The Children Are Watching
In an earlier blog I stated that the cruel treatment of
immigrant children being separated from their families at our southern border
resides in our government’s sense that these are “other people’s children,” not
ours to take care of, show compassion to, or be responsible for. I said surely if we understood the humanity
of these very young children, we would never take them far away from their
parents, would not deny their parents an asylum hearing for fleeing known harms
threatening their children. Surely if we
saw them as “all our children,” we would show compassion, be smart and kind in
our treatment of these traumatized arrivals, and in respecting their humanity
affirm our own.
Turns out I was wrong.
Two new studies show our country doesn’t do too well by its own
children. Too many are poor. Too many lack access to health care. Too many fail to graduate high school. And too many lack safe housing and basic
services essential for children to thrive.
I previously highlighted the new report by the UnitedNations on extreme poverty worldwide. It shows the very wealthy US with as many as
one-fifth (20%) of its children living in poverty. Many in extreme poverty – the measure of
which is a mere $2.00/day. As New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof reminds us in reporting out the UN study, the
US regularly separates American children from families through mass
incarceration and over-use of the foster system, both of which
disproportionately to lasting harm to African American families and children.
So what about Texas? The nation and the world have their eyes on Texas as the detention
tents, internment camps and “baby jails” are constructed along our southern
border for migrant families seeking safety for their families. If the cameras turned away from the border
to scan the communities where “our” children live, what would they see?
The just-released Kids Count 2018 by
the Annie E. Casey Foundation has the numbers and they are not good. Texas, one of the richest states in the US
and one of the richest economies in the world, ranks among the lowest 10 states
in the welfare of its children. The
facts are shameful, the need for action never more urgent. Here is a summary of this year’s Kids Count
Texas from the Center for Public Policy Priorities:
Texas Ranks 43rd in Latest National Rankings of Child Well-Being
Reflecting overall
trends in the United States, Texas child poverty and health insurance rates
have improved. An estimated 22 percent of Texas children lived in poverty in
2016, down from 23 percent in 2015. Despite these gains, Texas still lags
behind other states, ranking 37th in child poverty and
48th in the percent of children without
health insurance.
The national KIDS
COUNT Data Book annually
ranks each state in four core areas of child well- being: health, education,
economic well-being and family and community. Texas lags behind most states in
child well-being, and state legislators need to enact policies to improve child
outcomes. Texas ranks:
- 35th in
economic well-being. Although the number of children in poverty has
decreased, more than 1.6 million Texas kids still live in poverty. About
27 percent of kids in Texas live in families where no member of the
household has full-time, year-round employment.
- 32nd in
education.
Data in the report confirm that Texas needs to do more to support
education. A majority of Texas kids lack the reading and math skills they
need to pursue higher education. Texas has a better on-time graduation
rate than the U.S. average. 11 percent of Texas high schoolers did not
graduate on time in the 2015-16 school year compared to 16 percent of
students nationally. However, challenges in college and career readiness
remain. Texas struggles to help its children improve in reading and math.
Seventy-one percent of Texas fourth-graders scored below proficient in
reading levels, and 67 percent of Texas eighth-graders scored below
proficient in math levels.
- 47th in
the family and community domain. The Data
Book refers
to nurturing families and supportive communities as "family and
community." Although the numbers are declining, 17 percent of Texas
kids still live in high-poverty areas. An estimated 20 percent (almost 1.5
million) of kids in Texas live with a parent who lacks a high school
diploma, down from 23 percent in 2012.
• 41st in
health. Texas
child health insurance rates have improved since 2010, but still rank third to
last in the United States. Lawmakers at the federal and state levels must
protect and expand insurance access. Recent improvements are largely the result
of the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), which increased kids' access
to critical physical and mental health care and strengthened families’
financial security by reducing unexpected medical expenses. Threats to cut the
popular Children's Health Insurance Program in 2017 and continued attacks on
the ACA are not in line with keeping kids healthy.
CPPP has actively
engaged in the Texas Public School Finance Commission,
which has been meeting this year, and urges that group to recommend boosted
public school investment for Texas children.
“This report confirms
that state leaders need to take more aggressive steps to improve the lives of
millions of children and families, and that includes ensuring an accurate
census," said Kristie Tingle, a research analyst at the Center for Public
Policy Priorities in Austin. "Texas demographics — our large immigrant
population and diverse overall population — have long made it a major challenge
to get an accurate, full count of residents, and that challenge
could be even larger in 2020 because of changes to the census."
Three important
observations emerge from these statistics:
1) As the Center for
Public Policy Priorities points out, all of these conditions are
remediable. More Texas children have
access to health care because of the Affordable Care Act – a federal initiative
resisted by most Texas politicians but vital to our children.
2) These problems can be
solved with action, with smart legislation, with public activism that pushes
our Texas elected officials to act on behalf of children. They need to lead out on expanding access to
affordable health care for families and on protecting and expanding funding for
CHIP (the federal Children’s Health Insurance).
3) Solving these
problems will require an accurate count of all the children in Texas. The upcoming 2020 census threatens to leave
children out if the census is used as a tool of immigration policing or other
restrictive purposes. It may undercount
rural children, the high number of children living in poverty. Federal funding, legislative representation
and many other policy imperatives depend on an accurate count.
We have been
horrified as the stories emerge about parents who have no idea where their
children are and children, most of them not speaking English and many even too
young to talk, having no idea where their parents are, who these strangers are
keeping them captive, and where they are.
The slow, uncaring response from the White House and government
officials has made many question whether this is even America any more. CPPP reminds us that knowing who the children
are and where they are is equally critical if we as Texans are to assure all
children thrive. That’s why something as
seemingly arcane as the 2020 census becomes crucial. Here is more from CPPP on that urgency:
Possible
2020 census undercount could worsen conditions for Texas kids
AUSTIN,
Texas —
Texas children cannot afford to have an inaccurate census count, as the data
would have major consequences for their health, wellness, education and
economic opportunity. Texas ranks 43rd in
child well-being – one of the 10 worst states for kids – though there are a few
bright spots, including a decrease in the number of uninsured Texas children,
according to the 2018 KIDS COUNT® Data
Book released
today by the Annie E. Casey Foundation. The report confirms challenges for
Texas kids and highlights the critical role of the upcoming 2020 census. Billions of dollars in federal aid to states rely on the accuracy of the census,
including significant support for children's health care, housing and food
programs.
“We have to count all
the children and families in Texas, because we can't support people we don’t
know are here,” said Ann Beeson, CEO of the Center for Public Policy Priorities
(CPPP). “The data show us that Texas children have many challenges, and we need
an accurate census to advance proven policy solutions that make this the best
state for kids.”
Census surveys via
internet may also not pick up lower-income populations without internet access.
In Texas, 30 percent of young children under the age of five live in hard to
count census tracts. These 582,000 children are at risk of being undercounted
in the upcoming 2020 census, and federally funded programs that have driven
youth success are in jeopardy.
CPPP offers the
following recommendations to achieve a more accurate census:
- Identify
the ‘hard to count’ communities. Community leaders and elected
officials should learn about Texas’ “hard to count” communities and begin
reaching out to them now. Visit www.censushardtocountmaps.us
to find areas of Texas that are the hardest to count.
- Conduct
outreach across Texas. State and local governments and community
organizations need to ensure that all communities are counted. Create
statewide and local 2020 census “complete count” committees.
- Speak to your local officials. All Texans can encourage their city and county officials to work with library systems, schools or other locations that might be helpful in encouraging residents to participate in the census. Texans can call their members of Congress and encourage them to maximize the Census Bureau’s capacity. Federal lawmakers should fully fund the census outreach effort,
The only reason for Texas
children not to thrive is if we take these dire statistics as inevitable rather
than as inspirations for concerted, collective action. The children of Texas
are watching.
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