Child abuse and poverty are still the two largest problems
facing McKean County, a study issued by the McKean County
Collaborative Board revealed this week.

The inaugural report – which covers the years 2004-05 – is an
effort to help the board understand its goals and how the community
and programs impact them. A total of 11 key indicators are measured
in the report, each of which were assigned a value. A similar
report will be issued every other year, according to officials.

“We’ve had our goals in place since the inception of the board,”
Lee Sizemore, program director for The Guidance Center, said
Thursday. “We found we needed to take a better look at them and see
what progress we are making.”

Sizemore said the board used an example from Philadelphia’s Safe
and Sound program to do the local study.

To that end, the report indicates the board is deeply concerned
about the child abuse rates and poverty levels in the county – two
issues which have consistently been at the forefront of public
officials’ struggles to come to grips with.

“(It) represents a troubling condition that is worsening on a
consistent basis,” a press release issued by The Guidance Center
said. The board gave itself a rating of two out of five or a
“challenging” position in which major obstacles need to be overcome
in that area.

According to figures provided in the report, in 2000, 30.8
percent of county residents were considered “poor or near poor”
compared to 24.9 percent statewide under the 185 percent federal
poverty income guidelines.

In 2005, 19.3 percent of the county’s population received
Medical Assistance compared to a state average of 14.4 percent,
according to figures from the McKean County Assistance Office.
Elsewhere, 11.8 percent of the population elected to receive food
stamps compared to a state average of 8.4 percent; and 2.9 percent
received cash assistance in comparison to the state average of 2.6
percent.

“Poverty really effects everything else in the report,” Sizemore
said. “We weren’t surprised with some of the family outcomes.”

Meanwhile, the amount of child abuse in the county has risen
steadily since 1998 and is well past state averages.

According to figures, in 2002 the county’s rate per 1,000
children was 6.6 compared to 1.7 across the state. The last time
the county and state levels were nearly even was in 1998, when the
county’s mark stood at 1.9 and the state’s at 1.7.

By comparison, nationwide in 2003, children ages three and under
had a child maltreatment rate of 16.4 per 1,000 children compared
to 5.8 per 100 for children ages 16 to 17.

Also, the report indicates the number of children in out-of-home
placements across the county has generally stayed below the state
level, in part, because of an increased commitment to
community-based services.

The board also gave itself a “mixed result” in the area of
children receiving a healthy start to life, noting there were 40
babies in 2002 born at a low birth weight. Babies born weighing
less than five pounds are considered to be low birth weight.

Another trouble area is with substance abuse among youth, which
has increased between the 10th and 12th graders and decreased in
the younger age bracket.

“We were pleasantly surprised in that area,” Sizemore said.
“Now, we know more needs to be done with the older youth.”

The use of alcohol, tobacco and marijuana increased between 2000
and 2003, according to a McKean County Communities That Care Youth
Survey. Officials believe the decrease in the younger set is a
result of prevention programs currently in place for middle school
students.

To that end, in 2003 students at all grade levels reported
higher than average levels of cigarette, smokeless tobacco and
alcohol use than others nationwide. The report also indicates
marijuana use in the 12th grade stood above state averages between
2000-03, with inhalant use exceeding the state average in all grade
levels, but peaking in the eighth grade.

Cocaine use, according to the report, increased over that time
frame, but still remained below state averages.

“We all have to get creative to help the situation,” Sizemore
said. “There needs to be more of a peer influence. Just having
programs isn’t going to do it.”

Sizemore said methamphetamine use – which is growing across the
region – was up slightly in 2003, but the board is in the process
of gathering recent statistics on the drug.

In other areas, teenage pregnancy has been declining since 1996,
with the county under the state average with 17.5 pregnancies per
1,000 between 15 and 17-year-olds; and sexually transmitted
diseases (STD’s) between 15 and 24-year-olds for chlamydia and
gonorrhea is well below the state averages.

However, the study indicates the adolescent death rate for ages
15-19 was above the state averages, with 12 deaths reported – seven
from motor vehicle accidents, two due to other accidents and one
each to malignant neoplasm, homicide and suicide.