Overview: The Equity Center at the University of Virginia, in partnership with the Charlottesville Department of Human Services (DHS) and Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy, released the latest version of the Stepping Stones Report, which provides updated, comprehensive data on the well-being of children and families in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, along with a supplemental report that presents racially disaggregated data. The report, which draws from publicly available sources, serves as a resource to empower policymakers and academics to drive evidence-based policy changes and advance research for the greater good.
The report identifies:
- The number of cost-burdened renters in Charlottesville is consistently high, hovering around 50%. The rate of cost-burdened homeowners in Charlottesville and Albemarle County has declined by at least 10% since 2010.
- The number people experiencing homelessness increased substantially from about 180 people in 2021 to 266 in 2022. Black people are experiencing the highest rate of homelessness, at nearly 4 for every 1,000 residents in the Charlottesville region. The overall rate for the region is about 1 person experiencing homelessness for every 1,000 residents.
- ACPS and CCS had a consistent average daily attendance rate of 96% from 2008-2019. Attendance rates remained steady in CCS during the 2019-2020 school year, at the onset of the COVID pandemic, and increased slightly in ACPS. But the average daily attendance (ADA) rate in both divisions and the state dipped to 93-94% in the state in the 2021-2022 school year.
- In 2022, Albemarle County Public Schools and CCS held on-time graduation rates of 93-94% - higher than the state rate of 92%.
- During the 2009-10 school year, the suspension rate in CCS was 200 per 1,000 students and the rate was well over 100 at ACPS. The rate dropped to nearly 0 during the 2020 school year, when both divisions implemented hybrid learning schedules. The racial gap in CCS appears to be shrinking over time, closing the gap that exists between white and Asian students and Black and Latino students, who are more likely to receive out-of-school suspensions.
- The childhood poverty rate in Charlottesville is consistently higher than that in the state, while the rate in Albemarle County is consistently lower than that in the state. The rate in Charlottesville ranges between 15% and 24% while the rate in Albemarle County ranges between 7% and 12%. In 2022, the federal poverty level for a family of four was $27,750.
Read the full reports at the following links:
- Stepping Stones: A Report on Community Well-Being of Children and Families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Area
- Stepping Stones Supplemental Report: Disaggregated Measures of Well-Being of Children and Families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Area
Citations:
Charlottesville Department of Human Services and the UVA Equity Center. Stepping Stones: A Report on Community Well-Being of Children and Families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Area. Published June 2023. https://equityatlas.virginiaequitycenter.org/reports/stepping-stones.
Charlottesville Department of Human Services and the UVA Equity Center. Stepping Stones Supplemental Report: Disaggregated Measures of Well-Being of Children and Families in the Charlottesville/Albemarle Area. Published July 2023. https://equityatlas.virginiaequitycenter.org/reports/stepping-stones-supplement.