Slow saviors: Sacramento’s efforts to curb African-American child deaths take shape at the community level Progress unclear as stakeholders continue responding to 5-year-old crisis [Sacramento News and Review]

Since raising the alarm five years ago on the threats disproportionately killing African-American children in Sacramento County, progress on curbing those perils has been steady, if slow, according to the group tasked with addressing them.

In 2011, a 20-year analysis by the Sacramento County Child Death Review Team showed that black children consistently die at approximately twice the rate of their white counterparts. Reacting to those chilling statistics, Supervisor Phil Serna convened the Blue Ribbon Commission on Disproportionate African American Child Deaths, which outlined a five-year strategy that was initiated in the fall of 2015.

Responding to the crisis is the sole purpose of the Steering Committee on Reduction of African American Child Deaths, or RAACD, which has set a benchmark of reducing the deaths of its target population by 10 to 20 percent by 2020. The strategy enlists multiple government agencies and focuses outreach in the areas of Del Paso Heights, Meadowview, Valley Hi, North Highlands, Arden-Arcade, Oak Park and Fruitridge-Stockton, where the mortality rates are higher.

So-called “community incubator leaders,” or CILs, have also been appointed to coordinate social services in these neighborhoods, providing street-level access to families in need.

To read the entire report go HERE