Census: Texas Ranks 38th in Child Poverty Progress Threatened by Hurricane Harvey

Census: Texas Ranks 38^th in Child Poverty
Progress Threatened by Hurricane Harvey, Federal Policy Uncertainty

AUSTIN, TX– Census data released this week show modest improvements in the numbers of Texas children living in poverty and the percentage of uninsured children. But far too many children still live with economic deprivation and lack access to essential health coverage. The rates of children living in poverty and lacking insurance experienced small, steady improvements, but the challenges of recovering from hurricane Harvey and policy uncertainty at the federal level are threatening those gains. The president’s proposed budget makes deep cuts to programs that support low-income children and families, and the administration continues to undermine the Affordable Care Act.

Children remain the poorest age group in America, with more than 1.6 million Texas children living in poverty in 2016, according to data released today by the U.S. Census Bureau. Texas saw some improvement in child poverty rates from 25.8 percent in 2012 to 22.4 percent in 2016. It has been a slow recovery, but we are now back to pre-recession child poverty levels of 2008, when 22.5 percent of Texas children lived in poverty. Major federal programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit, have played a part in this recovery, most of which would be cut under the proposed federal budget.

“While we are cautiously optimistic about these incremental gains for Texas children, the challenges imposed by the Harvey recovery and the policy uncertainty coming from Washington raise real concerns. As we look at the tremendous reduction in the number of uninsured people in our country as a result of the Affordable Care Act, we are deeply worried that the Trump administration’s active efforts to undermine the ACA, and looming federal budget cuts will destroy the fragile progress we’ve made,” said Patrick Bresette, executive director of Children’s Defense Fund-Texas.

Texas children of color under age 18 continue to have poverty rates higher than average. More than 30 percent of Hispanic children, 28.7 percent of black children, and 23 percent of Native American children are poor. Asian and white children fare better, with 10 percent living in poverty. Children of color are the majority of all children in Texas, and suffer disproportionately from economic deprivation. Our youngest children are most at risk of being poor—nearly one-quarter of Texas kids aged five and younger lived in poverty in 2016.

Despite modest improvements, Texas remains 49^th among all states in the percentage of children lacking health insurance. More than 670,000 children lack health insurance, six-and-a-half times those in New York and two-and-a-half the number of uninsured children in California. Texas continues to have the highest number and rate of uninsured people—16.6 percent—in the nation, nearly double the national rate.

The situation remains precarious for Texans in poverty and those on the edge who recently lost their homes or their jobs in areas hit hard by hurricane Harvey, despite the improvements shown in the Census data. In addition to the personal losses individuals will face, the Texas state budget will also be impacted by Harvey as more people and communities turn to the state for assistance. State lawmakers will need to ensure that they maximize all available federal funds to respond to the disaster.

“One thing our leaders can do right now is to urge Congress to act quickly and authorize a five-year funding extension for the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), a critical support for low-income children. Likewise, Texas could significantly reduce the economic burden facing low-income families by finally expanding Medicaid, which would reduce our high levels of uninsured adults and free up family resources for other needs,” said Bresette.

Federal Medicaid funds are always an important source of support for communities, and they are essential in the aftermath of a natural disaster. But Texas has a slow-moving healthcare disaster happening every day, and Medicaid expansion now would improve Texans’ access to health insurance immediately and dramatically, while helping to stabilize the state budget.

Texas has long ranked in the bottom quarter of states with respect to child poverty, and Harvey threatens to upend the small progress we’ve made over the last few years. In the immediate aftermath of Harvey, more than 1 million children were unable to start school on time, and up to 3 million children are being impacted across the region. Many schools remain flooded or damaged, and as school started up this week, more than 10,000 children in Houston public schools alone were being moved to other campuses. As the state works to recover from this widespread natural disaster, the fragility of our safety net programs and the pressure on our state budget is becoming ever more clear. Medicaid was already significantly underfunded by more than $1 billion for the next biennium, and families under duress after Harvey will only have increased needs.

Children’s Defense Fund’s Child Poverty in America 2016: National Analysis

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The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind^® mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start and a Moral Start in life, and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.