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 the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) uses a cumulative 9th grade cohort method for calculating graduation rates.^[1]

The on-time graduation rate for high school students in King County in 2005 was 76.5%. In other words, 23.5% of students who entered the 9th grade in September of 2001 failed to graduate as scheduled in June of 2005.

Of the total 9th grade cohort, 8.4% planned to continue in high school the subsequent year, and 15.1% had already dropped out in June of 2005.

Accurate county-level estimates for 2006 are not yet available, but statewide graduation rates dropped by 4 or 5 percentage points between 2005 and 2006.

Read more about academic achievement

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 392,508 residents in King County between the ages of 7 and 24 in 2006.
• This group represents 21.7% of the total population.
• The population cohort has been in decline between the years 2000 and 2006 and will continue in decline through the year 2011 for all but the age groups 15-17 and 18-20.
• People ages 7 to 20 in King County are 67% white and 33% people of color or mixed race.
• 298,138 children are enrolled in schools in King County.
• 41% of school age children in King County live in the South region.
• 14% of kindergarten through 12th grade students in King County attend private schools
• Students in limited English proficiency programs in public schools in King County speak 150 different languages. The most common language is Spanish.

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


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

King County Top 10 Limited English Proficiency Languages Spoken in Schools
Total Languages - 150

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

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