It's Friday. More than one in 330 children in California have lost a parent or other at-home caregiver to Covid-19. Plus, California unveils its "next phase" pandemic playbook. |
 | | A teenager lost his father to Covid-19 infection last year.Adriana Zehbrauskas for The New York Times |
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As California looks toward a new, hopefully more normal chapter of the pandemic, I've found myself stuck on an unsettling statistic. |
More than one in 330 children in the state have lost at least one of their caretakers to Covid-19, a disease that has now killed more than 928,000 people nationwide. |
Loss is crushing for anyone, but the death of a parent or guardian carries potentially lifelong impacts for children — and could very well be one of the most enduring consequences of this pandemic. |
While it's true that most children who experience parental loss do not develop serious issues, studies have found that the overall rates of mental health and social problems in this group do tend to be higher in adulthood. Bereaved children are generally more likely to be diagnosed with depression, anxiety and substance abuse disorders, and to drop out of school and be unemployed. |
Things like economic security and strong social networks during grieving can help stave off these long-term effects, but the pandemic has created instability in those aspects of life as well. |
In an effort to begin addressing this issue, Santa Clara County leaders this week voted to establish a program to identify and support grieving children and to look into expanding campus wellness centers at local schools. |
"Our county has a particular obligation to address the recovery needs of children who may face lifelong challenges due to the loss of a parent or primary caregiver," Susan Ellenberg, the county supervisor who wrote the referral, said at a board meeting this week. "While kids have generally been less directly impacted by severe illness, they have borne some of the most significant burdens of the pandemic." |
The rate of children who lost a parent or other in-home caregiver to Covid is higher in California than nationally — one in 330 versus one in 450 — and is the fourth highest out of 50 states, according to a report released in December. |
It's important to note that the data in the report includes deaths only through mid-November, so the figures don't factor in the thousands of additional deaths from the recent Omicron surge. |
In California and nationwide, teenagers experienced the highest rates of Covid-19 bereavement compared with other age groups, which is most likely because their parents and grandparents are older and therefore more vulnerable to the disease. |
Children of color were also far more likely to have been bereaved in the past two years. In California, the fraction of Hispanic children who lost a parent or other in-home caretaker to the virus is nearly four times higher than that of white children. |
Here's a more detailed look at the numbers: |
Rate of Covid-19 bereaved children in the five largest states |
- California: 304 per 100,000 children
- Texas: 347
- Florida: 297
- New York: 320
- Pennsylvania: 161
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Number of bereaved children in California by age |
- Ages 0 to 4: 5,936
- Ages 5 to 13: 13,566
- Ages 14 to 17: 7,389
- All ages: 26,891
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Rate of bereaved children by race in California |
- Asian: 226 per 100,000 children
- Non-Hispanic Black: 314
- Hawaiian or Pacific Islander: 647
- Hispanic: 424
- American Indian or Alaska Native: 185
- Non-Hispanic white: 123
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In Santa Clara County, recent surveys of fifth graders have revealed that 47 percent have unmet mental health and emotional needs, said Kathleen King, head of the Healthier Kids Foundation, based in San Jose, which conducted the survey. That's nearly double the expected rate for that age group, she told me. |
The pandemic has exacerbated an existing youth mental health crisis in the United States, experts say. On top of rising anxiety and depression rates, children are now grappling with loneliness from school and other disruptions, economic instability and grief of all kinds. |
Sparky Harlan, director of the Bill Wilson Center, a nonprofit based in Santa Clara that runs youth grief groups, told me that many children were struggling with witnessing loss for the first time. They see a young uncle die of Covid-19, and they worry their mother is next. |
"It's not just caregivers, but it's sort of the family network. Whether it's a grandparent or an aunt or uncle — the loss that children feel reverberates," she said. "They're soaking up this grief." |
 | | Ann Hsu, an entrepreneur born in Beijing, helped organize the San Francisco recall. She has two teenage boys in the public school district.Jim Wilson/The New York Times |
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If you read one story, make it this |
 | | Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the next phase of California's Covid-19 response in Upland on Thursday.Watchara Phomicinda/The Orange County Register, via Associated Press |
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- Corporate America: The Great Resignation comes for the C-suite.
- California crime labs: Prosecutors and advocates were shocked by claims by San Francisco's district attorney that California crime labs were using rape-kit DNA to investigate unrelated crimes, The Associated Press reports.
- Assembly runoff: Two San Francisco Democrats, Matt Haney and David Campos, appear headed to a runoff election for a vacant seat in the State Assembly, The Associated Press reports.
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 | | Karsten Moran for The New York Times |
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 | | Duncan Selby/Alamy |
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"There are quite a few beautiful, easy hikes at this quiet state park. Located just outside of Los Osos, it's definitely a local favorite." |
What are your favorite places to visit in California? |
Email your suggestions to CAtoday@nytimes.com. We'll be sharing more in upcoming editions of the newsletter. |
 | | Karen Chen of the United States competing in the women's free skate on Thursday.Chang W. Lee/The New York Times |
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And before you go, some good news |
Karen Chen, a figure skater from California, performs in costumes carefully designed with Swarovski crystals that are the best for catching the light. There could be thousands of them on each dress, and each is individually glued on. |
And unusually for the top level of the sport, Chen's dresses are made by her mother. |
Chen, 22, wore meticulously mom-made dresses in both the short program and the free skate of the team event at the Beijing Olympics last week, when the United States won the silver medal. She can't imagine wearing a dress made by anyone else. |
"It's hard to explain, but I just feel the best when I wear them," Chen told The Times. |
Thanks for reading. We'll be off Monday because of Presidents' Day. See you Tuesday. — Soumya |
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