Child Welfare in Queens

Most often when we think about Queens, we think about home ownership, middle class living, beautiful lawns and tree lined streets. There is another side which sadly is impacting many of our neighbors and indirectly impacting the quality of our lives as well. Over 37,000 of our neighbors are living in poverty, more than 10% of the overall poverty level for the borough of Queens; 12,500 of these are children under the age of 17.

Other indicators tell us that all is not well. Unemployment rates of 6% in Jamaica are above NYC averages and 1% above the rate for the borough. Only 38% of the schools in Jamaica are performing at or above grade levels in Math; 39% are at or above grade levels in English. Juvenile crime rates at 7.1 per 1000 people exceed the overall rates for NYC of 6.4.

While it is an untruth that child abuse and neglect and abuse are caused by poverty, poverty is a factor in the overall rate of child abuse and neglect. In 2006 the rate of indicated (proven) cases of child abuse and neglect in Jamaica was 15.3 % --5.2% higher than the borough overall.

There are currently 705 children living in foster care in Queens ---91% of these children are black or Hispanic. Another 10,000 children borough wide receives preventive services to support their ability to stay together as a family.