1993 Need Assessment Update & Fiscal Year 1994-95 Interim Priorities
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SAN MATEO COUNTY
FIELDS OF SERVICE CATEGORIES

• One in 37 teenage girls in San Mateo County aged 15 -19 gave birth in 1986; conservatives estimates are that one in 15 became pregnant.

• In 1984. East Palo Alto had the highest teen birth rate of all entries in the county.

• Teens who are at particularly high risk for unplanned parenthood are teens in foster care, high school dropouts, drug and alcohol users, and teens who seek counseling.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  

• Child Physical and sexual abuse cuts across every strata of society: all income level; ethnic and religious groups, every community and neighborhood.

• Sexual abuse is the primary for the adolescent runaway population.

• Only a small percentage of children are placed in foster care because of their own behavior.

• One out of every four girls, and at least one pout of every ten boys, are victims of child sexual abuse in the united states.

• In California, emergency responses to allegations of abuse neglect, and molestation of children under 18 grew  87% in the 1980's. In 1990, there were 616 emergency calls per 1000 children.
  
  
  
  

• In California 200,000 incidents of domestic violence were reported in 1990, a 3% increase from the previous year.

• Women are overwhelmingly the victims of domestic violence. Battered woman suffer from low self-esteem, guilt, anxiety, and terror as a result of this violence they experience. They may internalize the blame for the batterer's violence and believe their only chose is to remain with their abuser. Many experts believe that women battered as adults were abused as children. When violence has been as routine part of a victim's life, it is considered normal behavior, it is especially hard for the women involved to see it as a crime and seek help.

• Female victims are confronted with many barriers that prevent them from living lives free of violence. A lack of economic power is a key factor. Financial dependence on one's husband or partner makes it more difficult to leave an abusive relationship. Women trying to leave their abusers often face problems of attaining adequate child care and housing. Generally, a lack of job-related skills keeps many women from attaining employment which pays enough for them to support their families. Additionally. abused women lack self-esteem and are more likely to suffer from disorders suck as major depression, alcohol and other substance abuse/dependence, generalized anxiety, post traumatic stress disorders, and suicidal tendencies.

Effects of Domestic Violence on Children

• Children in homes where domestic violence occurs are physically abused or seriously neglected at a rate 1500% higher than the national average in the general population.

• Approximately 90% of children are aware on the violence directed at their mother.

• Older children may be hurt while trying to protect their mother.

• Children are present in 41% - 66% of homes where police intervene in domestic violence calls.

• Elder abuse victims may be reluctant to report their circumstances because it is often their own children who are the abusers.

• Victims of elder abuse tend to be frail and in poor health, they may be physically unable to  report abuse.

• Approximately one out of every 25 older Americans may be victims of some form of abuse.

• The exportation and abuse of older persons is receiving increased attention as a prevalent and serious form of family violence. This form of abuse generally includes violence infixed on an elder by a spouse or family member providing care. The Center for Women's Policy Studies explains elder abuse take on many forms. These include, but are not limited to:

• Physical battering by a family member or spouse;
• Threats of physical assault, verbal assaults, and financial
  exploitation;
• Misuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs to
  tranquilize and sedate an older;
• Inappropriate involuntary constriction - trying an older to a
  chair or bed;
• Sexual Abuse; and
• Unsanitary living conditions.

• Much of the focus concerning elder abuse has been violence inflicted on parents by their children. Often refereed to as "caregiver stress", this type of abuse is perpetuated by male and female caregivers. Studies indicated woman are more likely to neglect older person, whereas men are more likely to inflict harm. Although abuse by younger family members is a significant problem, many critics argue this is not complete picture. Research indicates that spouse abuse is actually more common among the elderly   than abuse by a younger family member. One study suggests as many as 68% of all cases of family abuse among 65 is perpetrated by a spouse.

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