$37,656 is the average annual cost to society for each child we allow to grow up in poverty. That cost comes from that child’s higher chances of needing extra help in school, failing to reach his or her earning potential, and being at greater risk for entering the correctional system, needing welfare, or otherwise depending on the state in adulthood. Meanwhile, $15,572 is the average annual cost for each Texas boy we allow to grow up without health insurance (versus $11,646 for each girl), due to lower earnings that child experiences, once grown, due to health problems left unaddressed during childhood.
It was very bad news then for Texas taxpayers yesterday, when the U.S. Census announced the state’s child poverty rate spiked 11% in a single year and that Texas continues to have one of the nation’s highest rates of children without health insurance. Texas demographic experts point out that more than our state’s finances are on the line with data like these; our entire Texas economy depends on getting children on a better path.
Unfortunately, instead of planning for that better path, right now Texas is weighing short-sighted proposals that would remove effective, proven services for children from the next Texas budget. Such a move threatens to put us still further behind where our state needs to be. For more, consider the excerpts below from testimony by three of our policy staff this week in hearings before the Legislative Budget Board.
Eileen Garcia, on proposed reductions in funding to connect kids with health coverage, like CHIP or Medicaid: "State leadership consistently identifies enrollment of currently eligible, but unenrolled children as a priority as we seek to reduce costly health outcomes and local burdens for uncompensated care. [Yet these budget cuts work] against achieving this stated goal.”
Jodie Smith, on proposed cuts in the education budget that could lead to higher rates of obesity, school dropouts, and unmet children’s mental health needs: "Children spend a great deal of their time in school, and what happens in school environments makes a difference in the state’s success … Texans Care urges you to consider the long-term costs associated with budget decisions made this session.”
Josette Saxton, on proposed cuts to everything from vaccinations to infant health services to obesity prevention and mental health care: "Society reaps the greatest benefits from supporting the physical and mental health of its children, as it reduces its costs in the health, education, and criminal justice system and increases the stability, productivity, and safety of its people. Failures in one system are often felt in other systems, which are usually more restrictive, costly, and less effective.”
To join us in calling for real and sustainable economic planning in Texas, become a Texans Care member today or take our Put Kids 1st pledge.
News and Reports Weekly Round-Up
Child and Maternal Health
9.17.10 Number of Uninsured Texas Children Overall Declining, But Middle Class Kids Increasingly Uninsured (Newsroom)
9.16.10 Texas Struggling with Child Obesity (KUT News)
9.16.10 Lawmakers Unite to Get Children Insured (Houston Chronicle)
9.14.10 New Child Obesity Journal Launches, Offers Free Content in First Edition Online (Childhood Obesity)
9.11.10 Perry, White Say Health Care a Priority (Houston Chronicle)
More Health News...
Child Protection
9.15.10 Texas Will Receive over $7.4 Million in Federal Adoption Incentives (BusinessWire via TexProtects)
More Protection News...
Family Financial Security Headlines
9.17.10 Poverty Up More than 10% for Texas Kids in One Year (Newsroom)
9.17.10 Texas Seeks Answers to Rising Poverty Rate (Dallas Morning News)
9.17.10 End of Census Leaves Texas with Fewer Jobs for Second Straight Month (Dallas Morning News)
9.15.10 Fight Against Kids’ Hunger Starts at School (USA Today)
9.11.10 Number of Families in Shelters Rises (New York Times)
More Financial Security News...
Juvenile Justice Headlines
9.13.10 Life Without Parole: Too Tough for Teens? (MyFoxHouston)
More Juvenile Justice News…
Child Mental Wellbeing Headlines
9.13.10 Cuts Merely Shift Financial Burden (San Antonio Express-News editorial)
More Mental Health News...
More About Kids
9.16.10 How Kids Get Clobbered by Racial Discrimination (TIME)
More News about Kids. . .
