The Children’s Report Card, published in September 2002 by the Sacramento County Children’s Coalition, provides data and trends on the state of children living in the County – economics, education, health, safety, and social and emotional well-being.  It highlights the successes and challenges in the community’s commitment to enhancing the quality of children’s lives.  River Oak Center for Children has been part of this commitment for 36 years.  Below, we have tried to represent some of the needs identified by the 2002 Children’s Report Card as they relate to River Oak’s mission, and to report to you what your support has enabled us to accomplish in the areas of most critical needs in the areas of Early Intervention/Prevention, Community-Based Programs, Residential Treatment, and Early Intervention Foster Services.

Early Intervention/Prevention  Community Needs Assessment River Oak Solutions & Outcomes Ø       Alcohol and/or illicit substance use is a factor in almost 25% of all infant deaths caused by prematurity and other peri-natal conditions. Ø       20% of women do not enter pre-natal care in the first trimester (compared to 15% for the state). Ø       The average medical cost associated with the birth of a drug-exposed infant is approximately $100,000-$150,000 (compared to $5,000 for the birth of a healthy baby). Ø       15.2% of infants were born to mothers who used alcohol or other drugs during pregnancy, compared to 11.4% for the state.  Children with prenatal exposure to drugs are 2 to 3 times likelier to be abused or neglected. ü       Responding to the need for early intervention, River Oak offers comprehensive home-visitation and prevention services to expectant and young at-risk mothers through the Birth & Beyond program. ü       The ethnic background of the home visitation staff in Birth & Beyond is as follows: 35% African American, 35% Hispanic, 17% Caucasian and 5% Asian, which approximates the client profile. ü       In 2001/02, 72% of clients who discontinued receiving services from Birth & Beyond reported that they are able to find and access community resources on her/his own. ü       The Building Blocks program targets developmental and behavioral problems in infants and toddlers, which in majority of cases resulted from a combination of factors, such as parental past and current drug use, prenatal drug exposure, neglect and physical abuse. ü       In the Building Blocks program, 87.5% of clients partially or completely met their treatment goals at program completion.  The clients who partially met their treatments goals were transferred to other programs to complete goals.   <<Back to top>> Community-Based Programs   Community Needs Assessment   River Oak Solutions & Outcomes Ø       Approximately 2,000 children who reside in out-of-home placement do not have a plan for reunification, adoption, or guardianship. Ø       There was a 31% decrease in local licensed foster homes over the past 2 years. Ø       Statewide, 40% of foster care youth are in care for more than 5 years. Ø       33% of youth in foster care have been in at least five placements. ü       The intensive, home-based services offered by Wraparound and FOCUS programs target holistically all environments where the child lives, involving the family as a partner in the treatment process. ü       Every client’s treatment plan incorporates provisions for post-discharge strategies, insuring continuous care. ü       76% of the children who completed the Wraparound/FOCUS programs were reunited safely with their families or transitioned to a residential facility with lower level of care. ü       97% of all child-family client teams in Wraparound and 88% in FOCUS reported that they were satisfied and very satisfied with the care they were provided.   <<Back to top>> Residential Treatment   Community Needs Assessment   River Oak Solutions & Outcomes Ø       There are 528 children in group home or residential treatment in the county.  On the average they have experienced 5 different placements before being placed in a group home. ü       As a response to community needs when it was first established, River Oak designed its Family Residential program ü       Length of stay in the Residential program decreased from 20 to 7 months in the period between 1995-2001 and the children who are successfully discharged from the program are able to live home or in a less restrictive environment. ü      75% of children who completed the Residential program performed at grade level in Math and 50% performed at grade level in Reading, compared to only 24% and 11% respectively when they started the program. ü       In the words of a family member whose life was toughed by the program, “I have been able to establish once again a relationship with my grandson”.   <<Back to top>> Early Intervention Foster Services   Community Needs Assessment   River Oak Solutions & Outcomes Ø       At the end of 2001, 5,655 children required out-of-home placement as protection of child abuse/neglect. Ø       Research indicates that 50-67% of foster children need mental health services. Ø       Youth under 10 years of age represent 46% of all receiving MH services in 2001, compared to 27% in 1995.  About 30% within this group are 0-4 year-olds or approximately 1,250. Ø       33% of youth in foster care have been in at least five placements. ü       In response to the dramatic increase in the number of infants and toddlers placed in foster care, in January 2002 River Oak added foster element to its Early Intervention programs, targeting developmental and behavioral problems. ü       Since January 2002, 75% of River Oak’s clients in the program have been maintained in stable foster environments.  This outcome results from improving the children’s behavior and ability to relate to others, and from empowering foster families and caregivers (through training) to respond better to challenges presented by those placed in their care. ü       Our assessment shows that the improvements in the lives of foster young children result in more stable placements, stronger relationships with caregivers and better reunification rates for those children who are returned to their homes.   <<Back to top>>