North and South Omaha are federally designated Enterprise Zones. These communities include the most severely depressed neighborhoods in the city and state; as evidenced by the 23% poverty rate compared to the 10% statewide rate. Additionally, the identified areas also have an unemployment rate of 38% compared to a 5% statewide rate.
Douglas and Sarpy Counties have a combined population of more than 600,000 people, 172,000 youth under age 18 in 11 local school districts and many private schools. Omaha Public Schools, in Douglas County, also has the highest concentration of poor students, about 75 percent of the total in Douglas and Sarpy Counties.
17,187 children lack health insurance; 82,000 lack a regular health care provider.
Of the 18,328 children in families that qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, only 20 percent are served in Head Start, Early Head Start or Educare programs (1,195) or in pre-K classrooms in the public schools (2,572). In Douglas and Sarpy Counties, 8,736 low-income infants and toddlers ages (ages 0-3) and 5,824 low-income preschoolers (ages 3-5) are not served by high-quality Early Childhood Education programs.
Youth Poverty in Omaha
The study entitled "Celebrating the Past, Charting the Future: Omaha's African American Community" by done by the Pew Partnership for Civic Change. According to the report, while Omaha rates high on factors that determine quality of life, 30% of African American families live in poverty, compared to 10% of white families. 40% of black children live in poverty, which the study's author, Suzanne Morse, writes, "Poverty among African American children in Omaha was evident in school performance from the early grades to disproportionate high school dropout rates. Broadly put, African American children are too often behind before they start school and never catch up. "
21,000 children need intervention or treatment services but are not receiving them.
2,153 are in foster care.
39,144 children unsupervised after school
11,476 youth in Omaha and Douglas County live in subsidized housing.
19,041 children and youth ages 5 - 17 live in areas that are underserved by after school programs.
Data from national studies suggest that more than 30,000 youth under age 18 in Douglas and Sarpy Counties have a diagnosable behavioral health disorder, and 8,000 of them have a disorder that causes extreme functional impairment in life, learning or work.
Despite the large number of children and adolescents estimated to have a mental health disorder or behavioral health problem, national studies estimate that as few as 30 percent of those who need treatment are receiving it. In Douglas and Sarpy Counties, this means that 21,000 young people who are in need of effective behavioral health services are not receiving them.
