2008 Community Needs Assessments PDF Print E-mail

At A Glance

The 2008 East Bay Community Assessment examines a wide range of quality-of-life indicators with a focus on barriers to justice, and on equity and inclusion in the fabric of civic life for all East Bay residents. The topics covered in the report address the East Bay Community Foundation’s new areas of grantmaking—promoting economic independence for families and educational success for children—as well as the broad range of related issues of concern to EBCF’s donors.

What has changed since the 2005 report was published?

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 and 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 of 2007 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 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.


Education

  • 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.
  • 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.


Crime and Public Safety

  • 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.


For More Information

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.