A Child is a Child: Black Children's Health

Summary: This fact sheet provides an overview of the health of Black children in California that highlights how systemic racism shapes their lives, and ultimately impacts their success and healthy development. The publication provides data that show inequities across health, mental health, housing, economic security, oral health, food access, school, safety, and more, as well as community-defined protective factors that help address and mitigate these inequities. 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) estimates are used, as well as data from other state and national surveys, and other state government sources.

Findings: Data presented about Black children in California under age 18 include:

• Demographics — Black children (727,849) make up 8% of the state's 9 million children. About 60% (437,149) identify as Black alone.
• COVID-19 — Nearly 4,400 have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19, which is 9% of all children who have lost a parent or caregiver to COVID-19.
• Mental Health — The suicide rate among Black youth is twice the state average, exceeding all other racial or ethnic groups. 
• Health coverage and access — 97% have health insurance. Of these children, 41% are covered by Medi-Cal and 60% of this group of children do not receive preventive care, including 74% of 1-year-old and 81% of 2-year-old children.
• Oral health — Experience the highest rates of untreated tooth decay (26%), almost twice the rate of white children.
• Environmental pollution: 8% of children living in census tracts that are the most polluted are Black, although they make up only 5% of the state’s population of children.
• Economic well-being —27% of children ages 0–18 experience poverty, higher than the state average of 16%.
• School success and safety — Children and youth enrolled in public schools who are experiencing homelessness, make up 8% of all children and youth experiencing homeless, higher than their share of the student population (3.7%).  
• Community and family well-being  — Children and teens are 4 times more likely to be removed from their homes and placed into foster care, compared to all children and teens. They are twice as likely to have experienced two or more adverse childhood experiences compared to all children (34% vs. 15%, respectively).
• Maternal and infant health — Black infants have a mortality rate of 8.3 deaths per 1,000 births, twice as high as the 4.2 deaths per 1,000 births among all infants.
• Food access — Black children are more than 2 times more likely to be experiencing food insecurity compared to white children. 

Read the Publication:

• Fact Sheet: A Child is a Child: Black Children's Health