DADE FAILING TO LOOK AFTER ITS TEENS

Report On County Details Smoking, Unprotected Sex

Nearly half smoke cigarettes, even more drink alcohol and despite the fact
that nearly 90 percent say they've been educated about HIV and AIDS, one of
every two Miami-Dade high school students say they've already had sex --
often unprotected.

While Dade has made improvements for the youngest of its children in areas
such as prenatal care, immunizations and infant mortality rates, it is
failing the oldest of them, according to the Children's Report Card, a
profile of the status of children in Miami-Dade County.

In 1996, the first year social service advocates published the report card,
Dade received an overall grade of C minus for its treatment of children.
This year it showed a grade of C.

For teenagers in general, drinking, sex without condoms, smoking --
cigarettes as well as marijuana -- along with violent deaths are among the
most pressing concerns today.

"We are a long way from meeting the needs of children in this community,"
said Janet McAliley, a former Miami-Dade School Board member and children's
advocate involved with the report.

Among the problems: 12.2 percent of high schoolers said they had sex before
their 13th birthday, while 61 percent said they abused alcohol and 44
percent said they smoked cigarettes.

Substance abuse by teenagers, according to the report, often occurred in
conjunction with other high-risk behaviors, including gang involvement,
juvenile crime and unsafe sex.

"I don't see what the problem is," said Brayant "Stew" Salcedo, 16. "I run
my own life. I make my own choices. I am 16 years old. I like smoking. It
gives you a nice little buzz. Adults drink coffee in the morning to get
that perk, it's the same thing cocaine does for you."

The report was produced by the United Way of Dade County in partnership
with the Children's Services Council and Dade Community Foundation. More
than 100 volunteers spent a year analyzing the most current data in areas
such as teen pregnancy, gang involvement, child abuse and neglect,
standardized test scores, child care, health insurance and poverty.

They compared the data with figures from Florida's 66 other counties. The
areas were then divided into five major categories: health, teen years,
safety/security, family life and education.

The worst grade was in family life, which received a D minus, while the
best grade of B was in the area of health.

Among the family life factors that contributed to Miami-Dade's low grade:
the unavailability of quality child care. Less than 3 percent of the
licensed childcare facilites in Dade are up to national standards of
quality, the report said.

In addition, the Miami-Dade Homeless Trust estimated, at the time of the
study, that 1,130 children in Dade are homeless, and countless more are
living on the verge of homelessness.

The most notable improvement was in safety and security (from D to B
minus), which speaks in part to the $30 million the Dade school system has
invested in metal detectors and other safety programs.

Still, the overall status of children in Dade is nothing to brag about, say
child advocates. The report paints an even gloomier picture for
African-American teens and children, despite some improvements in areas
such as teen pregnancy.

Brayant, who dropped out of Miami High several weeks ago, said that today's
teenagers are no longer buying into the "Say No to Drugs," abstinence and
anti-smoking campaigns.

"Every single person I know smokes marijuana or has tried it," said
Brayant.

That's not the case for all teenagers, said 19-year-old LeVar Blackman, a
Killian High senior and a former smoker. Blackman, who is involved with the
anti-smoking truth campaign as a member of Students Working Against
Tobacco, said cigarette smoking is beginning to decrease. A recent study by
the Florida Department of Health indicated that smoking has decreased by 50
percent among middle schoolers and 26 percent by high schoolers in Dade and
Monroe counties.

But just because youths are smoking less does not mean they feel the same
way about pot or alcohol.

"I know people who would rather smoke marijuana than smoke cigarettes,
thinking it's less harmful," Blackman said. "There are a lot of kids out
there representing what it's like to be smoke free and I think that is
making a difference. I think we need to have similar groups for alcohol and
drugs."

Among the report card's other findings:

Four out of every five children received basic immunizations.

The number of infants who die before their first birthday has declined by
half since 1998.

One out of three children in Dade is without health insurance, with
Hispanic children being uninsured more often than white non-Hispanic
children and other minority youths.

Though the number of gangs has decreased since 1995, gang membership has
still gone up. In 1995, police say, Dade had 104 gangs with 4,761 members
but three years later there were more than 5,000 gang members in 84 groups.

One of every three Dade children is being raised in poverty with the
majority of elementary school students -- seven out of every 10 --
qualifying for free or reduced school lunches.

One of every five Dade children ages 3 and 4 who seek a place in pre-K are
put on a waiting list.

Linda Schotthoefer, associate director in the resources management division
of United Way of Miami-Dade, said that with so many challenges facing Dade,
the fact that the grades in the report did not get worse is something to
celebrate.

"But we still have a lot of work to do," she said.