Findings
This assessment yielded original data concerning
capacity and status of previously licensed child care centers
and of non-public schools with grades PreK, K, and 1, as well as
original analysis of the status of planning districts according
to these indicators plus condition of housing stock.
Capacity of Licensed Child Care Centers
The survey of licensed child care centers found that,
approximately 10 months after the storm, less than one-fifth of
the parish’s former centers were open:
| Red |
149 |
56.02% |
| Yellow |
65 |
24.44% |
| Green |
52 |
19.59% |
In comparison to the 266 child care centers that
were licensed in Orleans Parish before Hurricane Katrina, only
52, or 19.59%, were open at the time of the survey. Those
included two new centers that opened since the storm.
More than half of the pre-Katrina centers (149 centers, or
56.02%), were closed and appeared unlikely to reopen because of
the severity of damage to the facilities, disconnected
telephones, an expressed plan to remain closed, or because they
literally could not be located.
However, the survey found that almost one-fourth of the
pre-Katrina centers (65 centers or 24.44%), although still
closed, had some indication of the potential to reopen, such as
a working telephone, an expressed plan or desire to reopen, or
evidence of repairs underway.
The pre-Katrina capacity of those 266 centers was 15,731 slots,
for a ratio of 1 slot for every 2.13 children ages 0-4, as
indicated by the Census 2000. The parish-wide change from
pre-Katrina to post-Katrina is a 80.45% reduction in the number
of licensed child care centers and a 75.32% reduction in the
number of licensed child care slots. (See Table 1.) The loss in
slots is higher than the estimated loss of 63.8%, as of January
2006, in total population for the parish (Frey & Singer, 2006).
Moreover, it is widely speculated that many families with
school-age children, having spent the academic year in other
communities, would return to Orleans Parish during the summer,
so the January 2006 population estimates may have little
long-term significance in assessing child care needs.
Of 61 discrete neighborhoods in Orleans Parish, 33, or 54%, lost
all licensed centers. Nine neighborhoods lost no licensed
centers. (See Figure 1.)
Of the 52 centers open at the time of the assessment, 32
centers, or 62%, with a maximum capacity (subsidized and
unsubsidized) of 1,512, accepted vouchers from the state child
care subsidy program.
Of the open centers, 10 are Head Start or Early Head Start
programs, with a total of 1,196 slots available, compared to 30
Head Start and Early Head Start centers with 2,318 slots in the
parish before the hurricane. (The number and capacity of
pre-Katrina Head Start/Early Head Start programs is calculated
on the basis of the program names containing “Head Start” in a
list of licensed centers obtained from the Louisiana Department
of Social Services.)
Locations of Open Schools
Sixty public and non-public PreK-8 schools, with a total
capacity of 25,840 in grades PreK-8, will be open in Orleans
Parish in Fall 2006. Four planning districts (French Quarter,
New Aurora/English Turn, Lower Ninth Ward, and Venetian Isles)
will have no open elementary schools. (See Figure 2.)
The network analysis of child care-to-school capacity found that
open PreK-8 schools had from 1 to 6 child care centers within
0.62 miles. Ratios of child care slots to school slots in grades
PreK-8 ranged from 1:0.39 to 1:18.06. Some school areas
experienced declines in child care-to-school capacity ratios of
200% to 300% or higher.
Availability of Housing
The proportion of housing stock with minor or no damage ranges
from 1% in the Venetian Isles Planning District to 65% in the
New Aurora/English Turn Planning District.
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/ Mississippi State, MS / 39762 / tel. 662-325-4836 / fax 662-325-5436
© 2004- Mississippi State University
