A project of the
Center for Public Policy Priorities
900 Lydia Street
Austin, Texas 78702

According to a new report released today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Texas has improved since 1985 in 5 of 10 indicators of child well-being reported by the national Kids Count Project: infant and child death rates, the rate of teen deaths (by accident, homicide, or suicide), drop out rates, and the percent of teens not attending school and not working. Since 1985, Texas trends have worsened in the percent of low birthweight babies, the teen birth rate, juvenile violent crime arrest rate, child poverty rate, and percent of families with children headed by a single parent.

Although there has been some improvement in child well-being over the last decade, when comparing Texas with the 50 states and the District of Columbia, Texas ranks among the worst in several key areas. Texas ranks among the 10 worst states in the rate of children in poverty (rank=41), teen birth rate (rank=48), and dropout rate (rank=47). Only Mississippi and the District of Columbia had higher teen birth rates and only West Virginia had a higher dropout rate than Texas. (Arizona, Florida, and Louisiana had the same dropout rate as Texas.)

Some of the improvements that have occurred since 1985 have begun to erode in recent years. Although Texas shows an overall improvement since 1985 in teens dying (by accident, homicide or suicide) or dropping out of school, these rates worsened between 1993 and 1994, indicating a disturbing reversal of the slow improvement in the status of teens. Further, the teen birth rate is among the worst in the nation with 52 births per 1,000 girls aged 15 to 17. This gives Texas the low ranking of 48th in the nation for teen births.

In Texas, 427 out of every 100,000 10-17 year olds were arrested for a violent crime in 1994 3/4 more than double the rate in 1985. Interestingly, Texas' standing compared to the other states improved from 33rd in 1993 to 28th in 1994. Texas' arrest rate, however, has worsened since 1985 at almost twice the rate of the country as a whole. The District of Columbia had the highest juvenile violent crime arrest rate with 1,650 arrests per 100,000 10-17 year olds.

The Kids Count Data Book, 1997 is focused this year on the importance of education to the development of our children. This report finds that "schools with high proportions of poor kids score lower on standardized tests, and students attending schools in poor neighborhoods learn less." Texas children are achieving low scores in reading and math. Four out of ten 4th graders scored below the basic reading level in 1994. Nearly one-third of all fourth graders scored below the basic math level in 1996. However, Texas children scored better than the national average in math (Texas=31%, Nation=38%).

Pam Hormuth, Director of the Texas Kids Count Project and Research Specialist with the Center for Public Policy Priorities said: "With our best ranking no better than 15th in the nation, it is clear that Texas has far to go to improve child well-being." Hormuth added, "as we see how Texas ranks in the status of teens, we must begin to focus on educational opportunities that can lead to successful and healthy transitions to adulthood. Our work is just beginning."

Children in poverty are the fastest growing segment of the total population, making the consequences of poverty a problem that affects a huge and growing number of children. While the child poverty rate held constant at 25 percent in Texas, the child population is increasing at a rate that only 11 other states can match. A disproportionately large number of those children living in poverty are minorities. While 25 percent of all Texas children were living in poverty in 1994, an estimated 40 percent of African American and Hispanic children were poor. Although the total child population of Texas is projected to increase 11% between 1995 and 2005, the black population will increase 13 percent, the Asian and Pacific Islander population will go up 45 percent, and the Hispanic population will go up 24 percent. As the minority child population grows to become the majority, the number of children in poverty will also grow. The need for social services for children and their families will also increase.

A disproportionately large number of children living in poverty are members of minority groups. As the percentage of minority children increases, so will the percentage of children in poverty.

Other Findings

• Texas and New Mexico tie for worst in the nation in the percent of children without health insurance (22%).
• Texas is worse than the nation as a whole in the rate of 2-year-olds who were immunized in 1995 (Texas=71% vs Nation=75%).
• Approximately one in ten teens (11.6%) live in neighborhoods where more than one-quarter of the 16-19 year olds were high school dropouts in 1990.
• Four out of ten 3 to 5-year-olds were not enrolled in any nursery school or kindergarten in 1993.
• Twenty-two percent of all children live with parents who were high school drop outs in 1994.
• One in four children lives in poverty.
• One in ten children live in extreme poverty.