California ranks 36th in the nation in the percentage of children with health insurance.

It costs about $1,200 per year to provide health coverage for a child.

Healthy Families enrollment peaked at 922,429 in July 2009, up from 768,352 just three years earlier.

Poor children are more likely to experience lapses in health coverage.

In 1987, California opened its first school health centers in Los Angeles, San Jose and San Francisco. Today, only 153 of California’s 10,222 schools have health centers.

Approximately 30% of California’s children, ages 2 to 5, have never seen a dentist; early care and education settings are underutilized as a convenient place to provide oral health services.

Access to on-site psychologists or social workers at state-funded pre-kindergarten programs has been shown to reduce expulsions from 10.8 per 1,000 to 5.7 per 1,000.

Every child should have a reliable source of preventive medical care. Yet more than 800,000 children do not have a usual place to go when they are sick or in need of health advice.

California’s Nurse-Family Partnership program improves pregnancy outcomes, boosts children’s health and developmental outcomes, and increases parents’ economic self-sufficiency.

Research has shown that students who receive mental health services in school-based family resource centers significantly improve English test scores and make modest gains in math test scores when compared to students with similar backgrounds at schools without centers.

While the number of school children with chronic illnesses like asthma and diabetes increases, the state’s ratio of approximately one school nurse to 2,172 students remains far below the national recommendation of one nurse for every 750 students.

In 2007-08, First 5 California provided services to nearly 170,000 of the state’s zero-to-five population and more than 425,000 of the state’s parents, guardians, caregivers, relatives and providers. Services included family literacy and parenting education, resource and referral services, and provision of basic family needs, such as clothing and food.

California’s Nurse-Family Partnership, which provides home visitation services for vulnerable first-time mothers, has helped 92% of participating mothers give birth to full-term, normal birthweight babies.

Providing oral heath services in schools could increase attendance, as 7% of the state’s children miss at least one school day each year due to an oral health problem.

In 2008-09, more than half of California’s public school children (nearly 3.3 million) participated in the Free and Reduced Price Meals Program.

Television advertising influences children’s food and beverage preferences, purchase requests, and consumption habits.

Significant income disparities exist in the prevalence of obesity. In California, teens in families at or below the FPL are almost three times as likely to be obese as teens at 300% or above the FPL.

Research has linked the eating habits of teenagers to those of their parents. Adolescents whose parents drink one soda a day are 11% more likely to eat fast food at least once a week than adolescents whose parents do not drink soda.

Over two-thirds of food and beverage products promoted by companies that participate in the self-regulatory Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative are for unhealthy or Whoa products.

Students who pass the Physical Fitness Test have higher California Standardized Test scores than those who fail the PFT.

While the majority of California’s children report living near a park or playground that is safe during the day, only half of California’s children report having a park or playground nearby that is safe at night.

One million, or roughly 12% of California’s children, are obese or overweight.

Nationally, one-third of high schools have at least one fast-food restaurant or convenience store within walking distance of the school. Schools in low-income communities have more fast-food restaurants and convenience stores than schools located in higher income communities.

Between 2005 and 2009, ads for fast foods and fast-food restaurants in children’s programming increased by 15% and ads for sugared snacks decreased by 11%.

The 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that teens get 60 minutes of activity five or more days a week. Yet, on average, California teens get 60 minutes of activity only 3.7 days a week.

While The National Recreation and Park Association recommends that communities have at least six to 10 acres of open space per 1,000 residents, some low-income communities in southern California have as little as 1.2 acres per 1,000 residents.

Schools within one-tenth of a mile of fast-food restaurants have a 5% increase in their rate of childhood obesity.

Sugared cereals, fast foods and fast-food restaurants, and sugared snacks continue to dominate the majority of food advertisements on children’s television programs.

Obesity rates among California adolescents, ages 12-17, have remained relatively flat since 2001.

Lower income communities, including predominantly Latino and African American communities, often have fewer resources to support active lifestyles and public places to play.

In the United States, every dollar spent on community water fluoridation saves $8 to $49 in dental treatment costs, depending on the size of the community. About 69% of the U.S. population and 27% of Californians have access to fluoridated water.

The American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry recommends that children visit a dentist every six months once their first tooth appears or no later than their first birthday.

Children of color, English learners, children without dental insurance and children in families living below 200% of the federal poverty level are most at risk of missing two or more days of school due to poor oral health.

Pediatricians can play a key role in providing basic preventive oral health services, such as applying fluoride varnish, to young children.

580,000 California children, ages 2-17, cannot afford dental care that is needed.

30% of California’s children have one or more oral health problems, including toothaches, decay or cavities, bleeding gums and broken teeth.

In California, an estimated 776,000 children, ages 2-17, have never seen a dentist. Latino and Asian children are least likely to access oral health care.

In 2007-08, the California Children’s Dental Disease Prevention Program served 307,880 children in 1,112 schools. Despite its success, the state suspended all funding for the program indefinitely.

1.7 million California children do not have dental insurance.

28% of children from kindergarten to third grade have untreated tooth decay and 4% are in urgent need of dental care because of pain or infection.

For infants, maintaining good oral health is important, because primary teeth enable them to eat solid food, aid in speech development and serve as placeholders for permanent teeth.