A new study of equity issues in Clark County has been posed online by the Center for Social and Environmental Justice at Washington State University Vancouver.
It was presented at the end of a daylong WSUV conference about “Health, Well-Being and Equity” in the region.
You can find it posted online at http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/programs/csejustice. Click on “Clark County Equity Report 2010” in the left column.
The report, authored by associate professor of sociology Clayton Mosher, crunched the most recent available data to generate some statistics regarding racial and social inequality in a number of areas of Clark County life. Home ownership, income and poverty, education, health, criminal justice and quality of childhood life are among the areas studied.
Here’s a sample of findings about Clark County:
o Minority unemployment is considerably higher than white unemployment.
o A far greater percentage of whites than other ethnic groups are homeowners.
o Minorities pay higher prices for home loans than whites.
o Black high school sophomores here are more likely to meet WASL standards than black 10th graders statewide.
o There is little statistical evidence of racial bias during traffic stops on the part of Vancouver police or Washington State Patrol locally.
o Children involved in juvenile court have markedly higher instances of “adverse childhood experiences” like abuse, neglect, household substance abuse and parental incarceration than a national average.
The report doesn’t make any policy recommendations, but is designed to serve as a baseline to measure progress and be useful to other community organizations.
