A Portrait of Marin First County-Level American Human Development Report in Measure of America Series Reveals Striking Disparities in Well-Being
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Marin County, CA (PRWEB) January 18, 2012 </p>The American Human Advancement Project released today A Portrait of Marin, the initial county-degree American Human Improvement Report in the Measure of America series. Commissioned by the Marin Community Foundation, A Portrait of Marin ranks the effectively-staying of Marinites on a scale from to 10 using the American Human Growth (HD) Index, a composite measure of wellbeing, training, and residing standards.

The evaluation reveals that some Marinites are enjoying extraordinarily higher levels of properly-staying and access to possibility, although other people are encountering levels of health, schooling, and standard of residing that prevailed in the nation three decades ago. At the best of the ranking is Ross (HD Index 9.70) and at the bottom is the Canal place of San Rafael (HD Index 3.18), whose score is beneath that of West Virginia, the lowest ranked state. Rankings are supplied for significant racial and ethnic groups, males and ladies, and the forty-eight Marin County census tracts for which there are trustworthy U.S Census Bureau information.

The aim of A Portrait of Marin is to bring greater awareness and knowing of the complexities of this kind of essential troubles as wellness, education, and income across our county, mentioned Thomas Peters, President and CEO of the Marin Community Foundation. It tends to make sense of data, brings clarity to numbers, and connects seemingly unrelated dots. We hope it will be employed by concerned residents, company and nonprofit leaders, elected officials, educators, and other individuals to search holistically at who we are as a neighborhood and to support facilitate discussions of ways to support all Marinites in realizing their total possible.

What we are seeing in Marin is a harbinger of whats to come nationwide, with critical implications for exactly where to focus public and private sources in the years ahead, stated Sarah Burd-Sharps, co-director of American Human Growth Venture and co-author of A Portrait of Marin.

The fastest-expanding section of the population in Marinas in the countryis Latino. Todays Latino youngsters are a critical segment of the tax-having to pay workforce of tomorrow, but Latinos lag on the American HD Index, particularly in educational attainment and incomes. Enhancing American HD Index scores amongst Latinos is important not only to their effectively-staying and entry to possibility, but also to Marins and Americas prolonged-expression economic competitiveness and top quality of daily life, additional Kristen Lewis, co-director of American Human Advancement Project and co-author of A Portrait of Marin.

Amongst THE Key FINDINGS FROM A PORTRAIT OF MARIN

Well being 
The typical Ross resident lives almost eight many years longer than the average Californian and an astonishing decade longer than the nationwide regular.
 All main racial and ethnic groups in Marin County reside lengthier than their counterparts in the rest of California.
African Americans lag behind other groups in longevity, although they reside longer in Marin than elsewhere in California.
Training 
Even though fewer than 30 percent of American adults have completed at least a four-year school degree, in Marin, over 50 % have.
 Even though Marins all round high college dropout price is very low at seven.three percent, the rate has remained persistent, and the racial and ethnic gaps in dropout prices are not decreasing over time in spite of targeted in-school efforts.
In Marin, as across the nation, the colleges whose students have better requirements tend to get fewer public dollars.
Earnings 
However Marins planners have targeted employment in areas this kind of as biotechnology and software as a way to stimulate the recovery and the countys long-phrase development, the occupation growth that has occurred over the final two decades in Marin is overwhelmingly at the other finish of the scale minimal-wage service employment.
The distribution of earnings in Marin is exceedingly lopsided the top rated fifth of Marin taxpayers take home about 71 percent of the countys complete earnings. The bottom fifth earns one.3 percent of the total revenue.
A Portrait of Marin highlights actions that Marinites can take to lock in human growth successes nowadays even though setting the stage for significant budget financial savings and enhanced effectively-getting tomorrow. These consist of creating an surroundings that minimizes wellbeing risks investing in preschool, and addressing the lower per-pupil spending in colleges whose college students have best needs and expanding affordably priced housing to increase alternatives for older adults and working households and to minimize Marins auto congestion and pollution.

Supporters of A Portrait of Marin consist of The Marin Community Foundation and the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. For additional info, such as simple fact sheets on wellbeing, education and normal of living in Marin, and an interactive map system, go to http://www.measureofamerica.org/marin.

About the American Human Development Venture
An initiative of the Social Science Research Council (SSRC), the American Human Improvement Project gives simple-to-use nevertheless methodologically sound equipment for understanding the distribution of effectively-being and chance in America and stimulating fact-based mostly dialogue about issues we all care about well being, schooling, and residing specifications. The hallmark of this perform is the American Human Development Index, an alternative to GDP and other cash metrics that tells the story of how ordinary Americans are faring and empowers communities with a tool to track progress above time. The Index is comprised of well being, training, and revenue indicators and enables for nicely-being rankings of the 50 states, 435 congressional districts, county groups inside of states, women and men, and racial and ethnic groups.
Through nationwide and state reports, thematic briefs, and the tasks interactive website, the American Human Growth Project aims to breathe daily life into numbers, making use of information to generate compelling narratives that foster higher comprehending of our shared problems and greater support for folks-centered policies. The Venture is created possible via the Conrad N. Hilton Foundations matching grant, which will match each and every dollar you donateeffectively doubling your contribution.

About the Authors
Sarah Burd-Sharps and Kristen Lewis are co-directors of the American Human Growth Venture. Previously, Sarah worked with the United Nations for more than two decades, most just lately as Deputy Director of the Human Advancement Report Workplace of the United Nations Development System (UNDP). Prior to this, she worked in China and in a number of African nations on gender problems and financial empowerment. Sarah holds an M.I.A. from Columbia University. Kristen also comes from an worldwide growth policy background, getting worked primarily in the locations of gender equality, governance, environment, and water and sanitation. Kristen is co-writer, under the leadership of Jeffrey Sachs Millennium Project, of the 2005 book Wellbeing, Dignity and Improvement What Will It Take? She worked at the United Nations for some 10 many years and has served as a consultant for many worldwide development organizations. Kristen also holds an M.I.A. from Columbia University.
About the Marin Neighborhood Foundation
The Marin Neighborhood Foundation is the principal center for philanthropy in Marin County, CA and is a single of the biggest neighborhood foundations in the U.S. It manages the assets of the Leonard and Beryl H. Buck Tru
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