UNDEREMBARGOuntilTuesday,June21,2016,12:01a.m.EDT
Contact:OliverBernstein,512-823-2875,[email protected]
Texasranks43rdinNationforChildWell-Being,downfrom41stplacein2015
While2016KIDSCOUNTDataBookfindsimprovementsinhealthandeducation,Texasfamilies
continuetostrugglefinancially
AUSTIN–Texasranks43rdinoverallchildwell-being,accordingtothe2016KIDSCOUNT®DataBook
fromtheAnnieE.CaseyFoundation.
“Whilewehaveseenlargeimprovementsinchildhealthinsurancecoverage,highschoolgraduation
andteenbirthrates,wecannotlosesightofthefactthatTexascontinuestorankinthebottom10
statesnationallyforseveralareasofchildwell-being,”saidFrancesDeviney,Ph.D.,AssociateDirector
oftheCenterforPublicPolicyPriorities.
Despiterisingemploymentnumbers,25percentofTexaschildrenlivedinpovertyin2014—thesame
rateasin2013.Althoughunemploymentratesarelow,29percentofchildrenliveinfamilieswhereno
memberofthehouseholdhasfull-time,year-roundemployment.Whilenavigatingtheirownfamily
challenges,anincreasingnumberofyoungpeoplearealsogrowingupinneighborhoodsthatlackthe
resourcestheyneedtothrive.With19percentofTexaschildrenaffected,thestateranks46th
nationallyforthepercentofchildrenlivinginhigh-povertyareas.
KeyTrends
The2016DataBookmeasureschildwell-beinginfourdomains:economicwell-being,education,
health,andfamilyandcommunity.Texascontinuestorankinthebottom10statesforseveralchild
well-beingindicators.
Lowestrankings:
•
•
•
Healthinsurance(Rank:49th,tiedforlastwithAlaska)
o 11percentofchildrenareuninsured
o 784,000childrenareuninsuredinTexas,morethanthreetimesthenumberinneighboring
statesNewMexico,Oklahoma,ArkansasandLouisianacombined.
Teenbirthrate(Rank:46th)
o Teenbirthrateis38birthsper1,000femalesages15to19,comparedto24birthsnationally.
Childrenlivinginhigh-povertyareas(Rank:46th)
o 19percentofchildreninTexasliveinhigh-povertyareas,comparedto14percentnationally.
Largestimprovements:
•
•
Thenumberofchildrenwithouthealthinsurancehasdecreasedbymorethan400,000since2008.
TheteenbirthrateinTexasishalfofwhatitwasin1990.
7020 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 200 • Austin, TX • T 512.320.0222 • F 512.320.0227 • CPPP.org
•
Texashasimprovedto19thplaceinhighschoolgraduation,comparedtoits35thplacerankingin
2007/2008.However,challengesincollegeandcareerreadinessremain.
KeyRecommendations
•
•
Texas’schoolfinancesystemneedsupdatingandmodernizingtoeffectivelyeducatekidsforthefuture.
ItistheroleoftheTexasLegislatureandstateleadershiptoproactivelyaddresseducationalchallenges,
sothatthestatewillnotcontinuouslyfacechallengesinthecourts.
ClosingthehealthcarecoveragegapwouldimmediatelyimpacthundredsofthousandsofTexans,
providingaccesstocriticalphysicalandmentalhealthcareandstrengtheningfamilies’financialsecurity.
“Insteadofwaitingforacrisisoralawsuittospuractiononbehalfofkids,thisreportshowsthatstate
legislatorsneedtoworkproactivelytosolveproblemsandcreateopportunitiesforTexaschildren,”
saidFrancesDeviney,Ph.D.,AssociateDirectoroftheCenterforPublicPolicyPriorities.
The2016DataBookwillbeavailableJune21at12:01a.m.EDTatwww.aecf.org.Additional
informationisavailableathttp://datacenter.kidscount.org,whichalsocontainsthemostrecent
national,stateandlocaldataonhundredsofindicatorsofchildwell-being.TheDataCenterallows
userstocreaterankings,mapsandgraphsforuseinpublicationsandonwebsites,andtoviewrealtimeinformationonmobiledevices.
AttheCenterforPublicPolicyPriorities,webelieveinaTexasthatofferseveryonethechancetocompeteand
succeedinlife.WeenvisionaTexaswhereeveryoneishealthy,well-educated,andfinanciallysecure.Wewant
thebestTexas-aproudstatethatsetsthebarnationallybyexpandingopportunityforall.CPPPisan
independentpublicpolicyorganizationthatusesdataandanalysistoadvocateforsolutionsthatenableTexans
ofallbackgroundstoreachtheirfullpotential.WedareTexastobethebeststateforhard-workingpeopleand
theirfamilies.
TheAnnieE.CaseyFoundationcreatesabrighterfutureforthenation’schildrenbydeveloping
solutionstostrengthenfamilies,buildpathstoeconomicopportunityandtransformstruggling
communitiesintosaferandhealthierplacestolive,workandgrow.KIDSCOUNT®isaregistered
trademarkoftheAnnieE.CaseyFoundation.Formoreinformation,visitwww.aecf.org.
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7020 Easy Wind Drive, Suite 200 • Austin, TX • T 512.320.0222 • F 512.320.0227 • CPPP.org