State of the Children

Proposed family prevention service cuts in Texas, a new challenge at TYC, and research about depression in preschoolers are in our highlights of the news this week. We also celebrate the appropriate use of our catch phrase "put kids first" by a prominent national writer . . . and take a moment to clarify what that phrase doesn't mean to us.

In Texas, for the most part, the law recognizes a difference between kids and adults. We don't let 14-year-olds get a driver's license, for example, or join the Texas State Guard or vote. We do, however, make a disturbing exception in the law: Texas will send a 14-year-old who commits a felony to adult court, jail, and prison.

Important news out this week includes coverage of still more proposed budget cuts, which would fall disproportionately on mental health programs around the state. There is also emerging research that finds more children socially and emotionally unprepared for school, poor rankings for Texas in both child food security and child obesity, and ongoing opportunity gaps for kids of color. In each disheartening piece of news, though, you also will find promising nuggets about how policy improvements can help turn poor conditions around.

A state hearing on foster kids, poverty's lasting power, an upcoming call-in day for juvenile justice reform, and a proposed ban on corporal punishment in schools are among the features in our round-up of news and reports on children. Also, if you missed our last round-up, you may not have seen an important report on the future of Texas.

Cuts that cost in juvenile justice, the rising cost of raising a child, more families facing homelessness, and a new funding opportunity for home visitation programs are among the features in our round-up this week of the latest news and reports on children and policy in Texas. We also put a spotlight on one item in our agenda for the upcoming Texas Legislative session in 2011: closing a loophole in the law that today disproportionately hurts vulnerable families with young children.

Texas-grown ideas for improving kids' fitness, nutrition, and graduation rates are among the positive highlights in this week's news and reports round-up. We also feature news about the effect of toxins on pregnant mothers, the growing trend toward criminalizing classroom misbehavior even for elementary students, and more about the effects of state budget decisions on Texas families and children--stories we hope you will join us in following closely, and taking action to address.

The $1.2 billion in state budget cuts announced this week are bad news for the wellbeing of Texas children and families, and states throughout the country are taking actions that, advocates fear, will set back child wellbeing for years to come, our latest round-up reports. In the good news department, though, a win from last session for children who need an alternative to foster care goes into effect, the Supreme Court followed a Texas lead by barring life sentences for minors (at least in most instances), and Big Food declares a plan to get Americans to consume 1.5 trillion fewer calories....

With budget battles looming for Texas as our state copes with the consequences of the recession, news agencies have started to ask how our leaders might handle the more than $11 billion shortfall. Many past proposals haven't actually shrunk the budget, the Austin American Statesman reported. Others have been costly to children, as the Dallas Morning News notes today. Unfortunately, too few leaders are speaking out about the clear need for a balanced approach that not only focuses on getting the books straight in 2011, but also ensures future sustainability for Texas.

Child care standards, federal updates, fighting child obesity together, making Child Protective Services accountable to African-American communities, and lots of mental health news as Children's Mental Health Awareness Week approaches are among the highlights in our latest round-up of news and reports. As we mentioned last week, this was also a busy week for advocates, with partners meeting with us on everything from food policy to the children's mental health workforce, from health coverage for kids to money for the Texas budget, as well as strategies to prevent teen pregnancies, implications of making juvenile offenders register as sex offenders, and ways to support transitions to adulthood for foster youth. Have you ever wondered, though: What's up with all those meetings? We answer in the post this week. . .

State grants to fight obesity, an audit of the Texas food stamp eligibility system, covering preexisting conditions in children, and much more are featured in our round-up of the week's news. Also, with the beginning of Child Abuse Awareness Month came word that national efforts to combat child abuse and neglect continue to make a difference...

In this week's round-up, we feature news of a new federal approach to understanding poverty, insights about the adolescent mind, new research on child obesity, and more.

The Texas Indigent Defense Summit is underway right now at the Capitol, and I was able to catch the opening remarks and first panel discussion. From these two sessions alone, I gained a better understanding of the progress and challenges of the Texas Fair Defense Act since its passage in 2001. The Act upheld U.S. Constitutional rights by requiring all criminal courts in Texas to adopt a system that appoints lawyers to indigent defendants, those who can't afford representation. This Act ensures that impoverished individuals, including juveniles, who are accused of crimes, are provided adequate access to public defense services. . . .

Parity for mental health patients, a spike in the teen pregnancy rate, and growing child care expenses for working families are covered in this week's round-up of news and resources. We also wanted to let those of you in community-based organizations know about a great new tool we came across for finding federal funding for youth and family programs: Federal Funding Guides from the Finance Project.

Some good chances to speak out about issues pertaining to children are coming up, and we highlight these, along with updates on everything from Texas children's H1N1 vaccines to approaches to treating depression in this week's round-up. Of course, the big national story on many folks' minds is what happens now with health reform. Perhaps the context most important to keep in mind for Texans this week is that the state responsible for an electoral upset that has led some to question the fate of the reform bills pending in Congress just happens to be the one with the least to gain from health reform. . .