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10 Things the Houston Faith Community 10 Things the Houston Faith Community Should Know About Our ChildrenShould Know About Our Children
An Overview of Houston’s Children
February 20, 2009
A Houston Faith Initiative
CHILDREN AT RISK20 YEARS AND COUNTING!
Research & Analysis 10 Editions of Growing Up in Houston High School Rankings
Public Policy & Law Center Legislation
Education Reform Children’s Health Human Trafficking Juvenile Justice Child Welfare
Collaboration Latino Children’s Health Fair Policy Lunches & Conferences
Public Information Fox, Univision, KPFT, Chronicle
No Direct Service
CHILDREN AT RISK 20 YEARS AND COUNTING!
Houston’s Children: Population & Demographics
1. Who are OUR Children?
70% of the population over the age of 60 are Anglo
75% of the population under the age of 30 is Non-Anglo
Demographics
Demographics
Other6%
Hispanic47%Anglo
27%
African American
20%
Current Racial Demographics of Harris
County Children ages 0-17
(2007 Estimates)58%
21%18%
4%
49%
29%
17%
6%
37%39%
18%
7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
1990 Census 2000 Census 2007 Estimates
Anglo Hispanic African American Other
The Changing Racial Demographics of Harris County (all ages)
Population
1996
1998 2000
2002
2004 2006
926,246
956,475
984,556
1,007,685
1,028,371
1,070,318
37% 37% 34% 34% 36% 37%
34% 34% 33% 32% 30%
30% 30% 32% 32% 33% 32%
33%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
1996 1998 2000 2002 2004 2006
12-17
6-11
>1-5
Age Distribution of the Under 17 Population in Harris County, 1996-2006
Total Under 17 Population in Harris County, 1996-2006
AGE ANGLOAFRICAN
AMERICAN HISPANIC OTHER TOTAL
<1 15,950 12,186 36,951 3,995 69,082
1 15,768 11,913 36,413 3,955 68,049
2 16,110 11,803 34,640 3,793 66,346
3 16,412 11,720 32,786 3,602 64,520
4 16,691 11,704 30,922 3,423 62,740
5 16,991 11,635 29,114 3,252 60,992
6 16,335 11,027 26,961 2,797 57,120
7 15,677 11,001 25,287 2,604 54,569
8 15,206 11,103 24,745 2,716 53,770
9 15,197 11,187 24,718 2,904 54,006
10 15,253 11,362 24,866 3,040 54,521
11 15,065 11,639 25,163 3,096 54,963
12 15,316 12,339 25,509 3,229 56,393
13 15,738 13,009 25,859 3,315 57,921
14 16,209 13,210 25,589 3,295 58,303
15 16,822 13,491 25,378 3,296 58,987
16 17,259 13,565 24,655 3,354 58,833
17 17,182 12,897 23,677 3,441 57,197
TOTAL 289,181 216,791 503,233 59,107 1,068,312
2. Poverty is a Driving Force
18%24%
39%
47%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
>100% FPL >200% FPL
Children Living at or Near Poverty (2006)
United States Harris County
24% of Harris County children live in poverty and a total of 47% live in low income families.
Texas is ranked 46th in percentage of children living in poverty, with only Alabama, Louisiana, New Mexico, and Mississippi doing worse
• At 24.6%, Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured
children in the nation
• 1.5 million children are uninsured in Texas
• Nearly 800,000 children are eligible but not enrolled in CHIP
3. TX is #1 in Uninsured Kids
The Infant Mortality Rate in Harris County (the death rate of infants
under 1 year per 1,000 live births)
4. Parts of Houston have 3rd World Infant Mortality Rates
TX vs. US vs. the World
*The national infant mortality rate declined by 10% between 1995 and 2004; however, since 2000, the trend has
reversed for Harris County
*The US ranks 29th in the world on infant mortality –
tied with Poland and Slovakia, and behind Cuba
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
14
2000 2002 2003 2004
AfricanAmerican
White
Hispanic
Other
Average
5. Children’s Mental Health - Now a Juvenile Justice Issue
Data collection shows that at least 50% of the children in the Harris County Juvenile Justice System have a mental health
disorder. Additionally, Texas ranks 49th nationally in funding for children’s outpatient mental health services
CHILDREN AT RISK has collaborated with community service providers and the Harris County Juvenile Court
System to establish a court docket dedicated to children with mental illnesses so that they receive more individualized
attention and rehabilitation in the community
404 401
527580
630 593
0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
Number of
Youth
2000 2002 2004 2005 2006 2007
Year
Although the overall number of new commitments to the Texas Youth Commission has decreased, the percentage of those commitments from Harris County has steadily increased
from 15.9 percent to 25.5 percent since 2003.
The number of new youth from Harris County committed to the Texas Youth Commission.
Mental Health = Juvenile Justice?
Harris County Re-arrest Rate (Recidivism rates to TYC) is 51% (past 5 yrs)
6. Houston is the American Hub of Human TraffickingHuman Trafficking involves both international and domestic victims and can include
labor and/or sex trafficking. The victims are largely women and children, with runaways being especially vulnerable
International•The U.S. Department of Justice estimates 14,000 to 17,000 persons are trafficked into the United State each year – Houston is the Hub
•Of those trafficked into the US yearly, 70% are female and 50% are children
Domestic•1 of every 3 Runaways will be lured into prostitution within 48 hours of leaving home
•In the US the average age of entry into pornography and prostitution is 12; and 75% of minors involved have a pimp
7. Kids without Education will not get out of Poverty
High School Graduation Rate CHILDREN AT RISK’s calculations find that the average freshmen to senior, same school graduation rate for HISD was 48.8% in 2006. --TEA reported the graduation rate of 67.1% for the same year.
College AccessOnly 15% of Texas students will complete a four year degree – In Houston that means that out of 58,000 students that are 18, only about 8,700 will finish college within 6 years. (44 state scored higher)
1. Contrary to opinion, most parents are not the problem.2. Parents in poverty actively seek help in “doing the
right thing”3. In Houston many parents:
• Have low education attainment• Often do not speak English• Live below the poverty level • Both parents work• Do not reach out for government assistance
4. We need to harness their positive energy5. Parents want their children to be successful
8. Parents WANT to be Part of the Solution
1. Awareness2. Mentoring3. Early Child Care4. Maximize Federal
Dollars / Use Our Resources
5. Social Justice
9. Solutions include:
1. www.childrenatrisk.org e-advocacy
2. Calls to our elected leaders on key children’s issues
3. Create awareness4. Involve the church
community5. Care for ALL of our
children
10. Advocacy Works!!!
