EDC+503+Su13+-+Central+Falls+Community

Central Falls - Community Description
Community Data 1 (Joy)

Central Falls is a city located in Providence County, Rhode Island. The City of Central Falls is centrally located in southern New England and has easy access to Providence, Boston, Hartford, and Worcester. It covers 1.3 square miles and is the smallest and most densely populated city in the state. The Blackstone River cuts through the city. The river has historically been polluted due to its high industrial use, but there are on-going efforts to make the Blackstone River fishable and swimmable by 2015.


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According to 2010 data, Central Falls has 5,644 children under the age of 18. Of these children, 49% are in single-parent families as opposed to 31% state-wide. The median family income of $35,183 is well below that of the state median of $68,507. In 2012, 36.9% of children in Central Falls were living below the federal poverty threshold as opposed to 17.9% in Rhode Island. Participation in the WIC program (79%) and School Breakfast Program (43%) were well above the state averages of 69% and 35%, respectively. In addition, 3,459 children receive SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly Food Stamps) benefits.

The majority of students in Central Falls are, by far, Hispanic. Of the 5,644 children in Central Falls, 3,950 are Hispanic or Latino; 747 are White; 492 are Black; 237 are two or more races; 179 are categorized as some other race; 20 are Asian; 17 are American Indian and Alaskan Native; and 2 are Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander. In Rhode Island, White students (142,862) are the majority. This is followed by Hispanic (45,940), Black (14,335), two or more races (10,462), Asian (6,731), some other race (2,474), American Indian and Alaskan Native (1,087), and Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander (65).

There is a high level of special needs in Central Falls. There are 682 English language learners (ELL) which is 25% of the student population. The state average of ELL students is 6%. There are 629 students enrolled in special education which is 23% of the population. The state average is 18%.

The teen birth rate (per 1,000 children under the age of 18) of 79.7 in Central Falls far exceeds the state average of 25.5. Central Falls also surpassed the state averages on other health indicators including delayed prenatal care (20.1% vs 15.0%) and the infant mortality rate (7.3 vs. 6.5 / per 1,000 live births). 10% of infants in Central Falls are born at the highest risk (born to Rhode Island women who were under age 20, unmarried, and had fewer than 12 years of education) as opposed to 3% in Rhode Island.

Children in Central Falls are more likely to have an incarcerated parent than children in other RI cities and towns. There are 20.6 children (per 1,000 children) in Central Falls with a parent in jail versus the state average of 11.0 children. Child abuse is also more prevalent with 20.2 children abused or neglected (per 1,000 children) as opposed to the RI average of 13.9. In addition, t here is a big discrepancy between Central Falls and RI with regards to a mother's education level. In Central Falls, 38% of births are to mothers who have not received a high school diploma. This is much higher than the state average of 16%. And, while 35% of mothers in the state have a bachelors degree or above, only 7% of mothers in Central Falls have achieved that level of education.

Central Falls is comparable to the state on some education indicators including Early Intervention participation (13% in Central Falls vs. 12% in Rhode Island), Early Head Start participation (3% in Central Falls vs. 2% in Rhode Island), and Head Start participation (15% in Central Falls vs. 10% in Rhode Island). However, these figures may be misleading because the federal funding provided for Head Start and Early Head Start only allows a limited number of children to be serviced. RI KIDS COUNT estimates that there are approximately 8,650 children who are income-eligible for Early Head Start in RI but only 6% of those eligible are enrolled. And, RI KIDS COUNT estimates that there are 6,056 children income-eligible for Head Start in RI but only 40% of the eligible population of children are enrolled. Most Head Start programs in RI maintain a waiting list. One positive education indicator in Central Falls is that all kindergartners attend school full-day. This exceeds the state average of 68%.

Central Falls exceeds the state in student absences and falls far behind when it comes to student proficiency levels. Chronic early absence in grades K-3 is 18% in Central Falls and 11% in RI. High school attendance rates are 82% in Central Falls and 91% in RI. Absences are one factor which impact the low student p roficiency levels in Central Falls. The percentage of students in Central Falls versus the percentage of students in RI who meet or exceed the proficiency level for reading are 42% vs. 69% (4th grade) and 41% vs. 77% (8th grade). For math, the comparison of Central Falls to RI is 35% vs. 64% (4th grade), 20% vs. 58% (8th grade) and 13% vs. 34 % (11th grade). In addition, the 68% high school graduation rate in Central Falls is far behind the state rate of 77%.

Community Data (2) Census - Brianna

Central Falls is a community that although is only 1.1 square mile the getting from one end of Central Falls to the other may only take five to ten minutes but holds a large number on individuals and spans a large range of racial backgrounds. Located in between Pawtucket and Cumberland wrapped within the Blackstone Valley River is small but full of life. Only a small distance from downtown Providence and minutes from the Massachusetts line its community is well blended with many different races and cultures.

The community sits at 19,369 individuals, the largest race that can be found in Central falls is the Hispanic population at 60.3% where RI Hispanic population takes up only 12% of the community making Central Falls the sole location for the Hispanic population. The second highest race found in CF White (Europeans) at 52.9%. This is small considering the RI population at 81%. Although mostly Hispanic and white, Central Falls has a very diverse group of races in its community. 6.6% of the community labels itself as being two or more races. There is 0.9% American Indian/ Alaskan and 0.6% Asian in its community. The population in Central Falls is also of younger status, 29.1% being under the age of 18 years old and 69.7% can speak a language other than English. Half of the community received the GED (53.9%). However, the percentage drastically drops for those that received the bachelors to 6.7%.

Much like with the population there is a large number of housing units placed within this community, 7,478 to be exact, 81 percent of those being multiple-unit homes. Due to the low income that the population receives the median household rate in Central Falls is almost 20,000 dollars under the Rhode Island median. (32,759 to 55,975 respectively) The per-capita is at an even lower income of 15,235 for Central Falls which is shocking in comparison to the 29,685 per-capita income that Rhode Island makes. This only increases the degree of poverty that is seen amongst the community. Individuals living below the poverty level is at 27.7% twice the average of Rhode Island which is only 12.8%.

Although the community is small there are a lot of independently owned businesses that help to keep the community afloat. At just over 1,100 independently owned firms in Central Falls places the community high in local businesses. The breakdown of races that runs those businesses are very much in line with the breakdown of the community. The Hispanic population runs 36.8% of the firms in Central Falls compared to 6% of Rhode Island with 28.5% of those in Central Falls run by women which is similar to the 27.3% in Rhode Island. Asians own 3.0% of the businesses in Central Falls which is also similar to the 2.1% in Rhode Island. 

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">U.S Census Bureau (2010) Central Falls (city) Rhode Island, June 2013, Retrieved July 2013 from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Rhode Island Department of Education (2012). Profile of Central Falls, RI. Rhode Island Kids Count 2013 Factbook. Retrieved July 2013, from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">[]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">City of Central Falls (2013). Welcome to Central Falls, RI. Central Falls, RI - A City with a Bright Future. Retrieved July 2013, from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">[|http://www.centralfallsri.us]

<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">Blackstone Rivershed Water Council (2013). Friends of the Blackstone Valley, Our Mission. Retrieved July 2013, from <span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman',Times,serif; font-size: 10pt;">[]