Portsmouth+Community+Report

= __**Portsmouth Community Description**__ =



Portsmouth, Rhode Island is a historic town located in Newport County. Portsmouth has a population of about 17,000. In this report, we will discuss demographics, family life, and health and safety of Portsmouth, Rhode Island. This report might be helpful for anyone interested in learning more about the community of Portsmouth and how it compares to other communities in Rhode Island.
 * __Introduction__**:

Portsmouth, Rhode Island is one of several communities on an island that constitutes the east side of Narragansett Bay. It is a rather developed community. Within its boundaries, there are several fitness centers, day spas, and supermarkets/pharmacies. Near it's center, there is also a free public library as well as a nursery school. It is bordered by several high-ways (including Route 24 and High-Way 114) and an outlet of Buzzard's Bay. It's land is relatively flat, and it is isolated on an island with Newport, Newport East, and Middletown. This secluded island is connected to the mainland by several bridges. Within a close distance is Newport State Airport, suggesting that the area sees an influx of traffic.
 * __Geography/ Demographics__**

Compared to Rhode Island as a whole, Portsmouth is not a very diverse area. An overwhelming majority (95.5%) of the population is white compare to 82.8% in Rhode Island and 74.5% in the U.S. African Americans only make up .9% which is 4.6% less than the Rhode Island average. The Asian race is the second most prominent ethnicity with 1.5% in comparison to the national average of 4.4%. The Hispanic population only makes up .8%, whereas Rhode Island’s is 11.4%. Lastly, only .2% of the people living in Portsmouth are American Indian or Alaskan native, while the national average is .8%. (RIDE, InfoWorks LIVE!)

Portsmouth seems to have very supportive, functional families. According to the data from KidsCount in 2000, the town of Portsmouth makes up only a small portion of the child population in Rhode Island, but the median income is much higher than other ares.‍ Compared with other towns such as Newport, the number of children is a relatively miniscule fraction. This suggests that the community of Portsmouth is much smaller as compared with the rest of Rhode Island. Also, the percentage of children living in single-parent households in Portsmouth is nearly half than statewide percentages. (16% as compared to 30%). A significantly smaller portion of single-parent households might suggest that most students have less of a struggle at home. With one parent, as opposed to two, things such as transportation, time management, income, and personal attention may become problems. A household with two parents usually indicates a larger income and more personal support for their children, whether in school, or other areas of life. The large portion of students with two parents per household probably affects the low percentage of families living below the poverty threshold as well (lack of income).
 * __Family Life__**

In Portsmouth, 2.8% of children live in poverty, as compared to a huge 16.9% of children in the rest of Rhode Island. For the average family in Portsmouth, a yearly income is about $58,835. The rest of Rhode Island has a medium income of around $42,090. The increased household income certainly makes for a less troubled lifestyle in Portsmouth because students are, for the most part, better provided for by their families. Also, the percentage of teens not working and not attending school in Portsmouth is miniscule, rounding out to about 1.6% of teens. The rest of Rhode Island is nearly seven times that at 7.3%. More teens are being educated or working to provide for themselves which decreases poverty and promotes a more educated community. Also, the percentage of grandparents raising their grandchildren is about the same as the rest of RI. (3% and 4%)However, the fact that the median income is higher and the poverty threshold is significantly lower suggests that this does not greatly affect students as much as in the rest of RI.

The overall child population in both Portsmouth and Rhode Island has seen a small but noticeable increase from 1990 to 2000. In 1990, the child population in Portsmouth was 4,175 children and by 2000 there were 4,329 children. The whole state saw an increase from 225,690 children to 247,882 children in that decade as well. In addition, the community and state saw a negative increase in single-parent households in the last decade. In Portsmouth, 8% of the population had single parent homes in 1990. This doubled by 2000. In the whole state, the rate of single parent households was 22% in 1990 and then increased to 30% by 2000. Fortunately for Portsmouth, the median household income saw an increase and children living under the federal poverty threshold decreased in the decade. The poverty problem dropped from 4.4% to 2.8%. However, in the rest of the state both these levels increased. The median for Rhode Island in 1990 was $41,985 and in 2000 it was only $42,090. The poverty rate jumped from 13.5% to 16.9%.

Due to the higher median income and lower amount of poverty, the percentage of children in need of government assistance in Portsmouth is strikingly different than that of the children in the rest of RI. Portsmouth is a relatively affluent community as compared to both Rhode Island and the whole United States. The median household income ($74,976) is greater than the $55,569 of Rhode Island and even greater than the $51,425 as compared to the United States. The biggest contrast however is the median family income at a shocking $96,653 while Rhode Island is at $71,037 and the United States only stands at $62,363. The per capita income for Portsmouth ($40,052) is also higher than Rhode Island ($28,638). Portsmouth is obviously an affluent community.

In Portsmouth, the percentage of children participating in food stamp programs comes out to about 6%, while a quarter of the population of children in RI are on food stamps. The amount of students participating in the School Breakfast Program is much smaller than the rest of the state as well (13% compared to 23%). The cost of rent is about $300 more than the rest of the state, and the percentage of families receiving cash assistance is nearly 3% lower. These lower numbers can be attributed to the higher household income and fewer students not attending school. The majority of Portsmouth children have much more stable economic conditions which attributes to their well-being. For example, less children in Portsmouth are born to teenage mothers who have not graduated high school. This is significant because it means less children are born to mothers without partners or unstable financial situations. Thus, less children (only 1%) are born in high risk environments. Getting this head start in life affects children for the rest of their lives. It is a proven fact that children with better opportunities in the early stages of life are able to get ahead and advance past their peers who were not as fortunate at the start of life. (RIDE, InfoWorks LIVE!)

Overall, the health of Portsmouth children is significantly better than those in the rest of the state. The number of children under 19 who receive medical assistance in Rhode Island is nearly half of the population, while the number of Portsmouth children barely even reaches 1,000. Children in Portsmouth have more financially stable households, and thus need less assistance from the government. They are able to afford private medical insurance and thus receive better, more specialized care and the ability to choose their own practitioners. Only 5.8% of children are born with low birth weights and only 9.5% of women receive delayed prenatal care, compared to 8% and 14.9% statewide respectively. The higher ability to afford private personal healthcare seems to have directly affected the pre- and postnatal care of children in Portsmouth. The major financial gap in the remainder of the state seems to have caused an even greater gap in the health of young children. Also, more infants are breastfed (79% compared to 58%) which has been proven to have the most nutritional benefits for newborns. Better healthcare promotes this nutritional choice, introducing a better nourished generation of children. Better health goes hand in hand with clearer thinking and a better ability to learn. Less children are hospitalized because of asthma, which is one of the top causes of the hospitalization of children in the United States, indicating the better health of Portsmouth children. The mortality rate of infants supports this because they are significantly less than the rest of Rhode Island. Better pre- and postnatal healthcare significantly decreases these numbers, again relating back to the capability of more Portsmouth families being able to afford healthcare. The teen birth rate is a quarter of what the rest of the state is, again suggesting a higher availability of birth control practices and more stable home lives.
 * __Health and Safety__**

The community of Portsmouth, RI as a whole seems to see a lot less child abuse, neglect, and domestic violence compared to the whole state of Rhode Island. So it seems that Portsmouth is a relatively safe place to grow up. Unfortunately, the neglect rate seems to be rising in the community and in all of Rhode Island because according to the table, the neglect rate in 2008 was 1.6 children per 1000 compared to 4.6 per 1000 in 2010. In Rhode Island, the neglect rate was 10.7 per 1000 children in 2008 and rose to 13.3 per 1000 children. Domestic violence has also seen a huge increase from 2006 to 2010. In Portsmouth, a small 8% of the population reported domestic violence but by 2010, 23% did. In 2006, Rhode Island had a rate of 20% and in 2010 the rate jumped to 29%. Interestingly, the rate of children with incarcerated parents per 1000 children in Rhode Island and the community decreased slightly. Portsmouth saw 2.1 per 1000 children with incarcerated parents in 2006 while the state had 11.3 per 1000 children. In 2010, Portsmouth dropped to 0.9 per 1000 children and Rhode Island dropped to 10.4 per 1000. This is another indication that a large number of the parents in Portsmouth are supportive of their children and are safe.

Early intervention is used when young students are recognized as having handicaps that may lead to disabilities in the future. The average participation in Portsmouth from 2006 to 2010 was 8.4% and 9.6% in the state. Students who are in special education classes has had relatively stable rates in both the community and the state with 17% for both in 2009 and 2010. A positive trend in the state and community is the Reading and Math Proficiency levels. Starting in 2006, Math and Reading proficiency in Portsmouth was 76% and 78% respectively and 47% and 58% for the state. Just by 2010, the levels in Portsmouth jumped to 84% and 90% while the state's levels increased to 54% and 74%. Luckily, high school attendance and graduation rates seem to be a consistent and high rate. In 2006, the attendance rates for Portsmouth and Rhode Island were 95% and 90% respectively. In 2010, the same rates for community and state were 95% and 91% showing some good stability. Graduation rates in 2007 were 88% for Portsmouth and 70% for Rhode Island and in 2010 Portsmouth saw and 85% graduation rate compared to 76% in the state. This is a good indication of the success of Portsmouth's schools. (RIDE, InfoWorks LIVE!)

Portsmouth, Rhode Island is a quaint, historic community. Geographically, Portsmouth is developed, yet not a city. Demographically, Portsmouth is far from diverse. Portsmouth also has very functional families as proven by income, child population and household information. Lastly, Portsmouth is a very safe and healthy community, especially as compared to the statewide statistics. These findings are important to consider because they reveal the similarities and differences of Portsmouth as compared to other communities in Rhode Island. Portsmouth is a well developed and successful community.
 * __Conclusion:__**