state budget cuts would eliminate 1,330 childcare slots in Alameda and Contra Costa counties.
  • Test scores for reading and math improved in most school districts in Alameda and Contra Costa counties. However, wide disparities in achievement persist among East Bay schools and districts, as well among student sub-populations within each district. Public schools are facing large funding cuts at a time when research has shown that California schools will require increased resources to close the achievement gap.


EDUCATION

  • High-school graduation rates have fallen in 19 out of 24 East Bay school districts since 2002. English learners and socio-economically disadvantaged students pass the high school exit exam at rates well below other students.
  • State Proposition 49 brought an influx of more than $35 million for school-based after school programs. East Bay schools and community partners have unprecedented opportunities to create much-needed programs for low-income youth, but also face challenges in providing high-quality services for more students.
  • East Bay public schools received $39 million in both one-time and ongoing funding to strengthen arts education.


HEALTH

  • The East Bay continues to experience alarming inequities in health status, with low-income residents, people of color and immigrants bearing a significantly greater burden of poor health across a wide range of indicators. 
  • East Bay crime rates dropped significantly during the 1990s, but have increased since 2000. Juvenile crime fell between 1996 and 2006, but may now be increasing in some East Bay cities along with adult crime rates. From 2000 to 2005, violent crime rates fell in some East Bay cities but rose in others. Oakland and Richmond have experienced large increases in homicides since 2000. There are more than 4,500 adults on parole in the East Bay who require a range of supports and services to help them successfully reintegrate into neighborhoods, communities and families, a critical strategy for reducing crime.

 

 

To view a four-page summary of the study's findings, click here.

To view a 10-page summary of the study's findings, click here.

To view the entire, 110-page study, click here.

To view a list of the report's sources of information, click here.