skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Thursday, September 19, 2024

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

U.S. gender wage gap grows for first time in a decade; Trump has embraced NC's Mark Robinson, calling him 'Martin Luther King on steroids'; Volunteers sought as early voting kicks off in MN; Women's political contributions in congressional races fall short of men's.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Rising threats of political violence, a Federal Reserve rate cut, crypto industry campaign contributions and reproductive rights are shaping today's political landscape.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

A USDA report shows a widening gap in rural versus urban health, a North Carolina county remains divided over a LGBTQ library display, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz' policies are spotlighted after his elevation to the Democratic presidential ticket.

Study: Texas Kids Face Major Social, Economic Challenges

play audio
Play

Thursday, January 11, 2018   

AUSTIN, Texas -- A new report on the "State of America's Children" shows that large numbers of kids living in Texas confront poverty, homelessness, hunger and violence in their daily lives.

The report by the Children's Defense Fund found that in Texas, children face major challenges: 1-in-5 live in poverty, 110,000 are homeless, a majority can't read at grade level, and almost 1 million are either without health insurance or face losing coverage.

Patrick Bresette, director of the Children's Defense Fund-Texas, said the state's leaders urgently need to address these problems.

"The conditions facing kids here have a disproportionate impact on these numbers,” Bresette said. “And we continue to have some of the highest levels of child poverty in the country, high levels of children without health insurance, and those are things that are easily fixable if we just invested in the right programs."

The annual report provides a statistical look at the condition of children in America, with numbers broken out in each state.

The report found that in Texas, 68 percent of the state's 7.3 million kids are children of color - 61 percent are either black or Hispanic. It also examined flaws with the state's education system, child protective services, juvenile-justice system and gun-safety laws.

Bresette said despite having great wealth, Texas and the nation consistently lag behind other industrialized countries in investing in children.

"We've seen a really dramatic under-funding of the Medicaid program that's problematic. We need to rebuild our early-childhood intervention system,” he said. "The opportunity for Texas to make some decisions to basically improve these numbers is going to be between now and the next legislative session and in the kind of proposals we have to see brought forward."

He said Texas children face even greater problems if Congress does not reauthorize the Children's Health Insurance Program.

"It's more than 100 days now that this program has gone without a full reauthorization. States are once again worrying about running out of money,” Bresette said. "Texas, we hope, has money for the program through February. But it's just time to get this thing fixed. There's really no reason that this has been delayed so long."

The report, out this week, examined other areas such as income and wealth inequality, housing and homelessness, food insecurity, education, and juvenile justice.


get more stories like this via email

more stories
Recipients of the Greenhouse Gas Reduction Grant can now access funding to drive financing for thousands of climate-focused and clean energy initiatives. (bilanol/Adobe Stock)

Environment

play sound

Michigan's most vulnerable communities are receiving federal funding to fight the devastating effects of climate change. It's part of the $27 billion …


Health and Wellness

play sound

September is Health Literacy Month, and a Denver-based group is working to help health professionals break a persistent pattern of discrimination …

Environment

play sound

A new report contends fossil fuel funding has biased Columbia University's climate research. The report, by two Columbia students, shows the …


Alabama releases roughly 220,279 men and 78,247 women from its prisons and jails each year. (Chad Robertson/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

An Alabama woman is on a mission to help people who've been incarcerated for decades successfully transition back into society. The mission to …

Health and Wellness

play sound

In North Carolina, the gap between Medicaid reimbursement rates and the actual cost of dental care has reached a crisis point, impacting both …

So far in 2024, community health centers in North Dakota have screened 11,580 patients for food insecurity. Through those screenings, more than three thousand box meals have been distributed. (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

September is Hunger Action Month. In North Dakota, it isn't just food banks trying to help underserved populations get nutritious items. Health …

Environment

play sound

Marine biologists conducting deep dives near five California islands are collecting data they hope will strengthen the case for ending gillnet fishing…

Environment

play sound

Researchers at Iowa State University are taking aim at the huge amount of energy used by data centers, now and in the future. They have developed a …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021