|  |
Resources for Determining Youths' Needs1
Lisa A. Guion2This publication is best viewed in PDF format. This paper is available at: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/PD/PD04600.pdf.
Sometimes it can be overwhelming to try to identify data and statistics that detail the current situation in your counties. There are so many resources available, but you have to know where to find them. This resource guide will help you identify resources to enhance the rationale section of the Plan Of Work. In fact, the resources provide the latest data and statistics available on key indicators of the overall well-being of youth in your counties. Data on education related topics such as drop out rates; health data such as childhood injury type and rates; juvenile crime statistics; and a host of other topics are included in this resource guide.
A special effort was made to make this resource guide as user friendly as possible. Thus, the guide is broken down into three sources: state, federal, and private/nonprofit. The resources in each section are alphabetized for your convenience. Perhaps more important, a summary of the type of data and statistics that each resource contains is provided with an example of its usage.
The internet can be a fast and convenient way to locate valuable resources, but you must know where to find them or the task can be cumbersome. Most of the work has been done for you. All of the resources are web-based with links to the host Web sites included. Data summaries and reports can be easily downloaded and printed. Some files are in PDF format and require the Adobe Acrobat Reader which is available from Adobe at no charge.
This information is provided to assist you in locating secondary data on key indicators of youth well-being in your county, and it does not take the place of needs assessments that provide more specific information about the needs, priorities, and concerns of your target audience.
STATE SOURCES
Department of Children and Families: Child Abuse
Main Web site: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/abuse/Statistics and research Web site: http://www5.myflorida.com/cf_web/myflorida2/healthhuman/childabuse/pubs.html
Data provided includes:
Example: Clicking on the link "Fiscal Year 1999-2000" will give you access to an 81 page document showing data most often requested by individuals interested in providing protective services to the residents of Florida. All data is arranged according to county.
- Received reports
- Closed reports
Department of Children and Families: Child Care
Main Web site: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/childcare/Statistics and research Web site: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/publications/
Statistics and research Web site: http://www5.myflorida.com/cf_web/myflorida2/healthhuman/childcare/pubs.htm l
Data provided includes:
Example: This page has a link that will show current reports on child care issues, such as violations and licensing, on a state level.
- Violations
- Licensing
Department of Children and Families: Domestic Violence
Main Web site: http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/domesticviolenceStatistics and research Web site: http://www.oppaga.state.fl.us/reports/topic/healttop.html
Data provided includes:
Example: The link "Domestic Violence Yearly Report (1999-2000)" will provide virtually every statistic pertaining to domestic violence and children and youth. It is arranged on a county level as well.
- Statistics for services provided (emergency shelters, counseling, etc.)
- Age, sex, ethnicity of all involved
Department of Children and Families: Mental Health and Substance Abuse
Main Web site:http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/mentalhealth/
Statistics and research Web site:
http://www.dcf.state.fl.us/mentalhealth/publications/index.shtml
Data provided includes:
Example: The link "County Profiles" under "Risk Factor Profiles" shows the number and percentage of middle school and high school students in your county currently using alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, and other drugs, and compares them to the state levels.
- Admissions
- Placement
- Enrollment
- Outcome measures
- Discharges
- Risk factors
- Key indicators
Department of Education
Main Web site: http://www.firn.edu/doeStatistics and research Web site: http://www.fldoe.org/news/default.asp
Data provided includes:
Example: The link "Graduation and Dropout Rates" provides data on your countys rates that can be compared to the state average to show the problem or progress. All information can be categorized by county.
- Average class size
- Graduation and dropout rates
- Grades
- Incidents of crime and violence
- Literacy
Department of Health
Main Web site: http://www.doh.state.fl.usStatistics and research Web site: http://www.floridacharts.com/charts/chart.aspx
Data provided includes:
Example: Clicking on the link "Public Health Indicators" will allow you to compare data on health status indicators at the county, state, and national levels.
- Births (by age of mother, prenatal care, low birth-weight, more)
- Deaths (resident death, years of potential life lost, more)
- Termination of pregnancy
- Disease Morbidity (chronic and communicable)
- Population (total or by ethnicity)
- Smoking prevalence
- Overweight prevalence
Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles
Main Web site: http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/Statistics and research Web site: http://www.hsmv.state.fl.us/html/safety.html
Data provided includes:
Example: If you click on the link "Traffic crash facts 2000" you can access an extensive amount of data in the areas of Use of Safety Equipment, Persons Involved in Crashes, When Crashes Occur, Casual Factors, and Data by County/City/Locality.
- Child passenger and safety equipment use in crashes
- Persons in crashes by age and gender
- Crashes by day of week and time of day
- Contributing causes
- Alcohol-related injuries/fatalities
- Bicycle injuries/fatalities
- Pedestrian injuries/fatalities
Department of Juvenile Justice
Main Web site: http://www.djj.state.fl.usStatistics and research Web site:
http://www.djj.state.fl.us/Research/statsnresearch/keytrends.html
Data provided includes:
Example: If you click on the link "Delinquency Profile" and follow the instructions for opening it, you will be able to access data broken down by service district and county via a Windows point-and-click interface. Data is presented in both tabular and graphic format, by offense type, age, race, and sex. Note: You must have MS Excel to access this particular database.
- Intake, detention, and commitment
- Judicial and non-judicial handling
- Community Control
- Referrals to JASP and transfers to the adult court system
- Information on indicators such as offense type, age, race, and sex
FEDERAL SOURCES
Federal Government Statistics
Main Web site: http://www.fedstats.govStatistics and research Web site: same as above
Data provided includes:
Example: If you click on the link "Topic Links - A to Z", you will get an extensive list of topics from which you can access statistics. While many of these are demographic statistics of the U.S., many are extremely relevant, and are sorted by county.
- Statistics on children, criminal justice, education, employment, and dozens of other topics
U.S. Census Bureau
Main Web site: http://www.census.gov/Statistics and research Web site: same as above
Data provided includes:
Example: If, under the title "State and County Quickfacts", you select "Florida", you are shown data that includes facts on Floridas people, businesses, and geography, with access to more areas as well. This data is also shown as percentages, and enables you to compare the state data with national data simultaneously.
- State and national data
- Rankings, comparisons, and summaries
- Profiles
U.S. Census, Florida Counties
Main Web site:http://www.census.gov/econ/census02/guide/02EC_FL.HTM
Statistics and research Web site: same as above
Data provided includes:
Example: Clicking on a county on the map and then in the drag-down menu selecting "Age" will show you all information on population ages from the past few Census results.
- Populations
- Vital statistics
- Public school enrollments
- Incomes
- Poverty percentages
PRIVATE AND/OR NON-PROFIT SOURCES
American Camping Association
Main Web site: http://www.acacamps.orgStatistics and research Web site: http://www.acacamps.org/research
Data provided includes:
Example: Clicking on the bibliography link will open to a page of over 100 relevant studies that list findings and results regarding the effects of camping on youth.
- Links to dozens of studies that correlate camping and positive attitude change in youth.
CYFERNET
Main Web site: http://www.cyfernet.orgStatistics and research Web site: http://www.cyfernet.org/statis.html
Data provided includes:
Example: You could click on the first link listed "Monitoring the Future" which will take you to the site of an agency that conducts surveys of behavior and attitudes of adolescents and young adults, and publishes trends in drug and cigarette use.
- A very valuable resource page for sites pertaining to children and adolescents. Included are links to statistics complied by the U.S. Dept. of Education, the U.S. Census Bureau, Kids Count, and many more agencies
The Florida Network of Youth and Family Services
Main Web site: http://www.floridanetwork.orgStatistics and research Web site: Click on the box that says "Improving the State of our Children", and at the bottom of the page is a section for data.
Data provided includes:
Example: In the data section, if you click on the link called "2001.pdf" under "Risk Factor Survey, you can view data pertaining to all the risk factors in relation to multiple variables.
- 2,402 combinations of risk factors
- Risk factors analyzed in relation to age, gender ethnicity, etc.
- Impacts of agencies and program types in relation to risk factors
Kids Count
Main Web site: http://www.aecf.org/kidscountStatistics and research Web site: same as above
Data provided includes:
Example: While there are several links on this site for data, the one that may prove to be the most useful, since it is broken down by county, is "KIDS COUNT Compiled State, County, City and Congressional District Data." And then click on either "profile" or "raw data" to access data on the number of children in various counties, cities, etc., categorized by ethnicity.
- Children living in poverty
- County populations under 18
- Childhood immunizations
The United Way
Main Web site: http://www.unitedway.orgStatistics and research Web site: http://national.unitedway.org/stateofcaring/
Data provided includes:
Example: If you click on the link "United Way State of Caring Index State Profiles" and then select Florida, you will see how Florida ranks nationally and how it has changed in the past ten years. This web site uses a geographic profile and a demographic profile, and also graphs all changes regarding economic and financial well-being, education, health, volunteerism, safety, natural environment, and other factors.
- The United Way State of Caring Index
Footnotes
1. This document is PE058, one of a series of the Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida. Publication date: May 2002. REvised: November 2005. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.2. Lisa A. Guion, Ed.D., assistant professor, Department of Family, Youth and Community Sciences, Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.
The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Larry Arrington, Dean.
Copyright Information
This document is copyrighted by the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) for the people of the State of Florida. UF/IFAS retains all rights under all conventions, but permits free reproduction by all agents and offices of the Cooperative Extension Service and the people of the State of Florida. Permission is granted to others to use these materials in part or in full for educational purposes, provided that full credit is given to the UF/IFAS, citing the publication, its source, and date of publication.