A Latino teenage girl living in Santa Cruz County is 10 times more likely to have a baby than her white counterpart, according to a survey of Santa Cruz County residents that showed deep divides between whites and Latinos.
The annual Santa Cruz County Community Assessment Project, which was released Monday, recently unveiled a snapshot of its data.
Nearly three times more white people are homeless than Latinos, but almost twice as many Latinos spend more than one-third of their take-home pay on housing costs.
Among youth, fewer white teenagers drop out of high school and Latino teens are arrested more often, the survey indicated.
Ethnicity SnapshotIssue Whites Latinos Measurement Affordable Housing 46% 85% Percent of those surveyed who spent more than 30% of take-home pay on housing Unemployment Rate 9.5% 14.9% Percent of those surveyed by phone who were jobless High School Dropout Rate 8.8% 16.5% Santa Cruz County dropouts Higher Education 58% 27% Cabrillo College degrees and certificates awarded Health Insurance 90% 51% Percent of those surveyed with health insurance Teen Births 9% 89% Teen births, ages 19 and under Obesity 70% 54% Percent of those surveyed who are overweight or obese Prison Population 57% 35% Santa Cruz County inmates Juvenile Arrests 36% 58% Rate of arrests per 1,000 youth ages 10-17 Child Abuse 9.8% 11.7% Rate of substantiated cases of child abuse per 1,000 children ages 0-17 Acceptance of Marijuana 60% 20% Percent of those surveyed who are OK with recreational marijuana use Basic Needs Unmet 10% 26% Percent of those surveyed going without basic needs (food, health care, child care) Homelessness 63% 23% Homelessness breakdown at 2011 point-in-time count Quality of Life 80% 48% Percent of respondents who enjoy their lives "to a great extent" Water Pollution 73% 67% Percent of those surveyed who are taking steps to reduce water pollution Alternative Transportation 42% 26% Percent of those surveyed who never commute by taking a bus, carpooling or riding a bike
The United Way of Santa Cruz County has convened the project every year for the last 18 years.
Other findings showed satisfaction with area schools hit a 10-year high from survey respondents and unemployment was on the decline everywhere but Watsonville. The cost of rent has dropped and there were fewer foreclosures in 2011 when compared to 2010.
