Although they are more likely to graduate from high school and less likely to abuse drugs compared with prior years, children are worse off in Texas than their peers in all but seven states, a study says.
According to its latest study based on 2014 data, the Annie E. Casey Foundation determined that Texas ranked 43rd in the nation for child well-being, slipping two slots from the prior year. Digging deeper into the data, it says:
- 11 percent of Texas children lacked health insurance, putting the state in last place along with Alaska.
- 25 percent of Texas children lived in poverty, compared with 22 percent nationally.
- The Texas teen birth rate was 38 births per 1,000 females ages 15 to 19, compared with 24 such births nationally
Source: Report: Children are worse off in Texas than most of U.S. MY STATESMAN