Critical Issues Children Face in the 2000 S

Critical Issues Children Face in the 2000’s

Deborah Crockett, Ph.D., NCSP

Fayette County Board of Education

Fayetteville, Georgia

My responsibilities for the Future of School Psychology Conference were twofold. First, I was to discuss the critical issues that children face or will face as we move into the 2000’s. The second task was to propose roles for school psychology, within the constraints of the shortage, to address these issues.

Children will face many critical issues in the twenty first century. Unfortunately, most of these issues are not new and have remained the same from previous years. For some of the issues, the prevalence has increased while some decrease is being seen in others. In general, according to the Children’s Defense Fund:

An American child is reported abused or neglected every 11 seconds.
581,000 children are in foster care with a waiting list of 127,000.
An American child is born without health insurance every minute.
Millions of children start school not ready to learn.
Millions lack safe, affordable, quality child care and early childhood education while their parents work.
Seven and one half million children are at home alone without supervision, frequently after school when they are at greatest risk for getting into trouble.
Close to 12 million children are poor, millions are hungry and/or at risk for hunger, living in the worst housing conditions, or are homeless. Almost 80 percent of poor children live in working households. (2000 U.S. Census).

(Source: Children’s Defense Fund, ).

The following is a brief review of some of the problems contributing to these critical issues.

Poverty. While poverty rates have been decreasing slightly since 1993, with the recent economic downturn, it is anticipated that we will again experience significant increases in child poverty. Currently:

37 percent of children in the United States (27 million) live in low income families.
40 percent of children under age 6 live in homes where the income is below $27,000 for a family of four.
16 percent of children (over 11 million) live in homes that are below the federal poverty level ($13, 861 for a family of three).
The poverty rate is highest for African-Americans (30 percent) and Latinos (28 percent).
6 percent of children (5 million) live in extreme poverty, $6, 930 for a family of three.

(Source: National Center for Children in Poverty,

Violence. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that violent injury and death disproportionately affect children, adolescents, and young adults. Many of these deaths are linked to firearms. Violent deaths have occurred in the home, community, and school.

Homicide is the second leading cause of death for all 15 – 24 year olds, most killed with guns.
Homicide is the leading cause of death for African-Americans.
Homicide is the second leading cause of death for Hispanic youths.
More than 400,000 youth ages 10-19 were injured as a result of violence in 2000.
833,00 youth between the ages of 12 and 17 reportedly carried handguns.
Males are 6 times more likely than females to have carried a handgun.
800,000 children were victims of child abuse nationwide. Numbers reflect reported abuse.
36% of high school students reported having been in physical fights.

(Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, ; National Household Survey on Drug Abuse,

Bullying and Harassment. Student’s daily experiences with intimidation, teasing, and physical abuse are largely ignored. According to student reports, schools and parents provide “little or no support.” Studies by a variety of groups report consistent data:

One of every seven children reports being bullied in schools.
In an average classroom of 20 children, there are most likely three children who are either victims or bullies.
In a Committee for Children survey, 78% of children reported having been bullied “in the past month.”
In a survey of high school students by Knowledge Networks, one fourth reported knowing at least one student at their school who had been physically struck by a person they were dating.
While many victims reported self-isolation in response to bullying, one third reported plans for getting back at their intimidators.

(Sources: Committee for Children, ; National School Safety Center, ).

Teen Pregnancy/Sexual Behavior

Births to girls ages 15 to 19 have steadily declined in the past decade.
Births to girls 15 and under have also steadily declined since reaching a peak in 1991.
70% of teens report first sexual encounter at night (6 pm to10 pm).
34% reported having first sexual encounter in teen partner’s family home.
22% reported first encounter in teen’s family home.
Sexually transmitted diseases are increasing in the 15 to 19 age group.

(Source: ChildTrends, )

Alcohol and Drug Abuse. Substance abuse continues to pose a significant threat to adolescents and youth. Their overall health and safety are significantly impacted.

One half of motor vehicle accidents in adolescents are associated with alcohol and other drugs.
30% of adolescent suicides are associated with alcohol and other drugs.
Children and adolescents who abuse alcohol and other drugs engage in risk-taking behaviors.
The younger the age of initial alcohol use, the greater the possibility of substance abuse in adolescence and adulthood.

(Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration,

Mental Health Issues and Services

12% of high school aged students complete suicide. (CDC-YRBS, 2000).
For young people 15-24 years old, suicide is the third leading cause of death.
The largest increase in youth suicide is for African-American males in the 15-19 age group.
For Native Americans, 64% of all suicides were in the 15-24 age group.
Suicide among young children is rare. However, the CDC reports dramatic increases in the suicide rate among persons aged 10-14.
Three million teenagers struggle with depression.
Only 36% of youth at risk for suicide during the past year received mental health services.
According to the 2000 Surgeon General’s Report, there are serious concerns about the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of emotional and behavioral difficulties in children.
School based services are needed to increase opportunity for services.

(Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Surgeon General, ).

Diversity and Tolerance. America has become a very diverse country. The U.S. Census Bureau reported the number of foreign born and first generation citizens to be 56 million. This represents 20% of the U.S. population. This shift in population was also accompanied by an increase in the Hispanic population and a moderate increase in African-Americans. All of these changes result in differences in languages, social mores, and the general “appearance” of Americans.

Immigrants are primarily concentrated in the largest metropolitan areas, especially in central cities.
Hispanics (all groups) total 35, 305,818, which is 12.5% of the total population.
The African-American total is 34, 658,190, which represents 12.3% of the total population .
Hate crimes based on sexual orientation have increased.
Hate crimes based on race continue to be the highest reported (54.5%), with religion a distant second (17.9%).
Too many children do not know how to interact with others, i.e., do not successfully cross “cultural borders”.

(Sources: U.S. Department of State, U.S. Census Bureau, Human Rights Campaign, Southern Poverty Law Center,

Education. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 will result in major changes to educational opportunities for U.S. children.

State assessments will be one of the major accountability measures for students, teachers, and schools.
Public school choice will allow parents with children in failing schools to transfer their children to better performing public or charter schools.
Federal support to charter schools was expanded.
Strong emphasis on reading in the early grades.
All LEP students are to be tested in English after attending US schools for 3 years.
Most states have adopted “social promotion” legislation that results in retention if federal benchmarks are not reached,

(Source: US Department of Education,

Technology. In spite of the perceived strong role that technology plays in education, there are ethnic and geographic differences in children’s access to computers and internet services.

White and Asian children are more likely to have home access to a computer (83 and 81%, respectively) compared to Hispanic (47%) and African-American (46%) children.
Home internet use is twice the rate for Asian (52%) and White (51%) students than for African American (25% ) and Hispanic (20%) students.
By geographic region, 73% of suburban children, 61% of rural, and 53% of central city students have internet/computer access.

(Source: Kids Count Snapshot;

This list of critical issues is minimal. Issues relevant to special education are not included. For school psychologists, our relationship with special education ensures that disabled children will continue to have at least minimal access to our services. However, the critical issues briefly mentioned above are problematic singularly and in conjunction with academically, behaviorally, and emotionally involved students. Responding to these challenges for all children increases the potential for special education and academically challenged students to have even greater access to needed services.

A second critical issue continues to be family and school consultation, parenting, and community involvement. This topic was not explored since other presenters will address this area.

My second task was to address the role of school psychology, within constraints of the shortage, relative to these critical issues. The following are some of my thoughts on this issue.

Due to the scope of the issues children face in the 2000’s, greater planning, collaboration and program implementation across disciplines and agencies is required.
New political collaborations with state agencies, especially departments of human services, family courts, and religious institutions.
Development and implementation of individual, school, system, and community projects that emphasize respect and tolerance for diversity.
Systemic changes in delivery of school psychological services so that children and families have access to mental health providers day and evening, e.g., staggered work hours.
Collaboration with training institutions to re-tool veteran school psychologists.
Other suggestions will be given at the Futures Conference.

Finally, a big THANK YOU to all school psychologists and to the Futures Conference Planning Committee. It has been a tremendous honor and privilege to be a part of this special professional event. I anticipate even greater successes for children once ideas from this conference are realized.