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Santa
B a rb a r
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County

Santa Barbara
County
CALM serves clients throughout Santa
Barbara County
Population: 435,697
98,432 children and youth (23%)
Ranges from urban coastal cities to
remote agricultural communities
Major cities: Carpentaria, Santa Barbara,
Goleta, Lompoc, Santa Maria,
Guadalupe, Santa Ynez, New Cuyama.

The region is a hub for tourism, often

thought of as a wealthy resort, but that
is not true for large portion of our
population.

Poverty
Santa Barbara County is in the top 15% for income
inequality in the nation, and the 4th highest in California
1 in 3 of these households have difficulty providing food for their
children

Over 64,092 children, more than half of all children in the

county, live in low-income or impoverished households.
1 in 5 children live in poverty (19,794).
Santa Barbara has serious problems in housing
affordability
43% percent of renter households are cost burdened they pay
greater than 30 percent of their gross income on rent, are
overcrowded, or lack adequate kitchen/plumbing facilities
23% pay housing costs that exceed 50 percent of their income.
25% of homeless individuals in the county are part of families with
children

Class & Race

Latinos make up 40% of the population, 2
out of 3 children in the county are Latino.
1 in 5 adults are foreign born
1 in three 3 residents speaks a language
other than English at home

Of all children in the County who live in

poverty, 81% of them are of Hispanic
backgrounds. Throughout California, only
Imperial County (91%) has a greater
proportion of its poor children who are of
Latino heritage

Santa Maria

Lompoc

Santa Barbara

Crime
There were 1,703 calls for Domestic Violence
assistance in 2012, the highest number since
2005.
The rate of calls has been rising since 2005.
Over 1,000 children present when police respond to
DV incidents each year
About 450 mothers and children utilize shelter
services each year.
Based on reporting research, this is an estimated
18,000 incidents in the county each year

There were 1,643 violent crimes reported in

2012.
A large percentage of violent crime is gang-related.

Local Gangs
There are seven significant gangs
operating in the county:
Santa Barbara (Eastside & Westside 550)
Goleta (Old Town)
Carpentaria (Carpas)
Santa Maria (West Park & Northwest
-1400)
Lompoc (VLP & Southside)

About 10% of teen boys and 7% of

teen girls in the county report gang
involvement.
Teens are the most likely to commit,
and be the victims of gang violence.

Teen Mental
Health
35% of female teens, and 25% of
males, report struggling with
feelings of sadness and
hopelessness.
In 2011, 185 children in the
county were hospitalized for
mental health issues. An
additional 21 children were
hospitalized for self-injury.

Teen Pregnancy
The actual number of births to
teens (age 1519) has been
dropping since a high in 2000,
currently 25.7 per 1000 births.
Percent of births to teens (age 15
19) was 11.81% of the number of
total births.
In 2007, 15.38% (649/4,219) of
births to Hispanic women were to
teens.

Homicide Risk
These two factors, youth-onyouth violence and young age of
Youth
on Youth
parenting are theInfanticide:
two leading
Violence:
Teen/Young Parent
factors in child homicide.
Offender
Teen Offender
Infant
Teen Victim
Victim

Vict
i m s
Age

Offender
s Age

Substance Abuse
In 2004
nationwide
2009 the
there
were 2,583
methamphetamine
epidemic
arrests in Santa Barbara
reached
theoffenses
county, replacing
County for
related
alcohol
asdrugs,
the number
to illegal
nearlyone
drug
of arrest
double
the number of
At the same time, the rate of
arrests
over the previous
child abuse rose dramatically
decade.

80-90% of detainments are

due
to drug use
#1
Substance
abused,

leading to arrest by county:

2004-5
2001-2

The rate of prenatal alcohol

RED =during
METHAMPHETAMINE
abuse
pregnancy is
19%
state of California
BLUEin=the
ALCOHOL
YELLOW = HEROIN

Child Abuse
Poverty, substance abuse, and violent crime (in
addition to other factors) increase child abuse risk.
Children from families with annual incomes below
$15,000 are more than 22 times more likely to
experience child abuse compared to children from
families with annual incomes above $30,000 (Sedlak, A.
J., & Broadhurst, D. D.,1996)

In (FY) 2012, 4,651 children were referred to Child

Welfare Services for alleged abuse.
Sexual Abuse: 7.8%
Neglect: 52.1%
Physical abuse: 21.1%
Emotional abuse 12.3%
Caretaker absence/incapacity 4%.

Child Abuse
The number of substantiated
cases of neglect or abuse in
Santa Barbara County increased
significantly in the last decade
While the overall rate of abuse
substantiation peaked around
2007, infants have continued to
have a high rate of
substantiation compared to

Rates of Child Abuse

Substantiation
Rates of Child Abuse Substantiation
30

25

20

Under 1
1-2
3-5

15

Incidence per 1,000

6-10

11.1 10.9
10
6.9
5

8.8 8.6

9.2

11-15
8.1

16-17
7.1

5.7 5.8

Total

Rates of Foster Care

Entry
Rates of Foster Care Entry
14
13
12
10

10
8.9

9.5
Under 1

8.8

7.9

7.7

7.5 7.7

11-15

5.3

16-17

4
21.7
0

3-5
6-10

Incidence per 1,000

1-2

2.9
2.2

2.8 2.8

3.1

2.8

2.5 2.6 2.7

Total

Child Abuse
The number of children placed in
foster care rose from 149 in 2000 to
273 in 2013, an increase of 83%.
The overall rate of foster care
placement has also increased.
The rate of foster care placement
increased substantially during the
same period, from 1.7 to 2.7 per 1,000.

Children Placed in
Foster Care
Children Placed in Foster Care
350
18

300

26

250

19

28

61
56

71

62

18
61

49

18
78

200
15
150
100
50
0

11

15

34

41

40
29
16
6
13

19

45

41

28

40

31

31

24
12
8
13

16
20
5
15

28
17
14

56
35

37

53

26
19

42

67

23
34

52
37
32
20

38

20

52

55

53

52

65

61
39

15

18
58

53

48

32

50

48

33

21
21

17

52

16-17 yr
11-15 yr

61
72

61

36
34

42

22

53

32

37

31

21

19

13

23

24

53
45
40
24
30

6-10 yr
3-5 yr
1-2 yr
1-11 mo
<1 mo

Children Placed in
Foster Care
30

25

20

15

10

Recurrence of maltreatment within 18 months

Recurrence of maltreatment
within 18 months
Linear (Recurrence of
maltreatment within 18 months)

Summary
A number of different factors contribute to
abuse risk, and assisting a child in their
recovery will include addressing those
factors:
Safety planning to limit violence exposure
Basic needs (housing, food, parental
employment)
Parent effectiveness (mental health issues,
developmental/parenting knowledge),
substance abuse treatment).

This involves coordinating with supportive

providers, as well as direct treatment