Over the past 20 years, African American children in Sacramento County have died at twice the rate of other children in the County. In an effort to improve birth outcomes and reduce infant mortality,
First 5 Sacramento has invested $14 million on life saving programs and education campaigns since 2013. The culmination of these efforts is outlined in the
Final Evaluation Report released earlier this month.
“Collectively, we have been working with countless partners on these efforts, and we now have the proof that these programs have made a significant difference in the lives of children and families,” said Julie Gallelo, Executive Director, First 5 Sacramento. “We’re headed in the right direction for reaching our goal of reducing African American child deaths by 10 - 20% by 2020.”
The top four identified causes of this disproportion in child death are: Perinatal conditions, infant safe sleep, child abuse and neglect, and third-party homicide.
Overall for African Americans in the County, between 2013 and 2016 there was a:
- 45% decrease in the rate of African American infant deaths, and a 76% decrease in disparity with all infant deaths among other races
- 18% decrease in the percentage of African American babies born preterm, and a 37% decrease in disparity between African American births and all other births
- 54% decrease in African American infant sleep related deaths, and a 62% decrease in disparity