Publication Examines Well-Being Of Texas Children

[Horse with no Name]

I, for one, am happy that someone is paying attention to this! They have hit the nail on the head.

http://teaguechronicle.com/default.asp?sourceid=&smenu=1&twindow=&mad=&sdetail=733&wpage=1&skeyword=&sidate=&ccat=&ccatm=&restate=&restatus=&reoption=&retype=&repmin=&repmax=&rebed=&rebath=&subname=&pform=&sc=2974&hn=teaguechronicle&he=.com

>>>>snip
ASSESSING THE TEXAS APPROACH
For decades, state leaders have told us that spending little on public services for children to keep taxes low leads to prosperity, making things better for children in the long run. But the data show this to be a failed approach: Texas spends less per person than any other state, but things aren't getting better for kids.

"Decades of belt tightening have left us with more poor, uninsured, and hungry children than almost every other state," said Frances Deviney, Texas KIDS COUNT Director.

>>>snip
CHILD POVERTY MUCH TOO HIGH IN TEXAS
With nearly 1 in 4 Texas children living in poverty (23 percent), Texas' child poverty rate exceeds most other states' (U.S. = 18 percent). That means nearly 1.5 million Texas children live in families making less than the federal poverty level (e.g., less than $17,600 for a family of three in 2008). In Freestone County, 765 children (or 18.8 percent) live below the poverty level. High unemployment is a consistent indicator of high child poverty rates, and during past recessions, child poverty rates continued to increase for a year or more after the rest of the economy made an initial recovery. Given that Texas' unemployment numbers doubled in the last two years (from 4.4 percent in January 2008 to 8.3 percent in December 2009, seasonally adjusted), we will likely see an increase in child poverty as the data catches up with the economic downturn. In Freestone County, the unemployment rate went from 4.1 percent in January 2008 to 6.3 percent in December 2009, not seasonally adjusted). Compared to their peers, children living in poverty are more likely to drop out of high school, have worse health outcomes in adolescence and adulthood, and have worse employment outcomes, undermining our future prosperity.

RATE OF UNINSURED CHILDREN ON THE RISE FOR MOST INCOME LEVELS
For the 10th consecutive year, Texas has the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation, with 20 percent of Texas children uninsured -nearly twice the national average. This rate is predicted to rise to 24 percent in 2010. In Freestone County, 875 children (or 18.2 percent) are predicted to be uninsured in 2010. Children are falling through the cracks of both the private and the public health insurance markets. Fewer children are covered through their parent's employer (50 percent in 2003 to 46 percent in 2008). Increases in the rate of uninsured in 2008 were the largest for children whose families made too much to qualify them for public coverage but not enough to purchase individual private insurance plans. Even for families that do qualify for public health benefits-half of Texas' 1.4 million uninsured children do-lack of education about available programs, intimidating enrollment procedures, and a broken eligibility and enrollment system that has improperly denied benefits to hundreds of thousands of Texans.

[ellenfl]

1. quelle surprise. eom