It may surprise you to find out that Leon County tops state charts in infant mortality, as well as teenage drug and alcohol abuse. These are just a few of the startling statistics released Wednesday in a report on our quality of life.
The Tallahassee Leon County Quality of Life Report gives residents a look at how their community is doing in several areas. It shows emerging trends, it serves as a catalyst for decision makers, and most importantly it informs you, the public, about your community.
Folks in Leon County are still beaming with excitement following last week's release of school report cards. Those that revealed Leon is one of two school districts in all of Florida to receive adequate yearly progress.
Iris Wilson, Assistant Superintendent for Leon County Schools, says, “We're happy we're making progress but need to work on closing gap between minority and non-minority students.”
It’s a problem that has been brought to the forefront following the recent release of a quality of life study that reveals areas of success and failure in the capital city community.
Jim Croteau, president of the 21st Century Council, says, “Clearly if we want progress in the community we need to monitor results, citizens monitoring what decision makers are doing and what positive or negative impacts there are.”
Among the negatives are teenage STD rates, teenage alcohol and drug abuse and dangers on the roadways. The latest data shows Leon County jumped up in youth traffic crashes and overall fatal accidents.
CPT Mike Wood of the Leon County Sheriff's Office says, “The fatalities are difficult to access. The crashes can be attributed to number of young drivers with college and high school, adding large numbers of drivers.”
It's problems like these that citizens and community leaders are trying to address using this valuable tool.
The latest data found in this report can be accessed by logging on to www.21stcenturycouncil.net. Officials say the Quality of Life Report is updated year round.
The 21st Century Council comprised the report for citizens and business leaders alike, but the council believes who will benefit most are the actual policy makers for our community.