What's in the Family Financial Security section?
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Are We Making Smart Investments? National comparisons of educational attainment; Types of poverty in Texas
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Are We Supporting Financial Security for All Children? Rural children; Legacies of past public policies
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How the Economic Downturn Affects Children and the Future of Texas - Poverty; Safety net services
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Helping Families Build Up their Assets - Children's savings accounts; IDAs; College savings
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Moving Families from Predatory Lenders to Mainstream Banks - Payday lending; Credit service organizations; Promoting mainstream banking
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Family Financial Security-Child and Maternal Health Bridge: Nourishing Texas Children, An Issue of Health and Resources - Hunger; Food access; Weight gain brought about by poor quality food
Download the Family Financial Security section of A Report on the Bottom Line: Conditions for Children and the Texas of Tomorrow.
Family Financial Security Sources
3 Jodie Levin-Epstein and Kristen Michelle Gorzelany, Seizing the Moment: State Governments and the New Commitment to Reduce Poverty in America, the Center for Law and Social Policy and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity, April 2008.
5 Annie E. Casey Foundation KIDS COUNT Data Center. "Children Living in Low-Income Households Where No Adults Work (Percent) 2008." In Texas, 4% of "children under
age 18 live in low-income households where no adult worked (full-or part-time) in the 12 months prior to the survey." Accessed October 7, 2010.
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=5046
6 CFED, A Prosperity Agenda for Texas, Presentation at the William P. Hobby Policy Conference, Austin, Texas, September 18, 2008.
8 Ron Haskins, Poverty in America: Causes and Solutions, (Washington, DC: Voices for America's Children, 2007).
12 Jared Bernstein, Child Poverty in America: Causes and Solutions, (Washington, DC: Voices for America's Children, 2007).
16 Nancy K. Cauthen, Improving Work Supports: Closing the Financial Gap for Low-Wage Workers and their Families, (Washington, DC: Economic Policy Institute, 2007).
22 Robert Haveman and Edward N. Wolff, "The Concept and Measurement of Asset Poverty: Levels, Trends and Composition for the U.S., 1983-2001," Journal of Economic Inequality, 2, no. 2, (January 2005), DOI:10.1007/s10888-004-4387-3
23 CFED, A Prosperity Agenda for Texas, Presentation at the William P. Hobby Policy Conference, Austin, Texas, September 18, 2008.
25 "Median Family Income," 2009 Rhode Island Kids Count Fact Book, http://www.voices.org/wpcontent/uploads/2010/03/RI09KCFactbook.pdf.
26 Race: The Power of an Illusion, Episode III: The House We Live In, executive producer Larry Adelman, California Newsreel, 2003.
27 The Annie E. Casey Foundation, "2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being," Baltimore, 2010.
28 Lovell, P. and Isaacs, J. "Families of the Recession: Unemployed Parents and their Children." The Brookings Institution, Revised June, 2010. And the Annie E. Casey Foundation, "2010 KIDS COUNT Data Book: State Profiles of Child Well-Being," Baltimore, 2010.
31 Texans Care for Children.
Children's Campaign Report: 2009 Update. Based on Center for Public Policy Priorities' "Texas Poverty 101," which found 60 percent of poor families had adults who worked half of the year or more. September 2005.
http://www.cppp.org/files/8/BRP%20poverty101_Sep%2005.pdf
32 Computation by Texans Care for Children based on U.S. Census and Kids Count 2007 data. Kids Count data was based on two sources, "Children living below the poverty threshold by children in immigrant families (Percent) ¨C 2007" (
http://datacenter.kidscount.org/data/acrossstates/Rankings.aspx?ind=117) Of the 1.5 million Texas kids in poverty, about 895,000 are in U.S.-born families, vs. 623,000 in immigrant families.
33 Computation by Texans Care for Children based on U.S. Census and Kids Count 2007 data. About 4.4 million Texas kids live in married households (i.e., 68% of children under 18) and 11.1% of married households with children under 18 are below the poverty line, meaning one-third of all children below the poverty line live in married households.
34 Foundation for Child Development. "Child Well-Being Index (CWI) 2009 Annual Release" and "Special Focus Report on Anticipating the Impacts of a 2008-2010 Recession, May 2009." http://www.fcdus.org/resources/resources_show.htm?doc_id=906348
36 Computation by Texans Care for Children based on a formula from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, looking at the relationship between the change in unemployment and the change in the child poverty rate before and after previous recessions. The ratio of the child poverty rate change between 2000 and 2003 (before and after the last recession) to the unemployment rate change for the same years was 1.19. The change in Texas' unemployment rate since 2007 has been 3.9 points. We multiplied 3.9 by our poverty rate to unemployment rate ratio of 1.19 and added the product (4.65) to the 2007 child poverty rate of 22.5% to arrive at a new projected child poverty level of 27.1%. We conservatively assumed no difference in child population in 2007 vs. 2010. We then subtracted the number of children known to have been in poverty in 2008 (22.5%) in who would be in poverty if the poverty rate were in fact 27.1%. We also calculated the same for two other recessions, in 1986 and 1992. The poverty-increase-to-unemployment-increase ratio was lower in 1986 (for each 1-point hike in unemployment, poverty only rose 0.7 points that year) and higher in 1992 (for each 1-point hike in unemployment, poverty rose nearly 1.9 points). If the current recession follows either of those patterns, the increased number of children in poverty would be 183,293 or 497,511 respectively, using the same formula outlined above.
37 Harry J. Holzer, Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach, Greg J. Duncan, and Jens Ludvig, The Economic Costs of Poverty in the United States: Subsequent Effects of Children Growing Up Poor,. Discussion Paper no. 1327-07, Institute for Research on Poverty, 2007.
39 Computation by Texans Care for Children based on the above, which calculates an average per-child cost of poverty to be $37,656. We multiplied that by our projected number of children entering poverty, 254,777 and found the increased cost would be another $9.6 billion.
40 Texans Care for Children. Children's Campaign Report: 2009 Update. Based on 2007 data from: U.S. Census Bureau. "Current Population Survey (CPS)." Educational attainment is measured as the percentage of people 25 years and older with at least a high school diploma: http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/educattn.html
41 Alliance for Excellent Education. "Understanding High School Graduation Rates in Texas." July 2009. http://www.all4ed.org/files/Texas_wc.pdf
42 Peters, Emily. "High school dropout rates difficult to track." October 3, 2009. http://www.reporternews.com/news/2009/oct/03/high-school-dropout-rates-difficult-to-track/
43 Northeastern University Center for Labor Market Studies. The Consequences of Dropping Out of High School. October 2009. http://www.clms.neu.edu/publication/documents/The_Consequences_of_Dropping_Out_of_High_School.pdf Accessed: October 29, 2009.
46 Center for Public Policy Priorities.
The State of Texas Children: Texas Kids Count Annual Data Book 2008-2009. December, 2008. p.26, citing data from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.
http://www.cppp.org/factbook08/
49 Computation by Texans Care for Children based on U.S. Census Bureau data 2008 American Community Survey Demographic Estimates. There are 5,447,604 Texas children between age 5 and 19, and the Associated Press report notes that 2.7 million children qualify for the program.
50 The Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, Medicaid's Continuing Crunch In a Recession: A Mid-Year Update for State FY 2010 and Preview for FY 2011, (Washington, DC: The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010),
http://www.kff.org/medicaid/upload/8049.pdf.
52 Quoted by Robert T. Garrett, Dallas Morning News. "Lawsuit demands immediate fix to Texas' health, welfare problems." Aug. 3, 2009. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/080409dnmetwelfare.a455ab82.html
56 "Census Bureau to Develop Supplemental Poverty Measure," United States Department of Commerce, Press Release, March 2, 2010, http://www.commerce.gov/news/press-releases/2010/03/02/census-bureau-developsupplemental-poverty-measure.
61 CFED, A Prosperity Agenda for Texas, Presentation at the William P. Hobby Policy Conference, Austin, Texas, September 18, 2008.
64 William Elliott III, et al., College Expectations among Young Children: The Potential Role of Savings, Working Paper No. 07-06, The Center for Social Development, 2007,
65 Brigitte Gavin, Carl Rist, and Kinsey Dinan, Presents at the Creation: The Importance of Asset Building in Early Childhood Years, CFED, August, 2009, http://www.cfed.org/focus.m?parentid=31&siteid=288&id=2149 (accessed December 18, 2009).
66 CFED et al., SEED: Saving for Education, Entrepreneurship, and Downpayment, brochure.
67 Don Baylor,
College Savings Accounts 101, Center for Public Policy Priorities, April 2008,
www.cppp.org, (accessed February 11, 2010).
68 "Overview of SEED and Key Findings," CFED, http://www.cfed.org/programs/abc/childrens_savings_initiatives/, (accessed February 2, 2010).
70 Brigitte Gavin, Carl Rist, and Kinsey Dinan, Presents at the Creation: The Importance of Asset Building in Early Childhood Years, CFED, August, 2009, http://www.cfed.org/focus.m?parentid=31&siteid=288&id=2149 (accessed December 18, 2009).
73 "The Plan," Texas Tuition Promise Fund, https://www.texastuitionpromisefund.com/OFI529/PN/generated/en_us/PrimaryNavigation_07-08-08-173858.xml, (accessed January 26, 2010).
74 Texas Tuition Promise Fund, telephone interview by author, May 20, 2010.
76 Don Baylor,
College Savings Accounts 101, Center for Public Policy Priorities, April 2008,
www.cppp.org, (accessed February 11, 2010).
78 "Compare Savings Plans," Texas Tuition Promise Fund, https://www.texastuitionpromisefund.com/OFI529/PN/generated/en_us/PrimaryNavigation_07-09-08-124730.xml, (accessed February 11, 2010).
79 5% of Texas Tuition Promise Fund enrollees reported incomes below $50,000, while 50% of the Texas population reported income below $50,000 in the 2006-2008 American Community Survey, http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_S1901&-geo_id=04000US48&-context=st&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-tree_id=3308&-_lang=en&-format=&-CONTEXT=st.
80 US Census Bureau, "Texas Educational Attainment," 2006-2008 American Community Survey, http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/STTable?_bm=y&-context=st&-qr_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_S1501&-ds_name=ACS_2008_3YR_G00_&-CONTEXT=st&-tree_id=3308&-redoLog=false&-geo_id=04000US48&-format=&-_lang=en, (accessed February 18, 2010).
86 Melissa del Bosque, "The Perils of Payday," Texas Observer, May 1, 2009.
87 Don Baylor, "The Hidden Costs of Payday Lending," Texas Business Review, April 2008.
(accessed December 17, 2009).
94 Uriah King and Leslie Parrish, Springing the Debt Trap: Rate Caps are Only Proven Payday Reform, The Center for Responsible Lending, December 13, 2007, http://www.responsiblelending.org/payday-lending/policy-legislation/states/springing-the-debttrap-exec-summary.html, (accessed February 2, 2010).
96 Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty, From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half, Center for American Progress, April 2007.
98 Reid Cramer & David Newville, Children's Savings Accounts: The Case for Creating a Lifelong Savings Platform at Birth as a Foundation for a "Save and Invest Economy" New America Foundation, December 2009. http://newamerica.net/publications/policy/childrens_savings_accounts, (accessed February 24, 2010).
101 "The Implications of Food Insecurity for Children." Feeding America, http://feedingamerica.org/faces-ofhunger/hunger-101/child-hunger-implications.aspx.
103 Katherine Alaimo, Christine Olson, and Edward Frongillo, "Food Insufficiency and American School-Aged Children's Cognitive, Academic, and Psychosocial Development," Pediatrics 108: no. 1 (July 2001): 44-49, http://ezproxy.lib.utexas.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=4767131&site=ehost-live.
104 "The Implications of Food Insecurity for Children." Feeding America, http://feedingamerica.org/faces-ofhunger/hunger-101/child-hunger-implications.aspx.
105 Katherine Alaimo, Christine Olson, and Edward Frongillo, "Food Insufficiency and American School-Aged Children's Cognitive, Academic, and Psychosocial Development," Pediatrics 108: no. 1 (July 2001): 44-49.
106 "The Implications of Food Insecurity for Children." Feeding America, http://feedingamerica.org/faces-ofhunger/hunger-101/child-hunger-implications.aspx.
107 "Diabetes risk, low fitness, and energy insufficiency levels among children from poor families." Journal of the American Dietetic Association 108: no.11 (Nov 2008): 1846-1854.
109 Drewnowski, Adam and SE Specter. "Poverty and Obesity: The Role of Energy Density and Energy Costs." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition.
112 Mark Nord, "Food Insecurity in Households with Children: Prevalence, Severity, and Household Characteristics." Economic Research Service Summary Report, U.S. Department of Agriculture, September 2009p. 7-8.
115 "The Implications of Food Insecurity for Children," Feeding America, http://feedingamerica.org/faces-of-hunger/hunger-101/child-hunger-implications.aspx.
118 Celia Hagert,
State Auditor's Report on Supplemental Nutrition Provides Blueprint for Fixing Eligibility System, Center for Public Policy Priorities, March 2010,
http://www.cppp.org/research.php?aid=972.
119 Improvements include hiring new eligibility staff, reassigning existing staff to SNAP processing, streamlining training for new SNAP employees, joining an Outreach and Technical Assistance Workgroup to address eligibility issues alongside advocates and other stakeholder, and pursuing a pilot enrollment partnership with food banks. HHSC is partnering with the Texas Food Bank Network to reduce eligibility worker caseload. Families can now visit food banks in Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, and Houston to receive help filling out their SNAP application and complete the required interview simultaneously. "Food Bank Pilot Gives Families New Way to Apply for SNAP," In Touch: News from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, March/April 2010,
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/stakeholder/March_April10/1.html.
121 The payment error rate, which reflects households that receive either more or less than they are eligible for, had decreased from 6.82% at the end of FY 2009 to 1.05% as of April 2010. Also, as of April 2010, all of Texas' 311 SNAP eligibility offices were scheduling interviews within 20 days of application receipt, twice the number of offices that met this mark in September 2009. The percent of applications processed within 30 days increased from 59% in September 2009 to 76% in March 2010. This still falls below the federal standard of 95%. Tom Suehs, "Presentation to the House Select Committee on Government Efficiency and Accountability: Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Status and Audit, April 2010, Texas Health and Human Services Commission,
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/news/presentations/2010/SAO_SNAP_0410.pdf.
