New Study Finds That Some 55,000 Children Who Were Displaced Following Hurricane Katrina Face Long Term Health, Mental And Educational Crises

Two and a half years after
Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the flooding of New Orleans displaced tens
of thousands of families in the Gulf Coast region, between 46,000 and
64,000 children remain at-risk for long-term health and social problems,
according to a new study issued today by Columbia University's Mailman
School of Public Health and The Children's Health Fund. Although many of
the children who were displaced have returned to their home communities or
home states, according to census and school enrollment data, they still
face inadequate housing, unsafe communities, and inadequate access to
comprehensive medical and mental health care.


The study found this displaced group at risk for a host of serious
medical and mental health as well as educational problems, complicated by
highly limited support services. More than half of the 55,000 displaced
children in Louisiana (55.4%) and nearly half in Mississippi (47.1%) have
been estimated to exhibit one of three "risk factors" that can have a long
term or permanent impacts on their lives: a substantial drop in academic
achievement, according to their parents; lost access to health care (either
medical home or insurance coverage); or clinically-diagnosed depression,
anxiety or behavior disorder.



The study, "The Legacy of Katrina's Children: Estimating the Numbers of
Hurricane-Related At-Risk Children in the Gulf Coast States of Louisiana &
Mississippi," is a collaboration between Columbia University Mailman School
of Public Health and The Children's Health Fund. Overseen by Irwin
Redlener, MD, the study was led by David Abramson, PhD, MPH, director of
research at the Mailman School's National Center for Disaster Preparedness
(NCDP). The research focuses on children in Louisiana and Mississippi who
had been displaced by the hurricane, and who may be among the most needy.



Irwin Redlener, MD, director of NCDP and president of the Children's
Health Fund said, "This may be the most severe acute crisis affecting
American children since the 1950s". He continued, "It's been two and a half
years since the Hurricanes devastated the Gulf Coast region, and the level
of uncertainty among tens of thousands of families who still do not have
adequate permanent housing for families has manifested itself in the
children, with a distressing rise of mental health and medical issues, as
well as a drop in academic performance that can have painful and permanent
consequences. In fact, these families would be officially recognized as
'Internally Displaced Persons' by international humanitarian
organizations."



Dr. Abramson added, "Since the disaster, our research team has been
following a representative group of families and households who had been
displaced by Katrina. Some families are having success rebuilding their
homes and their lives. But many families are finding that as they return to
communities, old problems persist and a number of new problems emerge.
There are still children living in temporary or transient housing, such as
FEMA trailer parks, and their parents are struggling to find new housing
options. Our intention with this study was to estimate the magnitude of the
problem - how many children are at-risk, whether they are living in trailer
parks or are back in the community."















-- The total number of individuals in both Louisiana and Mississippi who
had been displaced by Hurricane Katrina is estimated at 447,827,
including an estimated 163,105 children.


-- Based on census data, an estimated range of 82,000 to 95,000 children
have returned to their home community or home state. There are
approximately 11,000 children still residing in trailer park settings.


-- Between 46,582 and 64,934 children are estimated to have been
displaced by Hurricane Katrina and are presently experiencing a risk
factor that puts them at risk for long-term poor outcomes.



The Study concluded that the estimates found in the report represent
the increased risks suffered by children in these two states (Louisiana and
Mississippi) because of the hurricane and their subsequent displacement.



The Children's Health Fund (CHF) (childrenshealthfund) Founded
in 1987 by pediatrician/child advocate Irwin Redlener, MD, and
singer/songwriter Paul Simon, CHF is a not-for-profit organization that
works nationally to develop health care programs for the most medically
underserved population -- homeless and disadvantaged children. CHF's 21
pediatric programs have provided essential primary care services in more
than one million patient visits. Soon after Hurricane Katrina devastated
thousands of miles of the Gulf Coast, CHF responded to the urgent public
health needs by establishing Operation Assist, a collaboration with the
National Center for Disaster Preparedness (NCDP) at the Mailman School of
Public Health at Columbia University.



The only accredited school of public health in New York City, and among
the first in the nation, Columbia University's Mailman School of Public
Health (mailman.hs.columbia) provides instruction and research
opportunities to more than 850 graduate students in pursuit of masters and
doctoral degrees. Its students and nearly 250 multi-disciplinary faculty
engage in research and service in the city, nation, and around the world,
concentrating on biostatistics, environmental health sciences,
epidemiology, health policy and management, population and family health,
and sociomedical sciences.


The Children's Health Fund

childrenshealthfund