Community Assessment - Health & Quality of Life in San Mateo
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Family Issues

Key Findings

Families in San Mateo County face many challenges in the coming years. Among these is maintaining educational excellence for our children: while high school drop-out rates are low and decreasing in San Mateo County, there is a wide disparity in academic investment and achievement seen between affluent and low-income areas.

Community members often cite finances as the number-one problem facing their family. In addition, the local high cost of living and the availability of jobs have contributed to the demand for and cost of child care. The demand for child care in San Mateo County remains 20% higher than the state average, and the need for child care far exceeds its availability. Child care costs are among the highest in California. With continued population growth predicted, the demand and cost of child care can be expected to increase.

As the population ages, the demands of caring for older dependents is becoming more commonplace and an added strain on family life in San Mateo County. Family violence remains a concern, despite declines in recent years. Finally, while San Mateo County is seen as an affluent county, it is important to remember the sizable number of families in need.

Qualitative research (focus group) findings corresponding to this section can be found beginning on the Appendix A: Family Issues page.

san mateo county as a place to raise a family

community as a place to raise a family

San Mateo County residents generally give positive evaluations of the community as a place to raise a family:

• A total of 55.9% of San Mateo County survey participants identify their community as an "excellent" or "very good" place to raise a family. However, 15.7% believe San Mateo County is a "fair" or "poor" place to raise a family. "Fair/poor" evaluations rise to 26.9% among African-American respondents, to 26% among South County residents, and to 21.6% among Hispanic respondents. [Keep in mind that, although African-American responses are presented here, the sample size for this subset is relatively small, meaning that the associated error rate is comparatively high.]²³⁶

• When asked what they believe is the number-one problem facing their family, family finances/the cost of living was the most common response. Other frequently identified problems include education, crime, housing and a lack of quality family time.²³⁷

Parenting Support

• Among San Mateo County survey respondents with children under the age of 18 living at home, 95.5% say they are able to handle their children’s behavior. The percentage of parents unable to handle their children’s behavior rises to 10.3% among San Mateo County residents with children aged 16 or 17. ²³⁸

• A total of 15% of San Mateo County parents responding to the survey indicated they would like some type of parenting assistance (this percentage increases to 24.1% among parents of children between 13 and 15 years of age). Among these parents, the types of assistance requested include parenting skills or models, education, and counseling.²³⁹

239  1998 San Mateo County Quality of Life Survey. Healthy Community Collaborative of San Mateo County. September 1998.

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