3. Berkeley-Albany YMCA Head Start Community Assessment 2006-2007.

The Berkeley-Albany YMCA Early Childhood Head Start and Early Head Start Programs include the three very distinct cities of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville and is one of four Head Start/Early Head Start grantees serving Alameda County, California. The purpose of this community assessment is to update the statistical data and relevant community information to identify the strengths, needs, and trends that impact on the design and implementation of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Data was obtained from a variety of sources including the State Departments of Finance and Education, County Social Services and Health Departments, U.S. Census 2000 data and corresponding updates, BAYMCA Program Information Reports (PIR) and a recent survey of Early Head Start and Head Start parents. The information was used to frame a report that defines the number of Head Start and Early Head Start eligible children living in the service area, what are the greatest needs for the families and community, and what the program can do to meet those needs.

1.  Head Start Eligible Population

Using child population and percentages of poverty, there are 2,071 children ages birth to five who may be eligible for Head Start services living in Berkeley, Albany, and Emeryville.

2.  Family and Community Needs

3.   Findings

There are some key findings in this report that stand out and provide vital information for program planning:

Input from parents and community members indicate continued concern to meet the needs of an increasingly diverse population with language and literacy challenges, and related impacts on the staff and overall program.

4.  Three-Year Goals and Objectives

The Berkeley-Albany YMCA Early Childhood Services Branch/Head Start and Early Head Start programs provide comprehensive child development services to children from birth to age five, pregnant women and their families. The Berkeley-Albany YMCA Head Start (BAYMCA) program offers three types of programs, serving 388 children in Head Start in both part-day, part-year and full-day, full-year programs. Early Head Start currently serves 20 pregnant and post-partum women and babies in a home-based program, and 76 infants and toddlers in mostly full-day, full-year center-based programs. BAYMCA also provides additional state preschool and child care services to eligible children/families as a contractor with the California Department of Education/Child Development Division and as a subcontractor to Emery Unified School District (State Preschool), Berkeley Unified School District (CalSAFE – child care for teen parents) and Kidango (General Child Care).

BAYMCA is one of four Head Start/Early Head Start grantees serving Alameda County, California. The county is central to the nine-county Bay Area, a region of 6.9 million people shown in Figure 1. Alameda County is one of the most densely populated and affluent counties, second only to Marin in median household income ($83,500 in 2003). The BAYMCA service area is in the northwestern portion of Alameda County on the San Francisco Bay, directly across from the county of San Francisco.

Figure 1. San Francisco Bay Area showing Alameda County

The Berkeley-Albany YMCA Head Start and Early Head Start Programs serve the cities of Berkeley, Albany and Emeryville. Geographically, the cities are situated on a low coastal plain that extends eastward from the shore of San Francisco Bay for about two miles. The border of Berkeley runs along a coastal range to the east and along Interstate 80 to the north, forming two of its boundaries within Alameda County. Emeryville, Albany and west Berkeley lie entirely within the coastal plain within a mile of the freeway edging the Bay.

The service area includes some of the oldest housing stock, and highest concentrations of low-income families in the county. Both Berkeley and Emeryville are entitlement cities that qualify for federal Community Development Block Grants and other anti-poverty, anti-blight funding.

This 2006 community assessment provides updated demographic data and relevant community information to identify the strengths, needs, and trends that impact on the design and implementation of the Head Start and Early Head Start programs.

Specific questions addressed during this assessment process include:

1. How many low-income, Head Start eligible children/families reside in the service area from birth to age five?
2. Are there changes in the low-income population or demographics in the Head Start service area?
3. Are there community trends affecting Head Start families since the last community assessment?
4. What are the most critical needs and challenges facing the children and families in the Head Start service area?

Berkeley-Albany YMCA Head Start contracted with independent consultants to collect and analyze data for the communities served by Head Start. Data were reviewed from a variety of sources, including the State Departments of Finance and Education, County Social Services and Health departments, as well as BAYMCA program information reports and a recent survey of Head Start parents.

Most of the data comes from published sources available online or in a draft form from the originating public agencies. Population estimates for 2005 came from the State Department of Finance using vehicle registration and driver’s license registrations. These show a slight increase in population. The State data are thought to be more accurate than census projections which showed a slight population decline in the Berkeley service area. Given the rate of new housing construction in Berkeley over the last 4 years, the State’s figures seemed more likely to be accurate.

Primary data from BAYMCA Head Start program records included: family assessments and action plans, Program Information Reports, Policy Council and Health Advisory Committee minutes and activities, as well as tracking systems for services delivered. A parent survey was disseminated to determine the needs and challenges of Head Start children and families.  Community members and parents were invited to share their perspectives and knowledge as well as to brainstorm ideas for future planning at a focus group.

Secondary sources of demographics are described by census tract, by zip code and by elementary school catchment area. While census tracts follow political boundaries, zip code 94608 covers both Oakland and Emeryville. Both communities have high numbers of children in poverty, particularly for female heads of household, and more significantly for African American women.  However, each city has its own school district. Children and families often cross school district boundaries depending upon parents’ work location, child care arrangements, or family convenience, and sense of where the child might be better enrolled. Albany and Emeryville have smaller schools, while Albany and Berkeley schools are generally perceived as better than either Oakland or Emeryville’s.

The Alameda County Child Care Planning Council released a draft of an updated report on April 29, 2006, titled: Meeting the Child Care Needs of Alameda County’s Children, while this assessment was being written. We have used its findings where appropriate, but they remain incomplete. The most current version of the child care demographics is attached in Appendix A.

Figure 2 shows the boundaries of the Service Area served by Berkeley Albany YMCA Head Start. Berkeley, the largest community, is at the center of the Service Area. Albany lies to the northwest, and Emeryville to its southwest. There are 40 census tracts in the Service Area: 6 in Albany, 33 in Berkeley, and one in the City of Emeryville. The Service Area has an estimated population just under 130,000 people in 2005, of whom roughly 5% or 5,483 are children under the age of five.

Berkeley has a land area of 10.9 square miles, and a population estimated at 104,543 in 2005. Albany has 1.7 square miles and 16,743 people, while Emeryville is still smaller, with 1.4 square miles and 8,261 in population.  

Figure 2. Service Area Census Tracts

Source: 2000 U.S. Census

San Pablo Avenue is the western-most commercial corridor moving north-south through the Service Area. It is a state highway as well. Most of the program’s families and service centers are located on or within a quarter mile of San Pablo Avenue, as do a number of the area’s nonprofit and public offices serving low-income families. Other north-south major streets include 6^th Street (west of San Pablo), and moving from west to east, are Sacramento Street, Shattuck, Oxford, and Telegraph (south of the UC Berkeley Campus). Major east/west streets, moving north from Ashby Avenue include Dwight Way, University Avenue, Cedar, and Gilman/Hopkins. University Avenue is another major commercial corridor. Most of BAYMCA facilities lie west of Sacramento Street, primarily within a few blocks of San Pablo Avenue and the I80 freeway.

By virtue of its size, Berkeley dominates the Service Area.  The total population of the City of Berkeley is 104,543. In 2000, 4.76% of the population was children under age five. That translates into an estimate of 4,986 children under the age of 5 in 2005. Sixty-four percent (64%) of children under 6 live in households headed by a single working parent or where both parents work. This is the largest proportion of the three cities.

According to the 2000 Census, almost 60% of the population of Berkeley lives in non-family households. In 2000, 18% of all households included children - 5% headed by single women. Berkeley has a low housing vacancy rate – 4.1%. Over 57% of Berkeley’s residents live in renter-occupied housing units.

Berkeley is a city very involved with and dependent upon the University of California, the prestigious campus that serves over 32,000 students in graduate and undergraduate programs. Berkeley’s strong identification with the University of California, the very high educational levels of its residents, masks a significant disparity in the economic, educational, and social needs and resources of residents of “the hills” closest to campus versus “the flatlands” where Head Start families live.

Berkeley's ethnic/racial composition varies from northeast to southwest. White families with some Asian and a very few Black and Hispanic families occupy the hills districts to the north and east, while the southwestern parts of the city are home to a larger share of Black families, but with a mix of Latino, White, and Asian families as well. African-American families with children under five are most heavily concentrated in south-west Berkeley, while Latino and Asian families with young children are somewhat more distributed in south, west, and central parts of the city.

Major employers include the University of California and Bayer Laboratories as well as the city and school district.

The City of Albany is located in the northernmost part of Alameda County and borders the cities of Berkeley and El Cerrito. Albany is served by AC transit bus service throughout the city with a Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) station on the Albany-El Cerrito border. With easy access to the greater San Francisco Bay area, Albany is one of the most densely populated communities in the state. Major employers include the city and school district, Golden Gate Fields (a race track), and Target, a discount retail store.

Of the 16,743 people who lived in Albany in 2005, we estimate 1,217 are children under age 5, based on the percent found in the 2000 census (7.26%). The majority require child care, as 56% of children under six live in homes headed by a single working parent or have both parents working.

With only a 3% vacancy rate in housing, slightly over half of the households in Albany are owner occupied.

Albany is home to UC Village, married student housing for the University of California and one of the most low-income census tracts in the service area. The University reports that an additional 250 family housing units will be added in the next year, of which half are expected to include one or more children under age 5.  

Emeryville is a thriving community located in the north and western part of Alameda County with easy access to major interstates, AC Transit and BART. For more than 100 years Emeryville has been a commercial center with a strong manufacturing base. Recently, rejuvenated warehouses and factories have attracted a vibrant arts community as well as upscale city dwellers that have changed the cultural and economic dynamics. A new mall, theaters, restaurants, hotels, and shopping are drawing people from all over the East Bay. This new development contrasts sharply with the older, low-income residences of the historic north end of the city.

In 2005, there were 8,261 persons living in Emeryville, and 4.59% (380) are estimated to be under the age of 5. Of children under 6, 42% live in homes headed by a single working parent, or where both parents work.

In 2000, there were about 3,975 households, only 11% of which have children under 18 years. Almost 71% of the residents of Emeryville are in non-family households. With a 93% occupancy rate, almost 63% of the population lives in renter occupied housing units. Although median household income has been rising in Emeryville, a significant proportion of the city’s households still fall in the low and very low-income categories.

The Service Area has nearly 130,000 residents. According to the California Department of Finance estimates, the population of the Service Area experienced an overall increase of 2.76% since the 2000 census.  

These estimates (based on vehicle registrations) follow a period of almost no growth between 1990 and 2000, and a long-term decline in Berkeley between 1980 and 1990. Emeryville actually increased population by 20% since 2000, as a result of rapid multi-family housing and condominium construction. Albany was largely stable over the same time, with some recent increase in housing production both from private developers and the University of California.

Source: 2000 Census; and 2006 California State Dept. of Finance (DOF)

The area is quite diverse, with non-Hispanic whites accounting for less than 60% of the total population in 2000.

The table below uses percentage of ethnic groups from the 2000 census, applied to 2005 population estimates from the state Department of Finance.