Youth and Families

• Vision
• High School Graduation
• Youth Homelessness
• Out of School Time
• Healthy Youth Development
• Child Welfare and Foster Care
• Population Data
• Best Practices Index
• resources
• Footnotes

Vision

Youth achieve academic, social, and economic success and stability.

High school graduation

The Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) now calculates graduation rates using the 9th grade cumulative cohort methodology where student enrollment is calculated beginning with 9th grade attendance.^[1]  Because many schools are unable to provide historic data on the students who would have been in the current 12th grade cohort but no longer are, the OSPI uses current year drop out data for each of the 4 grade levels to estimate the cohort graduation rate. This method meets federal reporting requirements.

The on-time graduation rate for high school students in King County in 2008 was 77.4%. In other words, 22.6% of students who entered the 9th grade in September of 2004 failed to graduate as scheduled in June of 2008. The 2008 number is the highest of the several years in which graduation rates have been calculated this way.

Of the total 9th grade cohort, 82.7% had graduated high school by the subsequent year.

For further reading on High School Graduation Rates refer to the section titled Cross-Cutting Issues, Racial Equity in Education. 

Read more about academic achievement

*  Estimate based on state-wide data

Download Data | Source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) 

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Youth homelessness

One Night Count ^[2]

• 473 unaccompanied youth and young adults in shelter/transitional housing.
• Youth and young adults are not distinguishable from other adults in the street count.

Safe Harbors Data

• 364 young adults
• Unaccompanied minors are excluded by law from giving informed consent to provide data to Safe Harbors.

Other Service Data

Over one thousand youth and young adults are served in homeless assistance programs each
year.^[3]

Homeless Youth and Young Adults are young people between the ages of 12 and 24 who are “unaccompanied,” meaning they are not part of a homeless family.

While young adults may also be part of the single adult population, many of them share developmental needs with youth and identify more with the youth population and culture. Therefore, specialized services are required to engage them and effectively support them in gaining stable housing.
Read more about youth homelessness

Out of school time

What students do during their out-of-school time has much bearing on their social, emotional, and academic success. Research shows participation in structured activities that offer youth a chance to have positive interactions with adults and peers has great benefits. However many school age children are unsupervised after school and relatively few attend after school programs.
Read more about out of school time

Healthy youth development

Childhood and adolescence is a time of great change. During school years and early adulthood, people form the physical, cognitive, emotional and social foundations that will shape the rest of their lives. We want to insure that children and youth have access to the resources they need to develop in healthy ways. Every two years, Washington State schools participate in the Healthy Youth Survey.
Read more about healthy youth development and the Healthy Youth Survey Results  

Risk and protective factors in the social environment influence the way children develop. Research has shown associations between specific risk factors and unhealthy behaviors such as drug use, violence and criminal activity. Protective factors are associated with reduced risk of such behaviors.
Read more about the social environment's risk and protective factors

Child welfare and foster care

The trauma of child abuse and neglect has a dramatic impact on early childhood development. Infants and children who are subjected or exposed to violence often have lifelong difficulties in cognitive, social and emotional functioning. Physical and emotional neglect can also cause abnormal physical, cognitive, social and emotional development. Prevention of and early intervention in child abuse and neglect is much more effective in promoting school readiness and healthy child development than later intervention. Child Protective Services investigates reports of child abuse and neglect. The State places children in foster homes and provides support when they age out of placement.
Read more about child abuse and foster care . . .

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Population Data

• There were a total of 401,540 residents in King County between the ages of 7 and 24 in 2008.
• This group represents 21.6% of the total population.
• The population cohort size is similar to its 2000 size and is projected to increase slightly by 2013.
• People ages 7 to 17 in King County are 65% white and 35% people of color or mixed race.
• 259,269 children are enrolled in public schools in King County.
• 42% of school age children in King County live in the South region.
• 13% of kindergarten through 12th grade students in King County attend private schools
• Students in limited English proficiency programs in public schools in Washington State speak 198 different languages. The most common language is Spanish.

Source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)
 

Download Data | Source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

King County Top 10 English Language Learner  Languages Spoken in Schools
Total Languages - 166

26,200 King County students participate in English Language Learner Programs

These are the most common languages spoken by students who are enrolled in Limited English Proficiency programs in public schools in King County.

Download Data | Source: Washington State Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI)

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Best Practices

Go to the index to best and promising practices

Resources