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Part I: Identify the Issue: Explain how the issue of A.) Providing high quality child care for all children and B.) Children living in poverty is affecting children, families, and communities in the state of Texas.
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Part II: Identify Your Strategies: List three strategies you believe would be effective in advocating for the issue you chose. For each strategy, include the specifics of how you would carry it out.
Part III: Identify the Potential Impact: For each strategy, explain its potential impact on young children and families in your community. Set a goal for implementing each strategy.
Children in the States TEXAS
September 2015 Child Population
7,115,614 children lived in Texas in 2014; 67 percent were children of color. 33 percent were White
49 percent were Hispanic
12 percent were Black
4 percent were Asian 2 percent were two or more races
<1 percent were American Indian/Alaska Native
<1 percent were Pacific Islander Child Poverty
Nearly 1 in 4 (24.6 percent) of Texas’s children were poor in 2014, a total of 1,728,982 children.1 Texas ranked 39th in child poverty among states.2
More than 1 in 10 children lived in extreme poverty at less than half the poverty level.
The youngest children were the poorest age group. More than 1 in 4 children under age 6 were poor;
nearly half of the poor children were extremely poor. Children of color in Texas are disproportionately poor. Nearly 1 in 3 Black children, more than 1 in 3 Hispanic children, and nearly 1 in 4 American Indian/Alaska
Native children were poor in 2014, compared to nearly 1 in 9 White children. Child Hunger and Homelessness
Child poverty in Texas leads to unacceptable child homelessness and hunger. More than 101,000 Texas public school students were homeless in the 2012-2013 school year.
In 2014, more than 2 full-time minimum-wage jobs were necessary to be able to afford a fair market rent
two-bedroom apartment in Texas and still have enough left over for food, utilities and other necessities.
More than 27 percent of children lived in households that lacked access to adequate food in 2013. Nearly
37 percent of children ages 10-17 were overweight or obese in 2011-2012. Texas ranked 45th of 50 states
in child food security and 46th in percent of children overweight and obese.
Nearly 32 percent of Texas children relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to
meet their nutritional needs on an average month in FY2013.
More than 88 percent of Texas children receiving a free and reduced-price lunch during the school year
did not participate in Summer Nutrition Programs in 2014 – ranking Texas 35th of 50 states in ensuring
that children have adequate summer nutrition. Child Health
Although the majority of Texas’s children have access to health coverage, that does not guarantee
enrollment in coverage or access to care, which can jeopardize their education and their future. 1 In 2013, 83.7 percent of eligible children participated in Medicaid or CHIP, Texas’s Children’s Health
Insurance Program. In FY2013, a total of 3,504,386 Texas children ages 0-18 were enrolled in Medicaid,
and 1,034,613 in CHIP.
More than 888,000 Texas children ages 0-17 (12.6 percent) were uninsured in 2013. The state had the
2nd highest rate of uninsured children among states. A family of four was poor if it was living on less than $23,834 a year, $1,986 a month, $458 a week and $65 a day, and
extremely poor if living on less than $11,917 a year, $993 a month, $229 a week and $33 a day.
2
st
th
The state ranked 1 is the best for children for that outcome and the state ranked 50 is the worst for children. In 2012, 516,000 uninsured children ages 0-18 were eligible for Medicaid or CHIP but not enrolled. Early Childhood and Education
Lack of early childhood investments deprives children of critical supports in the early years and
reduces school readiness. In 2013, the average annual cost of center-based child care for an infant was $8,619 – 1.1 percent more
than the average annual in-state tuition and fees at a public four-year college in Texas.
Texas had 16,470 children on a waiting list for child care assistance in early 2014.
On average, 40 percent of Texas’s 3- and 4-year-olds were enrolled in public or private preschool from
2011-2013. Only 33 percent of children from families with incomes under 200 percent of poverty were
enrolled.
Texas’s state-funded preschool program met 2 of the 10 quality benchmarks set by the National Institute
for Early Education Research in 2013-2014. Texas’s schools fail to educate all children, closing off a crucial pathway out of poverty. In 2013, 72 percent of Texas’s fourth grade public school students were unable to read at grade level and
59 percent were unable to compute at grade level. 82 percent of Black fourth graders could not read at grade level and 76 percent could not compute.
83 percent of Hispanic fourth graders could not read at grade level and 70 percent could not compute. 82 percent of Texas public high school students graduated on time in 2012, placing Texas 22nd among
states. 73 percent of Black students and 80 percent of Hispanic students graduated on time compared to
84 percent of White students.
Students who are suspended