Cuyahoga County Data Briefs with UWGC

The early years of life have a demonstrable effect on development throughout the life span. Age and marital status of the mother are often used as markers of early risk because they are correlated with many aspects of the family, home and community environment that surround the young child. The percentage of births to unmarried mothers continued to rise in Cuyahoga County. Teen birth rates have fallen over the last decade recent years, consistent with national trends.

Instances of suspected child abuse and neglect are reported to the Department of Children and Family Services. The agency determines whether each report warrants investigation and subsequently classifies the investigations as substantiated (when there is clear evidence of abuse or neglect), indicated (a lower level of evidence) or unsubstantiated. Child maltreatment rates are computed based on all investigations and for those investigations that are substantiated or indicated. Yearly rates are based on the number of children who have one or more incidents as a percentage of the child population under 18.

Educational attainment is reported separately for individuals 18-24 and those 25 and over. Many individuals in the 18-24 year old group are still acquiring their education, but it is still of interest to look at their status in 2000 and 2006-2008 to determine whether more of them have completed high school or more advanced education. The number of persons in this age group that have not yet completed high school (or its equivalency) has fallen by 33% in Cuyahoga County. While this reflects some population loss, it also is indicative of a higher high school completion rate. However, the County showed no significant increase in the number of college graduates in this age group.

The labor force participation rates went up slightly for Cleveland and Cuyahoga County between 2000 and 2006-2008. The 2006-2008 average was 60% for Cleveland and 64.9% for the balance of the County. This increase occurred for all races and ethnic groups. However, these figures mainly predated the recession so they do not show effects of the economic downturn on labor force participation. The recession may have resulted in unemployed individuals becoming discouraged and no longer searching for work. As such, they would not be counted in the labor force.

Public school enrollment has fallen in most districts in Cuyahoga County, consistent with the overall population loss. The largest decreases of more than 30% have been in Cleveland and East Cleveland districts. Several inner ring suburbs have also experienced large declines, while a few outlying suburbs show increased enrollments.

Housing is typically the largest expense item in household budgets. An accepted standard is that housing costs should not exceed 30% of household income. Households whose ratio of expenditures on housing to income is in excess of this proportion are considered to have an excessive housing cost burden. For renters, housing costs include monthly contract rent and utilities. For owners, monthly housing costs include first and second mortgages, utilities, taxes, insurance and fees.

Residential mobility is assessed based on asking current residents where they resided one year ago. If they moved in during that time frame, it is determined whether they came from a different county, state or nation. This view of mobility shows how many residents have been in the area for more than a year and where newcomers are coming from, but not where the out movers are going. For current residents of Cuyahoga County, 85% of them were in the same house 1 year ago, 12% had moved in recently from elsewhere in the County, 2% moved in from another county in Ohio, 1% were from out of state, and the percent of newcomers from abroad was too small to calculate. There are slight differences between Cleveland and the suburbs on these patterns.

The child population in Cuyahoga County fell by 11.6 percent between 2000 and the most recent estimates. The decline in the child population was much larger in Cleveland (-25.9%) than in the suburban portions of Cuyahoga County (-2.4%). The child population change differed markedly by age group and across geography. There was a slight increase in children ages 15-17 in the suburbs, for example. And the loss of children under 10 was very high in Cleveland, but relatively small in the balance of the County.

Cuyahoga County lost almost 100,000 residents in the first half of the decade, a 7.1% decline. But in the City of Cleveland the drop was more than twice as steep (loss of 16.8%) - leaving Cleveland with fewer than 400,000 residents according to the most recent (2006-2008) estimates.

Public Assistance, including Ohio Works First (OWF), Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Food Stamps, are means-tested benefits and key supports for the poor. SSI covers low income elderly and disabled individuals, OWF provides time-limited cash benefits for poor families with children, and Food Stamps can be utilized by individuals and families who meet income and other eligibility standards.

Poverty refers to the population that has gross household income below a subsistence threshold (e.g. the 2009 threshold was $22,050 for a family of 4). It is an imperfect measure because it does not take into account variation in household needs (such as health problems), assets (such as owning property) or benefits (such as employer benefits or government subsidies). Nevertheless, poverty status is a useful marker for social and economic disadvantage and an eligibility standard for many public programs.

Literacy is "an individual's ability to read, write, speak English, compute and solve problems at levels of proficiency necessary to function on the job, in the family..., and in society" (Workforce Investment Act of 1998). There are no direct measures of adult literacy in Cuyahoga County. Instead, this report uses estimates based on a statistical model derived from the National Survey of Adult Literacy.