Poverty rate climbs for Texas kids

from the Baytown Sun

By Kari Griffin
Baytown Sun

They aren’t just statistics. Members of the Baytown community say the rise in child poverty depicted in “The State of Children 2007” report is a fact.

Texas may have seen a statewide improvement in maternal and infant health, but a new report by the Austin-based Center for Public Policy Priorities (CPPP), said child poverty in Texas, specifically Harris County, continues to climb.

“The report finds that when it comes to maternal and infant health, Texas has much to be thankful for,”(like improved infant mortality, less teen births and an increase in the number of expectant women receiving prenatal care), said Frances Deviney, Texas KIDS COUNT director. “At the same time, work remains in other areas. Statewide poverty is up for the fifth straight year, unemployment has increased, and Texas continues to have the highest rate of uninsured children in the nation.”

The CPPP, a non-profit policy research organization, recently released a new report showing that 22.9 percent of Harris County children live in poverty. The county is ranked 127 of the 254 counties.

The child poverty rate has increased by 20 percent since 2000, and the portion of Harris County’s total population living in poverty has seen a 25 percent increase over the last seven years – bringing the county to 142 out of 245 counties. As of 2004, 16 percent of the population, or 617,024 people, live in poverty.

And the condition is obvious to executive directors of Baytown’s non-profit and child development agencies.

Richard Moody, executive director of the Baytown Resource & Assistance Center (BRAC), has seen these statistics reflected in the higher demand at shoe and clothing drives.

When BRAC gave shoe vouchers to children on from low-income families in 2006 and 2007, more than 200 children took advantage of the program.

The agency can barely go one day without turning people down for help because there are simply not enough funds to provide help for every family and child in need.

“We’ve always been busy. But five years ago, we would have slower times,” Moody said. “That doesn’t exist anymore. It doesn’t matter what time of year it is.”

At least 400 clients seek help from the BRAC every week, Moody said. He said if funds were unlimited, that number would climb even higher.

“It seems the numbers are just growing and growing,” Moody said.

Marcus Wilkerson, BRAC case-worker, added that the majority of Goose Creek schools are Title 1 schools, meaning at more than half of the students are on free or reduced-price lunch.

Carrie Gaskamp, executive director of the Baytown YMCA, doesn’t see as many families living in poverty as some of the other local organizations.

“Approximately 30 percent of our member families report income below poverty,” Gaskamp said.

Since becoming the Center Executive for YMCA in 2004, Gaskamp has noticed about a 15 percent increase in the need to provide for children under the poverty level each year.

To accommodate children whose families can’t afford the programs YMCA has to offer, money is raised each year for the Partners Campaign.