Deanna James, president of the St. Croix Foundation (SCF) and The USVI KIDS COUNT Team asks, “Did you know that in 2018 nearly half (46%) of USVI female public high school students reported feeling “so sad or hopeless almost every day for two or more weeks in a row that they stopped doing some usual activities?”
In that same year, more than one out of every five public middle school students in the USVI had seriously thought about killing themselves.
This alarming data from the USVI’s “Youth Risk Behavior Survey” was reported in St. Croix Foundation’s (SCF) 2021 KIDS COUNT USVI Data Book. Conducted by the Caribbean Exploratory Research Center at the University of the Virgin Islands and contracted by the V.I. Department of Health, this most recent USVI “Youth Risk Behavior Survey” (collected almost one year following hurricanes Irma and Maria but two years prior to the onset of COVID-19) gathered data on mental health and substance use among school-age children in the USVI.
Unfortunately, there was no updated survey data to include in the 2022 KIDS COUNT Data Book (https://bit.ly/2022KidsCountUSVI). Such lags in data collection have been a challenge for the USVI, severely limiting a collective ability to obtain a current and comprehensive assessment of the well-being of our children.
What is KIDS COUNT?
A national initiative of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, KIDS COUNT is the USVI’s only comprehensive data repository on the conditions of children and families in four areas: education, economic well-being, family and community and health. Each year, the annual KIDS COUNT report affords stakeholders a window into our children’s lives – and is used by nonprofits, government agencies, legislators and community stakeholders to inform programming and policy, and to secure critical federal and philanthropic dollars.
As the territory’s KIDS COUNT steward since 2020, the St. Croix Foundation views the data as more than just numbers but rather as vital information that tells a story about our children’s lived experiences. Consequently, it is essential to regularly collect, disseminate and utilize current data to understand the true state of children and families in real-time.
Our Children’s Story, Our Collective Story
Undoubtedly, of all the data the St. Croix Foundation has the privilege of sharing, “Youth Risk Behavior Survey” data is particularly special — crucial in fact – because it comes directly from USVI children. Like a blaring S.O.S. or an outstretched hand in a turbulent sea, through this data, it feels like our children were – and perhaps still are – begging to be tossed them a life raft. Of course, while it is no consolation, national trends suggest that USVI is not alone.
Children across the nation are facing a collective and unprecedented mental health crisis: suicide rates among youth ages 10-24 in the U.S. increased by 57% between 2007 and 2018 according to a 2020 National Vital Statistics Report.
Indeed, although the “numbers” in each Data Book highlight encouraging bright spots like falling teen pregnancy rates, there are still far too many hot spots to ignore. The persistence of many hot spots, such as the territory’s child poverty rate – which rose from 29.6% in 2015 to 33% in 2020 – should grab everyone’s attention. The rates for children under age 5 were even higher at 37% (42% on the island of St. Croix).
But how children are faring is not just about the well-being of children today. In fact, the data may forecast our collective tomorrows and a story that is unfolding for all Virgin Islanders. According to the 2020 Census, there are 17,086 children under 18 living in the USVI — half of the 34,289 reported in the 2000 Census!
At the same time, between 2000 and 2020, our older population (ages 65+) rose from 8.4% to 21.3%. The USVI population is getting older – and the implications are enormous, impacting educational and healthcare systems, as well as the workforce.
Acknowledging the critical nature of data, when the St. Croix Foundation was invited to serve as the territory’s KIDS COUNT steward, it made two commitments: (1) to prioritize reporting the most current available data and (2) to support community stakeholders in activating that data. Achieving these goals will demand a real “come-to-Jesus” moment for the community, including an honest interrogation of what Virgin Islanders value.
Over the next several weeks, St. Croix Foundation’s KIDS COUNT Team will be publishing a series of Op-Eds to amplify the story of our children. The hope is that by shining light on the current state of child wellbeing — the liabilities and the assets — every reader will be able to see themselves in the lives of our children and feel compelled to support them to success.
