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November 20, 2018 7:30 PM
Advocates say addressing childhood welfare in Texas is more about political will than resources
“I think in our mind it’s oh, we don’t have enough money. I’m not sold on that any more. There’s just a lack of political will. There’s just a reticence to dive in and do something bold and drastic.”
Rep. Diego Bernal,
D-San Antonio, is not surprised by numbers that put Texas this year in the
bottom 10 states when it comes to child welfare. No, he says what surprises him
is “lack of political will” among members of the Texas legislature to
address it.
The annual State of Texas Children
breakfast, hosted by Methodist Healthcare Ministries and
the Center
for Public Policy Priorities in San Antonio this past week outlined
some key facts: About one in five children in Texas live in poverty. Federal
cash assistance for needy families in Texas is at an all-time low. And of the
21,600 students who dropped out of the Class of 2016, two-thirds were
economically disadvantaged.
By Kimberly Reeves
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Copyright November 20, 2018, Harvey Kronberg, www.quorumreport.com, All rights are reserved 