Child abuse fatalities hit record highs last year in Texas, but the state is weighing cuts of 85% for child abuse prevention and early intervention and extreme cuts to mental health and substance abuse services, both of which could endanger children.
Deaths from child abuse or neglect occur more frequently in states with lower mental health and substance abuse spending and in those with fewer resources dedicated to child abuse prevention. Already, Texas has some of the nation's lowest levels of investment in both mental health and child abuse prevention.
At a state Health and Human Services Commission hearing Friday, agency staff laid out a series of proposed cuts that would address the directive from the governor, lieutenant governor and Speaker of the House to plan for 10 percent spending cuts in the next biennium to help close a projected $18 billion shortfall brought about by the recession.
Medical care for children with life-threatening diseases like cystic fibrosis, funding for early childhood vaccinations, and funds that support low-income children getting health care they need were also among the items proposed for cuts in the
Legislative Appropriation Request released by Texas Health and Human Services agencies Wednesday.
Such cuts could lead to higher costs for the state and its people. Child abuse and neglect , for example, cost Texas over $6.2 billion annually, including direct costs such as hospitalization and child welfare services, and indirect costs in the corrections, mental health, health care and educational systems. Severe cuts to prevention programs could bring a hike in those costs. Also, economists say failing to address severe mental health and substance abuse problems already costs Texas businesses about $270 billion in lost spending and the state more than 1.6 million jobs.
The 82
nd Texas Legislature can decide not to make the proposed cuts and instead move to draw down more federal funds, use state savings and close tax loopholes to balance the state budget when legislators return to session in 2011.
Contact your state legislators' offices to say the state needs to look to revenue, federal relief, and the Rainy Day Fund to balance the state budget and prevent drastic cuts that harm children.
