WEST WARWICK — A handful of community leaders and social organizations got an in-depth look at the state of child welfare in town yesterday when Rhode Island KIDS COUNT presented West Warwick-centered highlights from its most recent Factbook at the town senior center.

“We feel it’s important to give people an opportunity to see their information all at once and put it into context,” said Elaine Farber, research analyst with Rhode Island KIDS COUNT. “That way they can understand how the factors are all related and the local stakeholders can take it and use it for planning and assessment.”

Yesterday’s presentation examined 35 indicators of child well-being across the spectrum of topics contained within the 2006 Factbook, which was released last April. The data, culled from the 2000 Census, the American Community Survey, and other federal or state organizations, paints a picture that shows West Warwick excelling in some areas, such as low exposure to lead and few teen births, while performing poorly in others, such as student participation in school breakfast programs.

Only 26 percent, or 315, of low-income children participated in the school breakfast program in 2005, according to the survey. That compares with 31 percent of children statewide. While the difference is slim, the numbers tell a larger story, Farber said.

“Breakfast tends to be the meal skipped when you don’t have the money for it,” she said. “I know I can barely concentrate in meetings if I haven’t had breakfast. I can’t imagine having a third grader sit there in school and learn anything without breakfast.”

The town also showed strides in the number of children in full-day kindergarten. Last year, the town implemented full-day kindergarten in two schools, expanding to include four schools this year. As a result, 30 percent of kindergartners are enrolled in full-day classes now.

Rhode Island KIDS COUNT began community-specific presentations in 2001, targeting core communities identified by the state as having more than 15 percent of children below the poverty level. The original communities were Central Falls, Providence, Woonsocket, Pawtucket and Newport. West Warwick, with a child poverty rate of 18 percent, was most recently added to the list.

In each community, the organization links with a partner – in West Warwick, the senior center – to sponsor the presentation, Farber said. The organization is also willing to give presentations to any community that requests it, whether a core community or not, Farber said.

For Dawn Rogers, who works in lead education and outreach for Westbay Community Action, the data gives her more information to educate community members and connect with members of other organizations.

“It’s a chance to meet people in the city and find out facts I didn’t know,” she said. “I’ll probably use a lot of the information I learned here today in the outreach and education or pass it along when I do workshops.”

Schools Supt. David Raiche said he will look into having the data presented during a joint meeting of the School Committee and Town Council to give officials a better understanding of the situation of schools across the district. It will also take advantage of the mantra to improve town graduation rates that many council and school board members campaigned on earlier this month, he said. Currently, West Warwick graduates 82 percent of its students.

“We haven’t had a multi-step plan and we need to put together a comprehensive plan,” he said. “Now is a good time to take advantage of their promises.”