Critical Years: Childhood Wellbeing in Dallas County

1
Critical YearsChildhood Wellbeing in Dallas
County

• The J. McDonald Williams Institute

2
Demographics of Children Age 0 to 5 in Select
Cities
Source The U.S. Census Bureau 2000
3
Changing Demographics in Dallas County Total
Population vs. Children 0-3
Source J. McDonald Williams Institute, (in
press), Critical Years Childhood Wellbeing in
Dallas County
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Healthy Children Infants

• FACT SHEET
• Infant Mortality Rates between 1996 and 2001
  (Dallas County)
• Hispanicsincreased by almost 40
• African Americans increased by 22
• Whites and Asiansdecreased
• In 2003, 1 in 4 babies did not receive adequate
  prenatal care.
• Access to Health Care in Dallas County
• 17 of children are without health insurance.
• Hispanics constitute a disproportionate
  percentage of those who are uninsured.

Sources United Way of Metropolitan Dallas
Texas Department of State Health Services, 2003
Birth Data Dallas Indicators KIDS COUNT
2000, Population Reference Bureau, analysis of
data from the U.S. Census Bureau, for The Annie
E. Casey Foundation.
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Healthy Children Infants

• Only 8 of Dallas County mothers exclusively
  breastfeed their child at 6 months of
  agesignificantly lower than the state average of
  roughly 15.
• Texas is 45th in the nation for immunization
  rates of 2-year-old children.
• In 2000, 11.2 of children in Dallas County were
  enrolled in Medicaid. By 2003, this figure had
  increased to 24.
• In 2005, 58 of Dallas County children received
  free or reduced price lunches.
• More than 7 of children in Dallas County were
  enrolled in CHIP by 2003.

Sources 2004 National Immunization Survey,
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
Department of Health and Human Services The
Texas Kids Count Project, Center for Public
Policy Priorities, Austin, TX
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Strong Families

• Family Structure
• Single-parent households ( of children residing
  in single-parent households, 2000)
• Detroit, MI 48.00
• Baltimore, MD 44.00
• Miami, FL 35.70
• Chicago, IL 32.20
• Dallas, TX 27.50
• San Antonio, TX 26.50
• Houston, TX 26.00
• Atlanta, GA 25.50
• Phoenix, AZ 25.40
• Austin, TX 25.20
• San Diego, CA 22.50

Source KIDS COUNT 2000, Population Reference
Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census
Bureau, for The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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Strong Families

• Single-parent households, cont.
• In Dallas County, 33 of families with children
  under age 18 are headed by single parents.
• In the city of Dallas, roughly 63 of African
  American parents caring for their own child do so
  in a single-parentheaded household. In
  comparison, only 22 of Hispanic families with
  children in Dallas can be characterized as
  single-parent homes.
• Mothers marital status education
• Nearly 45 of births in Dallas County in 2004
  were to unmarried mothers.
• Two South Dallas zip codes (75215 and 75210) had
  the highest percentages of births to unmarried
  mothers, at 78.96 and 78.34, respectively.
• In 2002, 45.5 of total births in Dallas were to
  mothers with fewer than 12 years of education. To
  compare, only 33.2 of births in Chicago were to
  mothers with less than a 12th grade education.

Sources Population Reference Bureau, analysis
of data from the U.S. Census Bureau, for The
Annie E. Casey Foundation U.S. Census 2000
Texas Department of Health.
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Strong Families

• Family Structure, cont.
• Other heads-of-household
• Of Dallas County children, 69 lived with a
  grandparent who was their legal guardian, but
  also had a parent living in the home.
• In Dallas County, 14 of children living with a
  head-of-household who was a nonrelative were
  living with a foster parent.

Sources 2005 American Community Survey, U.S.
Census U.S. Census 2000
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Early Childhood Education Childcare
Philadelphia, PA
Source The U.S. Census Bureau 2000
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Early Childhood Education Childcare

• Early Childhood Education
• Dallas County experienced a 28 increase early
  childhood education and prekindergarten
  enrollment between 2000 and 2004.
• In 20052006, Head Start of Greater Dallas had
  its highest enrollment ever, at 4,399 children.
• In 2003, 20 of Dallas County children were
  enrolled in public prekindergarten programs.
• Children enrolled in prekindergarten in 2002
• Dallas County 14,097
• Tarrant County 7,710

Sources Dallas Indicators, The Dallas
Foundation Texas Education Agency Head Start
of Greater Dallas, Report to the Community
20052006 The Texas Kids Count Project,
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Austin, TX.
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Early Childhood Education Childcare

• Childcare
• Children receiving state subsidized childcare in
  2002
• Dallas County 23,591
• Tarrant County 11,873
• Of the 1,474 daycare facilities in Dallas County,
  only 80 are accredited by the National
  Association for the Education of Young
  Children.
• More than 2,200 children were on the waiting list
  for subsidized childcare in November 2006. This
  is an underestimate of the actual number because
  families must call every 2 months to remain on
  the list.

Sources Texas KIDS COUNT, 2002 Figures
National Association for the Education of Young
Children Beyond ABC Growing up in Dallas
County. Assessing Our Childrens Quality of Life
2007, Childrens Medical Center Dallas and The
Coalition for North Texas Children
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Economics Neighborhood Factors
Source KIDS COUNT 2000, Population Reference
Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census
Bureau, for The Annie E. Casey Foundation.
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Characteristics of Zip Codes with the Most
Children Age 0-3 in Dallas County
Source J. McDonald Williams Institute, (in
press), Critical Years Childhood Wellbeing in
Dallas County
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Economics Neighborhood Factors

• In Dallas, 45.2 of children under the age of 5
  who are living in single mother families fall
  below the poverty line.
• In 2004, the unemployment rate in Dallas County
  was 6.8, almost double the figure from 2000.
• In Dallas County, 53 of occupied housing units
  were owner-occupied, whereas 47 were
  renter-occupied.
• The 2000 median income for Hispanic families
  (with or without children) in Dallas was
  30,721. The median income for non-Hispanic,
  White families was 71,494more than double the
  level of Hispanic families.

Sources KIDS COUNT 2000, Population Reference
Bureau, analysis of data from the U.S. Census
Bureau, for The Annie E. Casey Foundation The
Texas Kids Count Project, Center for Public
Policy Priorities, Austin, TX Dallas
Indicators, The Dallas Foundation. Figure from
2000 data Population Reference Bureau,
analysis of data from U.S. Census Bureau, 2000
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Economics Neighborhood Factors

• The percentage of Dallas children living in areas
  of concentrated poverty (at least one fifth of
  all residents are below the poverty line) is
  44.
• More than 25 of the population in all the zip
  codes with the 10 highest rates of Texas Health
  and Human Services utilization in Dallas County
  qualify for a means-tested state program of some
  sort.
• Of Dallas County zip codes, 23 do not have a
  mainline grocery store. Four of these zip codes
  are also one of the zip codes with the 10 highest
  rates of Texas Health and Human Services
  utilization.
• Limited access to healthier foods and higher
  prices for healthier foods have been found in
  areas served by smaller grocery stores as opposed
  to mainline grocery stores.

Sources U.S. Census 2000 Texas Health and
Human Services Commission J. McDonald
Williams Institute Jetter, K, Cassady, D.
(2006). The availability and cost of healthier
food alternatives. American Journal of Preventive
Medicine, 30, 3844.
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Childrens Safety Security

• Of the 61,433 confirmed cases of abuse and
  neglect handled by Child Protective Services
  (CPS), 22,247 (36.2) involved children ages 0 to
  3.
• More than 50 of child victims being investigated
  by CPS were between the ages of 0 and 3.
• Dallas County CPS investigations confirmed 5,116
  cases of abuse in 2005.
• Between 1997 and 2005, CPS confirmed cases of
  abuse in Dallas County increased about 20.
• In that same period, initial intakes have
  increased approximately 50.

Source Texas Department of Family and
Protective Services, 2005 Data Book
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Financial Impact

• Long-term benefits of the Abecedarian preschool
  program in North Carolina, estimated based on a
  follow-up on program participants through age 21,
  were said to be between approximately 50,000 and
  135,000, depending on the discount rate used to
  state future dollar figures in present values.
• Benefits of childhood interventions in Dallas
  County could ultimately be worth 20,000 per
  child.

Source Masse, L., Barnett, W. S. (2002). A
Benefit Cost Analysis of the Abecedarian Early
Childhood Intervention. National Institute for
Early Education Research, Rutgers University, New
Brunswick, N.J. J. McDonald Williams
Institute, (in press), Critical Years Childhood
Wellbeing in Dallas County
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Barriers to Childhood Wellbeing Remain

• Dallas Children at risk
• Demographics
• Family Characteristics
• Neighborhood Characteristics
• Economics
• Health
• Early Education Child Care
• Safety Security