This cannot be a good thing for a state that takes pride in the good things that happen here.
A new study shows Texas lags near the bottom of all 50 states in caring for its children, according to the Texas Tribune. Its story is contained in this link.
http://www.panhandlepbs.org/blogs/state-news/2014/07/22/report-texas-lags-on-child-well-being/
Eli Okun’s story tells of a Kids Count report released by the Annie E. Casey Foundation that “places Texas 43rd in the country on overall child well-being. The state fares particularly poorly on ‘family and community’ measures like the percentage of children living in high-poverty neighborhoods.”
Ouch!
There’s more. “According to the report, more than a quarter of Texas children are below the federal poverty line, while the majority do not attend preschool. The percent of Texas children whose parents lack secure employment has also risen in recent years,” Okun reports.
OK, it’s not all bad, according to Okun: “There are some bright spots for the state, however. The percentage of high school students not graduating on time dropped from 28 percent in the 2005-06 school year to 18 percent in 2011-12. Teen birth rates and the percentage of children without health insurance have also fallen in recent years, according to the report, which relies on federal and state data.”
The entire story can be found on the link attached to this blog.
I’ll simply add that the indicators suggest that Texas needs to do better by its children. Politicians of both major parties keep telling us that our kids are our future, meaning that our state’s future relies on the level of care we provide for our kids today.
If we’re not doing the job we’re denying our children the future they deserve — not to mention putting our state’s very future in jeopardy.
We must do better.
