California Report Card 2002
Children's Critical Early Years, October 2002

California Report Card 2002
This 52-page report provides an overview of issues facing California's children, with special focus on children's early years.
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Introduction
An increasing body of research supports the connection between children's well-being in their early years and their later K-12 success. This report documents how well California's young children are doing—in terms of their early care and education, health, family economic resources and safety.

It shows where the state has seen improvements, such as in decreasing infant deaths, and where significant gaps remain, such as in the availability of quality child care. This compilation of new data also shows how California measures up to other states and offers strategies for improving young children's chances to thrive.

This report illustrates how community groups, state government and the private sector are making a difference in young children's lives. The Prenatal to Three Program in San Mateo County improves health outcomes for children by providing over 5,500 home visits annually to families with young children. The Westminster Early Education Center in Los Angeles is building literacy for both children and their parents in hopes of better preparing families for kindergarten. The Women, Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program provides nutritious food, individual counseling and health care referrals to 1.17 million high-risk, low-income children up to age five. Medi-Cal for Children and the Healthy Families program provide no- or low-cost health insurance to over 3.2 million low-income children in California.