Texas on the Brink – 2007 “Distant Dream”
How Texas Ranks Among the 50 States
January 2007 ~ Third Edition
Since 1836, Texas has stood as an icon of the American dream.
Blessed with land, rivers, oil, and other abundant natural resources, early Texas welcomed everyone from cattle ranchers to braceros, from cotton farmers to Chinese railroad workers. These pioneers built a great state, and together we fulfilled a destiny.
From humble beginnings, we built a state with the firm belief that every Texan might rise as high and as far as their spirit, hard work, and talent might carry them. With education and determination every Texan might achieve great success – home ownership, reliable healthcare, safe neighborhoods, and financial prosperity.
In Texas today, the American dream is distant. Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured children in the nation. Texas is dead last in the percentage of residents with their high school diploma and near last in SAT scores. If we do not change course, the Texas generation of tomorrow will be less prosperous than the generation of today.
Without the courage to invest in the minds of our children, and steadfast support for great schools, we face a daunting prospect. Those who value tax cuts over children and budget cuts over college have put Texas at risk in her ability to compete and succeed.
Let us not forget that the business of Texas is Texans. To ‘Close the Gap’ in Texas, we must graduate more of our best and brightest. If we invest in our greatest resource, Texas will be the state of the future. If we do not, family incomes will fall an average of $6,000 by 2040.
Texas is on the brink. The choice is ours.
Let us resolve now to invest in young Texans today to guarantee the prosperity of all Texans tomorrow.
__________
The Rankings
Note :
The numbers # immediately after the items reference footnotes located at the bottom of the page listed as Endnotes. The second number i.e. 45th, 32nd is the actual ranking.
Suggest one look at the rankings (50th = lowest, 1st = highest) in relationship to the Headings of each subject title being addressed.
__________
State Government Taxes and Spending
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Tax Revenue Raised Per Capita1 49th
• Tax Expenditures Per Capita2 50th
• Sales Tax Per Capita 3 7th
• Progressiveness of Tax Revenues4 43rd
Per Capita Spending on:
• Mental Health5 46th
• Medicaid6 38th
• Public Health and Hospitals7 20th
• Public Elementary-Secondary Education8 38th
• Parks and Recreation9 49th
• Police Protection10 48th
• Environmental Protection11 45th
• Highways12 42nd
• State Arts Agencies13 48th
Education
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Public School Enrollment14 2nd
• Average Teacher Salary15 32nd
• Current Expenditures Per Student16 40th
• State Aid Per Pupil17 46th
• Percentage of School Funding from Local Revenues18 12th
• Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) Scores19 47th
• Percentage of Population over 25 with a High School Diploma20 50th
• High School Graduation Rate21 35th
• Percentage of Adults with At Least a Bachelor’s Degree22 28th
State of the Child
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Birth Rate23 2nd
• Percent of Population Under 1824 4th
• Percentage of Uninsured Children25 1st
• Percentage of Children Living in Poverty26 5th
• Percentage of Children Immunized27 49th
• Spending on Child Protection 48th
Health Care
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Percentage of Population without Health Insurance28 1st
• Percentage of Young People (Non-Elderly) without Health Insurance29 1st
• Percentage of Population that Lacked Access to Primary Care30 17th
• Percentage of Uninsured Low-Income Children31 3rd
• Percentage of Poor Not Covered by Medicaid32 3rd
• Percentage of Population with Employer-Based Health Insurance33 42nd
• Rate at which Citizens Receive Treatment for Drug and Alcohol Abuse Problems34 45th
• Percentage of Population Not Physically Active35 17th
• Health Care Expenditures Per Capita36 29th
• Hospital Beds Per 100,000 Population37 30th
• Percentage of Total Employment in Health Care Service Sector38 33rd
Health Professionals per Capita
• Physicians39 42nd
• Dentists40 41st
• Pharmacists41 44th
• Psychologists42 39th
Health and Well-Being
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Percentage Living Below Federal PovertyLevel43 3rd
• Percentage of Population with FoodInsecurity44 3rd
• Percentage of Population that is Malnourished45 3rd
• Amount of Welfare and Food Stamp Benefits Paid46 47th
• Amount of Monthly Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) Benefits Paid47 42nd
• Minutes of Daily Care by Registered Nurses for Nursing Home Residents48 46th
• Compliance with the Supreme Court Olmstead Decision Declaring that Unjustified Institutionalization of a Disabled Person is Discrimination49 37th
Women’s Issues
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Overall Birth Rate50 2nd
• Teenage Birth Rate51 5th
• Percent of Non-Elderly Women with Health Insurance52 50th
• Access to Adequate Prenatal Care53 35th
• Percentage of Women Who Have Had a Dental Visit Within the Past Year55 48th
• Rate of Women Aged 40+ Who Receive Mammograms54 44th
• Rate of Women Aged 18+ Who Receive Pap Smears55 47th
• Cervical Cancer Rate56 5th
• Percentage of Women with High Blood Pressure57 15th
• Family Planning58 45th
• Women’s Voter Registration59 43rd
• Women’s Voter Turnout60 49th
• Percentage of Women with Four or More Years of College61 30th
• Women’s Median Annual Earning62 28th
• Women in Managerial and Professional Occupations63 28th
• Women Business Ownership64 28th
• Percent of Women Above the Poverty Level65 44th
Diseases
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Prevalence of Obesity66 7th
• Rate of Death due to Heart Disease67 18th
• Rate of Infectious Diseases68 8th
• Prevalence of Diagnosed Diabetes69 18th
• Diabetes Death Rate70 5th
• Rate of Death due to Stroke71 15th
Access to Capital
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Percentage of Home Refinance Loans that are Subprime-Mortgage Loans (generally 3 to 4 percentage points or more higher
than a comparable prime market loan)72 1st
• Percent of Households with Savings Accounts73 42nd
• Percent of Households with Checking Accounts74 43rd
• Average Net Worth of Household Assets75 48th
• Home Mortgage Delinquency Rate76 4th
• Amount of Money that Banks Located in the State Collect through Deposits in Relation to the Amount of Money the Banks Re-channel Back into Communities Through Loans77 48th
Environment
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Air Pollution Emissions78 1st
• Pollution Released by Manufacturing Plants79 1st
• Amount of Green House Gases Released80 1st
• Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Water81 1st
• Amount of Toxic Chemicals Released into Air82 4th
• Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Air83 1st
• Amount of Recognized Cancer-Causing Carcinogens Released into Water84 7th
• Number of Clean Water Permit Violations85 1st
• Number of Environmental and Civil Rights Complaints86 1st
• Number of Hazardous Waste Spills87 2nd
• Amount of Hazardous Waste Generated88 1st
• Number of Hazardous Waste Sites on National Priority List89 9th
• Amount of Carbon Dioxide Emissions90 1st
• Consumption of Energy Per Capita91 5th
• Consumption of Electricity Per Customer92 10th
• Open Space Protection93 50th
• Drinking Water Quality94 38th
Workforce
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Unemployment Rate95 10th
• Average Hourly Earnings96 42nd
• Income Inequality Between the Rich and the Poor97 2nd
• Government Employee Wages and Salaries 98 30th
• Workforce Education99 43rd
• Percentage of Workforce Represented by a Union100 48th
• Number of Job Discrimination Lawsuits101 1st
Cost of Living
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Home Ownership Rate102 44th
• Homeowner’s Insurance Affordability103 50th
• Auto Insurance Affordability104 39th
• Residential Electric Bill Affordability105 50th
• Percentage of Households with Internet Access106 34th
Public Safety
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Number of Executions107 1st
• Number of Gun Shows108 1st
• Rate of Incarceration109 3rd
• Total Crime Rate110 6th
• Violent Crime Rate111 12th
• Murder and Rape Rate112 14th
• Rate of Firearm Deaths Per 100,000 Population113 22nd
• Number of Registered Machine Guns114 1st
• Number of Deaths Attributed to Floods (Pre-Hurricane Katrina)115 1st
• Fatalities Caused by Tornadoes116 1st
• Rate of Motor Vehicle Fatalities117 20th
• Number of Road-Rage Traffic Fatalities118 2nd
• Number of Alcohol-Related Traffic Deaths as a Percentage of Highway Fatalities119 11th
Democracy
(50th=Lowest, 1st=Highest)
• Percentage of Eligible Voters that are Registered120 41st
• Percentage of Eligible Voters that Vote121 44th
__________
Key Facts and Figures
Child Abuse and Neglect
• In 2005, over 61,000 Texas children were victims of abuse and neglect.122
• On average in 2003, each Child Protective Services investigative caseworker had 31 cases per month,123 more than twice the recommended amount of 12 cases per month according to the Child Welfare League of America.124
• On child protection, Texas spends $135.19 per child. The national average is $303.95 per child.125
Children and Families
• In 2002, 151,464 Texas children were considered “At Risk” (having a significant impairment due to a mental disorder) and eligible for services through the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. However, only 26 percent of those at risk, eligible children were served in 2002.126
• In El Paso County, the rate of immunization in the 4:3:1 series (most basic vaccination series) for children was 71.8 percent, significantly below the national average of 83.5 percent.127
• 49 percent of children in Texas live in low-income families, as opposed to 39 percent nationwide.128
• 86 percent of children whose parents did not have a high school degree live in low-income families, compared to 28 percent of children whose parents had some college education.129
• 43 percent of children in low-income families live with a single parent.130
• In Texas, 69 percent of Latino children and 58 percent of African American children live in low-income families, compared to 25 percent of Anglo children.131
• 1 in 10 children in Texas lives in extreme poverty, a 10 percent increase since 2000. The threshold for a family of
two adults and two children living in extreme poverty is $8,731 a year.132
• The average Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance for a family is $208 per month in Texas; 133 the monthly national average is $355.134
• In 2005, the average monthly benefit for Women, Infant, and Children (WIC) recipients in Texas was $31.62, whereas the national average was $37.42.135
• 32 percent of poor children in Texas are uninsured as compared to 22 percent nationwide.136
Status of Women in Texas
• In 2004, only two women in Texas were elected to statewide executive offices, and only four were elected to the U.S. Congress.137
• Hispanic women in Texas earned 46.3 percent of what Anglo men earned in 1999.138
• In 2000, only 42.4 percent of Anglo women, 31.2 percent of African American women, and 23.6 percent of Hispanic women were in managerial positions in Texas.139
• The percentage of Hispanic women in Texas with an Associate’s or Bachelor’s degree was 12.5 percent, compared to 32.8 percent of Anglo women and 22.2 percent of African American women.140
• Between 1999-2001, the ratio of female heart disease mortality per 100,000 for African American women was 306.1, compared to 182.3 for Hispanic women and 214.9 for Anglo women in Texas.141
• The ratio of breast cancer mortality per 100,000 between 1999-2001 for African American women was 37.0, compared to 18.5 for Hispanic women and 25.5 for Anglo women in Texas. 142
• The average annual incidence rate of AIDS among women in Texas was highest amongst African Americans at 33.9, compared to 5.1 for Hispanic women and 3.1 for Anglo women.143
• Of the 10 largest cities in the U.S., Dallas, San Antonio, and Houston ranked among the lowest in safety, with the worst being one crime committed per 11.8 residents in Dallas.144
Education
• Texas spends $7,142 per pupil annually.145 Annual expenditures per prisoner in Texas prisons is $20,232.146
• While the number of students in Texas who scored above the proficient level on national math assessment exams has increased since 1992, African American and Hispanic students continue to score far below that of Anglo students by 18-25 points on exams.147
• 47 percent of 4th graders in Texas who come from low-income families scored below proficient in national science assessment exams, while only 17 percent of students from middle to high income families scored below proficient on the exam.148
• In science, only 23 percent of Texas 8th graders scored at or above proficient on the national assessment exam, as compared to 41 percent nationally.149
• In reading, only 26 percent of Texas 8th graders scored at or above the national assessment exam as compared to 38
percent nationally.150
• The national high school graduation rate in 2002 was 71 percent,151 compared to 64.2 percent in Texas in 2005,
unchanged from the year before.152
• In Texas, Hispanic students dropped out of high school at a rate three times greater than that of African American and Anglo students in Texas.153
• In Texas, 57 percent of Hispanic students, 66 percent of African American students, and 77 percent of Anglo students graduated in 2002.154
• Only 58 percent of 7th to 12th graders in Texas were taught by teachers with a major in their subject, as compared to 81 percent in top-performing states.155
• 25 percent of Texas science teachers and 13 percent of math teachers in 2005 had taught classes for which they were not certified.156
• In 2006, the national combined SAT score was 1021, whereas for Texas it was 997.157
Higher Education
• In El Paso County, only 17 percent of the population has abachelor’s degree or higher, as opposed to 42 percent in Travis County.158
• In Texas, only 26 percent of the population aged 25-65 has a bachelor’s degree or higher.159
• Texas funds only 34 percent of need-based financial aid, as opposed to 89 percent by the top-investing states.160
• The share of Texan family income needed to pay for college expenses at four-year institutions increased from 22 percent to 30 percent between 1992 and 2006.161
• The University of Texas at Austin and Texas A&M University at College Station are the only Texas public institutions of higher education that made the top 60 in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Colleges in the U.S., with UT-Austin at 47 and Texas A&M at 60.162
• In Texas, only 13 percent of the Hispanic population has an Associate’s Degree or higher, as compared to 40 percent of the Anglo population.163
The Elderly
• On average in 2004, Adult Protective Services of Texas takes on 48.8 cases per investigator a month, while accreditation agencies recommend only 25 cases per worker.164
• In 2002, 86 percent of nursing homes in Texas did not meet federal standards governing quality of care.165
• 94 percent of nursing homes did not meet minimum staffing levels,166 and 39 percent of facilities had a violation that caused actual harm to nursing home residents or placed them at risk for death or serious injury.167
• The average nursing home in Texas provided just 21 minutes of daily care by registered nurses for each resident–less than half of the minimum required by the regulatory agency.168
• In 2004, 84 percent of Texas nursing homes were cited for fire safety deficiencies.169
• The population in Texas that is over 65 years of age will be expected to grow from 2.1 to 7.4 million, or 258 percent, by 2040.170
• While Texas had more nursing home beds per 1,000 population over 65 than the national average, Texas still lagged behind in workers per nursing home and personal care facilities with 0.8 workers per bed compared to 1.02 workers per bed nationally.171
The Uninsured
• 46.6 million people in the U.S. are uninsured, up by 7 million since 2000.172
• 24.6 percent of people in Texas are uninsured or 5.4 million people,173the largest share of uninsured in the nation.174
• More than 825,000 people were added to the uninsured population in Texas between 2000 and 2004.175
• 21 percent of children in Texas were uninsured in 2005, compared to 11 percent nationally.176
• In Texas, 58 percent of adults between the ages of 19 and 64 living in poverty did not have health insurance.177
• Of those uninsured, 59 percent, or almost 3 million, are Hispanic.178
• Children and youth under the age of 17 comprise 26.6 percent of the total uninsured population, the largest portion.179
• Of the 16 major metropolitan areas in Texas, El Paso had the second highest rate of uninsured residents at 33.2 percent following Laredo.180
• Texas does not provide Medicaid to parents making even poverty-line incomes; therefore, a working parent of two does not qualify for coverage if he or she makes more than $3,696 in a year.181
Health Professionals
• El Paso County has 486 registered nurses per 100,000 population, compared to 639 per 100,000 for the state of Texas and 798 per 100,000 nationwide.182
• El Paso County has 21 dentists per 100,000 population, compared to the state’s average of 42 per 100,000 and the national average of 48 per 100,000 population.183
• El Paso County has 105 direct primary care physicians per 100,000 population,184 while statewide there are 222 physicians per 100,000 population, and nationwide there are 279 per 100,000 population.185
• Of the 65 counties that did not have acute care hospitals, 21 were located in the Border region.186
• 39 of the 43 Border counties had been designated as Primary Care and Dental Health Professional Shortage Areas in 2005 by the Texas Department of State Health Services.187
• The metropolitan border areas have a ratio of 145 direct primary care physicians per 100,000 people, as compared to 170 in non-Border metropolitan areas in Texas.188
• Along the Border Areas, the ratio of nurses to population is 900 to 100,000 population, as opposed to 1147 to 100,000 population in non-Border areas.189
• The ratio of dentists in the border region is 44.8 per 100,000 people, compared to 65.3 per 100,000 people in the non- Border regions of Texas.190
Income Disparity and Employment
• Texas has the tenth largest economy in the world,191 and is the second largest in the nation with a GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of $982.4 billion for 2005.192
• The per capita income for Texas in 2005 was $30,222.193
• 17.6 percent of people in Texas, or nearly 3.8 million, live in poverty.194
• Currently, five percent of workers in Texas earn $6.15 an hour or less, an income of $11,808 a year.195
• Only seven percent of workers are covered by a union.196
• 45 percent of families in Texas earn poverty-level wages.197
• The Lower Rio Grande Valley metropolitan area ranks last in the nation in per capita income, averaging only 44 percent of the U.S. per capita income.198
• Starr County in South Texas has the highest poverty rate with 50.9 percent of the population at or below poverty level.199
• In the early 2000s, the income gap between the richest 20 percent of families and the poorest 20 percent was 2nd largest in the nation. The income gap between the richest 20 percent of families and the middle 20 percent was 1st in the nation.200
• In the early 2000s, the richest five percent of families had average incomes 13.8 times greater than the poorest 20
percent. This is up from a ratio of 9.2 in the early 1980s.201
• Middle- and low-income Texas families did not share equally in the economic boom of the eighties and nineties.202
Families that made $36,000 and under only gained four percent, while families who made $84,500 or more gained 33
percent.203
• An increase in the minimum wage of just $1 would directly effect 750,000 Texas children living in low-wage
households.204
• Three Border regions in Texas, the McAllen-Edinburg-Mission region, the Brownsville-Harlingen-San Benito region, and the El Paso region, had the highest rates of unemployment in Texas at 13.6 percent, 11.0 percent, and 9.7 percent respectively, well above the state’s average of 6.7 percent.205
Taxation
• Texas’ tax system is listed as one of the “Terrible Ten” most regressive states in the nation.206
• Texas requires low-income families, those in the bottom 20 percent of the income scale, to pay more than three times as great a share of their earnings in taxes as the wealthy.207
• Middle-income families pay more than twice as high a share of their income in taxes as the wealthiest families.208
• Changes in state and local taxes over the past decade have made state tax systems even more regressive. Overall, low- and middle-income taxpayers saw their burden grow, while the top-fifth highest income-earning Texans primarily received tax reductions.209
• Sales tax, amongst the most regressive of all taxes, forces middle- to low-income families to pay on average as much as eight times more tax than the wealthiest families in the U.S. as a percentage of their income.210
Transportation
• Traffic delays in Dallas, Fort Worth, and Houston cost each driver in those cities $711 a year. In Austin, traffic delays cost each driver $590 a year.211
• Houston and Dallas were ranked 5th and 6th respectively amongst 85 large metropolitan cities in the yearly number of hours delayed in traffic per traveler.212
• Traffic volume in Texas is growing 16 times faster than lane miles are added.213
• Every two minutes, someone is injured in a traffic accident. The resulting economic loss to Texas is $9.3 billion annually.214
• 725 people died on Texas highways in 2002.215
Obesity
• In Texas, 22.4 percent of 4th graders, 19.2 percent of 8th graders and 15.5 percent of 11th graders in Texas are overweight. 216
• Overweight prevalence is highest in Texas among Hispanic boys.217
• 70 percent of Texas youths do not attend physical educationclass daily. 218
• Two of the top 10 “Fattest Cities in America” are in Texas, with Houston ranked number five and El Paso ranked number eight.219
• 27.0 percent of Texans are severely overweight, up from 24.6 percent in 2004, and higher than the national average of 24.4 percent. 220
• Texas ranks 5th in the percentage of children who are obese with 19 percent.221
Sex Education
• Texas does not require schools, nor does it provide state funds, to give students information on HIV, sexuallly transmitted diseases, or pregnancy prevention education.222
• In 2001, the birth rate for teens between 15 and 17 years old was 24.7 to 1,000 population in the United States and 38.9 to
1,000 in Texas. 223
• In a statewide survey of Texas high school students, almost half have had sexual intercourse at least once in their lifetime.
• Of those interviewed, 67.6 percent of 12th graders, 57.2 percent of 11th graders, 47.2 percent of 10th graders, and 37.4 percent of 9th graders have had sexual intercourse.224
• 19.3 percent of 12th graders who had once been sexually active are now practicing abstinence.225
• Among currently sexually active students, only about half (55.4 percent) reported that they or their partner had used a condom during their last sexual intercourse. Only 10 percent reported that they or their partner had used birth control pills before their last sexual intercourse.226
• 22.6 percent of sexually active students had used drugs or alcohol at the time of their last sexual intercourse.227
• Texas has no state law or administrative rule that addresses attendance for pregnant or parenting students, nor does the state require districts to offer alternative programs for such students.228
__________
Endnotes
1
US Census Bureau, States Ranked by Revenue and Expenditure Total Amount and Per Capita
Total Amount: 2004. Online. Available at http://www.census.gov/govs/state/04rank.html.
Accessed September 19, 2006.
2
Ibid.
3
Hovey and Hovey, CQ’s State Fact Finder 2006, p. 157, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006.
4
Government of the District of Columbia, Tax Rates and Tax Burdens in the District of
Columbia: a Nationwide Comparison (2004). Online. Available at
http://www.cfo.dc.gov/cfo/lib/cfo/services/studies/City04STUDY.pdf. Accessed October 2,
2006. Data compiled by Hovey, Kendra and Hovey, Harold, Congressional Quarterly’s State
Fact Finder, 2006: Rankings Across America. (Washington, D.C: CQ Press, Inc., 2006) p.170.
This category relates the amount raised from sales tax with the amounts raised from the two
other major tax bases, property and income.
5
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (March 2004). Online.
Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed September 14, 2006.
6
Morgan, Kathleen O’Leary and Morgan, Scott, Health Care State Rankings: 2006 Health
Care in the 50 United States (2006). 14th Edition. Lawrence, KS: Morgan Quinto Press.
Online. Available at www.statestats.com. Accessed October 6, 2006.
7
US Census Bureau, State and Local Government Finance Estimates, by State (2002). Online.
Available at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/estimate.html. Accessed October 2, 2006.
8
US Census Bureau, Public Education School Finances (March 2006). Online. Available at
http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/school/04f33pub.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2006.
9
Sybert, Brian, Sierra Club of Texas, Texas’ Wide Open Spaces are Disappearing. Online.
Available at http://www.texas.sierraclub.org/spaces/disappear.asp. Accessed September 24,
2006.
10
Morgan, Kathleen O’Leary and Morgan, Scott, State Rankings: 2006, Crime in the 50
United States (2006). 13th Edition, Lawrence, KS: Morgan Quinto Press. Online. Available at
www.statestats.com. Accessed October 6, 2006.
11
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Window on State Government: Where We Stand:
Comparative Facts and Figures about the Lone Star State (April 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wwstand.html. Accessed October 2, 2006.
12
US Census Bureau, 2004 State Government Finance Data (2006). Online.
http://ftp2.census.gov/govs/state/04statess.xls. Accessed October 16, 2006.
13
National Assembly of State Art Agencies, Legislative Appropriations Annual Survey: Fiscal
Year 2006 (January 2006), pg.12. Online. Available at http://www.nasaa-
arts.org/publications/legapp.shtml. Accessed October 1, 2006.
14
National Education Association, Rankings and Estimates, A Report of School Statistics
Update (Fall 2005). Online. Available at http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/05rankings-
update.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2006.
15
Ibid.
16
Ibid.
17
Ibid.
18
Ibid.
19
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Window on State Government: Where We Stand:
Comparative Facts and Figures about the Lone Star State (April 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wwstand.html. Accessed October 2, 2006.
20
US Census Bureau, Educational Attainment in the United States (2005). Online. Available
at http://www.census.gov/population/socdemo/education/cps2005/tab13.xls. Accessed January
3, 2007.
21
Education Trust, Getting Honest About Grad Rates: Too Many States Hide Behind False
Data (June 2005). Online. Available at http://www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/C5A6974D-
6C04-4FB1-A9FC-05938CB0744D/0/GettingHonest.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2006.
22
US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey (2005). Online. Available at
http://factfinder.census.gov. Accessed September 11, 2006.
23
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, National
Vital Statistics Report, vol. 54, no. 2, September 8, 2005. In 2003, the birth rate was 17.1
births per 1,000 people.
24
Hovey and Hovey, CQ’s State Fact Finder 2006, p. 25, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006.
25
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (March 2005). Online.
Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed September 14, 2006.
26
US Census Bureau, 2005 American Community Survey (2005). Online. Available at
http://factfinder.census.gov. Accessed October 2, 2006.
27
Texas Department of State Health Services, Immunization Rates in Texas. Online. Available
at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/immunize/docs/2004_Ann_Rept.pdf. Accessed September 12,
2006.
28
US Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2005. p. 26. Online. Available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf.
Accessed September 11, 2006.
29
US Census Bureau, Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, Table HI-6:
Health Insurance Coverage Status and Type of Coverage by State: People Under 65. (2004).
Online. Available at http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/hlthins/historic/hihistt6.html. Accessed
October 2, 2006.
30
Kathleen O’Leary Morgan and Scott Morgan, eds. State Rankings 2006, p. 368, Lawrence,
KS: Morgan Quitno Press, 2006; using data from US Department of Health and Human
Services, Division of Shortage Designation, “Selected Statistics on Health Professional
Shortage Areas.”
31
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (March 2005) Online.
Available: http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed: October 7, 2006.
32
Ibid.
33
Ibid.
34
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000), Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter3.pdf. Accessed
September 26, 2006.
35
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System,
(2005); analysis by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion,
Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Percentage of Adults with 30+ minutes of moderate physical activity five or more days per
week, or vigorous physical activity for 20+ minutes three or more days per week (2005).
Online. Available at
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/list.asp?cat=PA&yr=2005&qkey=4418&state=All. Accessed
October 16, 2006.
36
Ibid.
37
Ibid.
38
Ibid.
39
US Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Professions, Health Resources and
Services Administration, The Texas Health Workforce: Highlights from the Health Workforce Profile
(2004). Online. Available at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/statesummaries/texas.htm .
Accessed December 4, 2006.
40
US Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Professions, National
Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis, HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles
(December 2000).
41
Ibid.
42
Ibid.
43
US Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2004 (August 2005). Online. Available at: http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/p60-
229.pdf. Accessed September 14, 2006.
44
US Department of Agriculture Economic Research Service, Household Food Insecurity in
the United States, 2005 (November 2006). Online. Available at
http://www.ers.usda.gov/Publications/ERR29/ERR29i.pdf. Accessed December 2, 2006.
45
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000), Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter3.pdf. Accessed
September 26, 2006.
46
US Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families,
Average Monthly Amount of Assistance (2005). Online. Available:
http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/statcomps/supplement/2005/9g.pdf. Accessed November 26,
2006.
47
US Department of Agriculture Food and Nutrition Services, WIC Program Average Annual
Costs Per Person: Annual State Level Data (2005). Online. Available at
http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/wichome.htm. Accessed October 4, 2006.
48
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000). Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter3.pdf. Accessed
September 26, 2006.
49
LaFleur, Jennifer, “Seeking Independence. Many With Disabilities, Forced into Nursing
Facilities Despite Court Decision, Fight to Live On Their Own,” Dallas Morning News
(October 3, 2004) p. 1-A.
50
National Center for Health Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report (vol.53, no.15,
February 28, 2005). Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/births.htm. Accessed
October 3, 2006.
51
Guttmacher Institute, U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics (September 2006). Online.
Available at: http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/2006/09/12/USTPstats.pdf. Accessed December
6, 2006.
52
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, The Status of Women in Texas, 2004: Highlights
(November 2004). Online. Available at http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/TX_R297.pdf. Accessed
September 19, 2006.
53
United Health Foundation, Adequacy of Prenatal Care: Ranking by State (2005). Online.
Available at http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2005/components/prenatalcare.html.
Accessed September 25, 2006.
55
National Women’s Law Center, Making the Grade on Women’s Health: A National and
State-by-State Report Card 2004. Online. Available at:
http://www.nwlc.org/pdf/HRC04Chapter_2_StatusIndicators.pdf. Accessed November 21,
2006.
54
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System, Women aged 40+ who have had a mammogram within the past
two years (2004). Online. Available at:
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/list.asp?cat=WH&yr=2004&qkey=4421&state=All. Accessed
November 26, 2006.
55
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, Behavioral Risk
Factor Surveillance System, Women aged 18+ who have had a pap test within the past three
years (2004). Online. Available at:
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/list.asp?cat=WH&yr=2004&qkey=4421&state=All. Accessed
November 26, 2006.
56
National Cancer Institute, State Cancer Profiles, All Races, Female, Cervix, All Ages (2002).
Online. Available at http://statecancerprofiles.cancer.gov/cgi-
bin/incidencerates/incidencerates.pl?00&057&00&2&001&1&1&1. Accessed October 6,
2006.
57
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (2004). Online.
Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed September 14, 2006.
58
Guttmacher Instititute, Contraception Counts, Texas (March 2006). Online. Available at:
http://www.guttmacher.org/pubs/state_data/states/texas.pdf . Accessed December 1, 2006.
59
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, The Status of Women in Texas, 2004: Highlights
(November 2004). Online. Available at http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/TX_R297.pdf. Accessed
September 19, 2006.
60
Ibid.
61
Ibid.
62
Ibid.
63
Ibid.
64
Ibid.
65
Ibid.
66
United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and
Their Communities (2005). Online. Available at
http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2005/components/obesity.html. Accessed October
5, 2006.
67
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division
of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 54, Number 13, April 19, 2006,
Table 29. Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf.
Accessed September 26, 2006.
68
United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and
Their Communities (2005). Online. Available at
http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2005/components/infectdisease.html. Accessed
October 5, 2006.
69
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, (2005);
analysis by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Division of
Nutrition and Physical Activity, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Have you ever been told by
a doctor that you have diabetes? Online. Available at:
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/brfss/list.asp?cat=DB&yr=2005&qkey=1363&state=All. Accessed September
26, 2006.
70
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division
of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 54, Number 13, April 19, 2006,
Table 29. Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf.
Accessed September 26, 2006.
71
Ibid.
72
Center for Community Change, Risk or Race? Racial Disparities and the Subprime
Refinance Market (May 2002). Online. Available at
http://www.knowledgeplex.org/kp/report/report/relfiles/ccc_0729_risk.pdf. Accessed
September 25, 2006.
73 Center for Public Policy Priorities, Moving Forward: Common Sense Policies to Promote
Prosperity for Working Texans (2006). Online. Available at
http://www.cppp.org/files/2/Workingtexas.pdf. Accessed September 25, 2006.
74
Corporation for Enterprise Development, 2002 State Asset Development Report Card:
Benchmarking Asset Development in Fighting Poverty (Washginton, D.C.) Online. Available
at http://www.cfed.org/sadrc/SADRC-CFED.pdf Accessed September 25, 2006. pg. 74.
75
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Moving Forward: Common Sense Policies to Promote
Prosperity for Working Texans (2006). Online. Available at
http://www.cppp.org/files/2/Workingtexas.pdf. Accessed September 25, 2006.
76
Ibid.
77
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, U.S. Department of Treasury, 2006 Host-State
Loan-to-Deposit Ratios (June 2005). Online. Available at
http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2006-28a.pdf. Accessed October 3, 2006.
78
Hovey and Hovey, CQ’s State Fact Finder 2006, p. 97, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006.
, data available from the Emissions Factor and Inventory Group at the Environmental
Protection Agency Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards. (Released to CQ November
2004). Online. Available at http://www.epa.gov/air/data/repsst.html?st~TX~Texas. Accessed
October 3, 2006.
79
US Environmental Protection Agency, Office of Pollution Prevention and Toxics
Information Management, 2003 Toxics Release Inventory (2005). Online. Available at:
http://www.epa.gov/tri/tridata/tri03. Accessed January 4, 2007.
80
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site, Rankings of States by Air Pollutants Emissions. Online.
Available at http://www.scorecard.org/env-releases/cap/rank-states-emissions.tcl. Accessed November 14,
2006.
81
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site, States with Reported Releases of Toxics Release
Inventory: Water Releases. Available at http://www.scorecard.org/ranking/rank-
states.tcl?how_many=100&drop_down_name=Water+releases. Accessed September 25, 2006.
Texas has over 30 million pounds of toxic chemicals released into its surface water supply as
reported by industrial facilities.
82
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site, States with Reported Releases of Toxics Release
Inventory: Air Releases Available at http://www.scorecard.org/ranking/rank-
states.tcl?how_many=100&drop_down_name=Air+releases. Accessed September 25, 2006.
Industrial facilities reported releasing around 90 million pounds of toxic chemicals into the air
between 1988 and 2002 in Texas.
83
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site, States with Reported Releases of Recognized
Carcinogens to Air, Online. Available at http://www.scorecard.org/ranking/rank-
states.tcl?how_many=100&drop_down_name=Recognized+carcinogens+to+air. Accessed
September 25, 2006. The state rankings are produced by a proprietary scoring system
developed by Scorecard.com that is based on the State of California’s official list of chemicals
with known toxic properties and a risk scoring system developed at the School of Public Health
at the University of California at Berkeley. The scoring system adjusts the amount of a
chemical using a weighting factor so that chemical releases can be compared on a common
scale. For more information, see http://www.scorecard.org/general/health/health_gen.html.
84
Scorecard: The Pollution Information Site. States with Reported Releases of Recognized
Carcinogens to Water. Available at http://www.scorecard.org/ranking/rank-
states.tcl?how_many=100&drop_down_name=Recognized+carcinogens+to+water. The state
rankings are produced by a proprietary scoring system developed by Scorecard.com that is
based on the State of California’s official list of chemicals with known toxic properties and a
risk scoring system developed at the School of Public Health at the University of California at
Berkeley. The scoring system adjusts the amount of a chemical using a weighting factor so that
chemical releases can be compared on a common scale. For more information, see
http://www.scorecard.org/general/health/health_gen.html. Accessed September 25, 2006.
85
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000). Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter1.pdf. Accessed
September 25, 2006.
86
Ibid.
87
Ibid.
88
Environmental Protection Agency, National Biennial Resource Conservation and Recovery
Act (RCRA) Hazardous Waste Report: Based on 2003 Data, (June 2005). Online. Available at
http://www.epa.gov/epaoswer/hazwaste/data/br03/national03.pdf. Accessed October 9, 2006.
89
Texas Legislative Budget Board, 2006 Legislative Budget Board, (2006). Online. Available at
http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Fact_Book/Texas_Fact_Book_2006_0106.pdf. Accessed October 16, 2006..
90
Environmental Protection Agency, “CO2 Emissions from Fossil Fuel Combustion Million
Metric Tons CO2 (MMTCO2),” (2003). Online . Available at
http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/downloads/CO2FFC_2003.pdf. Accessed
November 27, 2006.
91
Hovey and Hovey, CQ’s State Fact Finder 2006, p. 92, Washington, D.C.: CQ Press, 2006.
, information compiled from the Edison Electric Institute. Online. Available at
http://www.eei.org/industry_issues/industry_overview_and_statistics/index.htm. Accessed
October 3, 2006.
92
Edison Electric Institute, Average Usage by State and Class of Service (2005). Online.
Available at http://www.eei.org. Accessed October 4, 2006.
93
Brian Sybert, Sierra Club of Texas, Texas’ Wide Open Spaces are Disappearing. Online.
Available at http://www.texas.sierraclub.org/spaces/disappear.asp Accessed September 24,
2006.
94
Environmental Protection Agency, Water Safe to Drink: Percentage of the population served
by community water systems that receive drinking water that meets all Applicable Health-
Based Drinking Water Standards through Effective Treatment and Source Water: July 2005 to
June 2006. Data delivered by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality to Senator
Eliot Shapleigh’s Office. Received October 5, 2006.
95
US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Regional and State Employment and
Unemployment (October 2005). Online. Available at www.bls.gov. Accessed October 3, 2006.
96
US Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings: August
2005 (October 2005). Online. Available at www.bls.gov. Accessed October 3, 2006.
97
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, Pulling Apart: A State-by-State Analysis of Income
Trends (January 2006). Online. Available at: http://www.cbpp.org/1-26-06sfp.pdf. Accessed
September 29, 2006.
98
US Census Bureau. “Government Employee Wages and Salaries: 23rd,” (2004). Online.
Available at http://www.census.gov/govs/www/apesst04dl.html. Accessed October 16, 2006.
99
The Progressive Policy Institute, The 2002 State New Economy Index, Benchmarking
Economic Transformation in the States. Online. Available:
http://www.neweconomyindex.org/states/2002/texas.html. Accessed September 25, 2006.
Workforce education is a weighted measure of the educational attainment (advanced degrees,
bachelor’s degrees, associate degrees, or some college course work) of the workforce.
100
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000). Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter4.pdf.
Accessed: June 29, 2006.
101
Ibid.
102
US Census Bureau, Housing Vacancies and Home Ownership (2005). Online. Available at
http://www.census.gov/hhes/www/housing/hvs/annual05/ann05t13.html. Accessed December
3, 2006.
103
Texans for Public Justice, State of the Lone Star State: How Life Measures Up (September
2000). Online. Available: http://www.tpj.org/docs/2000/09/reports/sos/chapter4.pdf. Accessed
September 25, 2006.
104
Ibid.
105
Ibid.
106
US Census Bureau, Current Population Survey Reports, Table 1B. Presence of a Computer
and the Internet for Households, by State (October 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/computer/ppl-175.html. Accessed October
5, 2006.
107
Death Penalty Information Center, Number of Executions by State and Region Since 1976.
Online. Available at http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=8&did=186 . Accessed
September 25, 2006.
108
Violence Policy Center, Violence Policy Center Releases, GUNLAND USA: A State-by-
State Ranking of Gun Shows, Gun Retailers, Machine Guns, and Gun Manufacturers (June 28,
2000). Online. Available at http://www.vpc.org/press/0006gun.htm. Accessed September 25,
2006.
109
Harrison, Paige and Beck, Allen, Phd, Bureau of Justice Statistics Bulletin: Prison and Jail
Inmates at Midyear 2005 (2005). Online. Available at
http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/pub/pdf/pjim05.pdf . Accessed October 3, 2006.
110
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States, 2004 (November 2005).
Online. Available at www.fbi.gov. Accessed October 3, 2006.
111
Ibid.
112
Ibid.
113
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division
of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 54, Number 13, April 19, 2006,
Table 29. Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf.
Accessed September 26, 2006.
114
Violence Policy Center, Violence Policy Center Releases, GUNLAND USA: A State-by-
State Ranking of Gun Shows, Gun Retailers, Machine Guns, and Gun Manufacturers (June 28,
2000). Online. Available at http://www.vpc.org/press/0006gun.htm. Accessed September 25,
2006.
115
US Department of Commerce, National Climatic Data Center, 2004 Annual Summaries
(2004). Online. Available at http://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/oa/climate/sd/annsum2004.pdf.
Accessed October 10, 2006.
116
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Window on State Government: Where We Stand:
Comparative Facts and Figures about the Lone Star State (April 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.window.state.tx.us/comptrol/wwstand/wwstand.html. Accessed October 2, 2006.
Fatalities caused by tornadoes from 1950-2001.
117
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics, Division
of Vital Statistics, National Vital Statistics Report Volume 54, Number 13, April 19, 2006,
Table 29. Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf.
Accessed September 29, 2006.
118
Surface Transportation Policy Project, “Aggressive Driving: Are You at Risk?,” (1999).
Online. Available at: http://www.transact.org/report.asp?id=58. Accessed November 16,
2006.
119
National Highway Traffic Safety Adminsitration, State Traffic Safety Facts (2006). Online.
Available at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/Pubs/alcoholtsf05.PDF. Accessed December 5,
2006.
120
US Election Assistance Commission, Voter Registration and Turnout – 2002. Online.
Available at: http://www.eac.gov/election_resources/02to.htm. Accessed September 25, 2006.
121
Ibid.
122
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Confirmed CPS Victims:2005. Online.
Available at
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Documents/about/Data_Books_and_Annual_Reports/2005/databoo
k/pdf/141_146.pdf. Accessed September 12, 2006.
123
US Government Accountability Office, Child Welfare: HHS Could Play a Greater Role in
Helping Child Welfare Agencies Recruit and Retain Staff (March 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d03357.pdf. Accessed September 27, 2006.
124
Child Welfare League of America, Guidelines for Computing Caseload Standards. Online.
Available at http://www.cwla.org/programs/standards/caseloadstandards.htm. Accessed
September 27, 2006.
125
Urban Institute, The Cost of Protecting Vulnerable Children Part IV . Online. Available at
http://www.urban.org/uploadedpdf/411115_VulnerableChildrenIV.pdf. Accessed September
27, 2006.
126
Mental Health Association in Texas, Children’s Mental Health Facts (March 2003). Online.
Available: http://mhatexas.org/FACTSHEET1final3_03. Accessed: September 12, 2006.
127
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report,
National Immunization Survey, Table 2. Percentage of Children Up-to-date on Immunizations
by County 1994-2000, July 29, 2005 / 54(29);717-721. Online. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5429a1.htm. Accessed September 12,
2006.
128
National Center for Children in Poverty, Columbia University, Mailman School of Public
Health, Demographics of Low-Income Children: Texas (March 2006). Online. Available at
http://nccp.org/state_detail_demographic_TX.html. Accessed October 2, 2006.
129
Ibid.
130
Ibid.
131
Ibid.
132
Center for Public Policy Priorities, National Report: Poverty on the Rise in Texas. Press
Release June 27, 2006. Online. Available at
http://www.cppp.org/files/10/Texas%20press%20releaseFINAL.pdf. Accessed September 12,
2006.
133
Center for Public Policy Priorities, TANF at 10: Has Welfare Reform Been a Success in
Texas? (August 2006). Online. Available at
http://www.cppp.org/files/3/pop%20TANF%20at%2010.pdf. Accessed November 12, 2006.
134
US Department of Health and Human Services, TANF Sixth Annual Report to Congress
(November 2004). Online. Available at
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/ofa/annualreport6/execsum/execsum.pdf. Accessed
September 12, 2006.
135
US Department of Agriculture, Food and Nutrition Service, Average Monthly WIC Benefits
per Person, 2005. Online. Available at http://www.fns.usda.gov/pd/wifyavgfd$.htm. Accessed
October 3, 2006.
136
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, Health Insurance Coverage of Children 0-18
Living In Poverty (March 2005). Online. Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-
bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare. Accessed September 11, 2006.
137
Institute for Women’s Policy Research, The Status of Women in Texas, 2004: Highlights
(November 2004). Online. Available at http://www.iwpr.org/pdf/TX_R297.pdf . Accessed
September 19, 2006.
138
Ibid.
139
Ibid.
140
Ibid.
141
Ibid.
142
Ibid.
143
Ibid.
144
Federal Bureau of Investigations. Crime in the United States, 2005,(September 2005).
Online. Available at http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/about/index.html. Accessed October 16,
2006.
145
National Education Association, Rankings and Estimates, A Report of School Statistics
Update (Fall 2005). Online. Available at http://www.nea.org/edstats/images/05rankings-
update.pdf. Accessed October 2, 2006.
146
National Association of State Budget Officers, 2003 State Expenditures Report. Online.
Available at http://www.nasbo.org/Publications/PDFs/2003ExpendReport.pdf. Accessed
October 4, 2006.
147
US Department of Education, National Report Card, State Profile: Mathematics, 2005.
Online. Available at http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/pdf/stt2005/2006454TX4.pdf.
Accessed September 12, 2006.
148
US Department of Education, National Assessment of Education Progress, The Nation’s
Report Card: 2005. Online. Available at
http://nationsreportcard.gov/science_2005/s0106.asp?subtab_id=Tab_8&tab_id=tab1&printver
=#chart. Accessed September 12, 2006.
149
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, “Measuring Up:2006: The
State Report Card on Higher Education,” pg. 5. Online. Available at
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/reports/default.cfm. Accessed October 16, 2006.
150
Ibid.
151
Education Week and Teacher Magazine, Research Center, Where Texas Ranks (2002).
Online. Available at http://www.edweek.org/rc/states/texas.html. Accessed October 4, 2006.
152
United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and
their Communities, 2005 edition. Online. Available at
http://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/shr2005/ahr05_email.pdf. Accessed September 20,
2006.
153
Texas Education Agency, Secondary School Completion and Dropouts in Texas Public
Schools, 2004-2005. Online. Available at
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/research/pdfs/dropcomp_2004-05.pdf. Accessed September 12,
2006.
154
Education Week and Teacher Magazine, Research Center, Where Texas Ranks (2002).
Online. Available at http://www.edweek.org/rc/states/texas.html. Accessed October 4, 2006.
155
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, “Measuring Up:2006: The
State Report Card on Higher Education,” pg. 5. Online. Available at:
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/_docs/2006/statereports/TX06.pdf. Accessed January
3, 2007.
156
Embry, Jason, “Skipping math as a senior may end,” Austin American Statesman.
(September 14, 2006). Pg. A1-A4.
157
Texas Education Agency, SAT Math Scores for Texas Students Rise, Reflecting Increased
Years of Math Study (August 2006). Online. Available at
http://www.tea.state.tx.us/comm/page1.html. Accessed October 4, 2006.
158
US Census Bureau, “Social Characteristics in the US: El Paso County,” “Social
Characteristics in the US: Travis County: 2005.” Online. Available at
http://factfinder.census.gov. Accessed September 12, 2006.
159
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, “Measuring Up:2006: The
State Report Card on Higher Education,” pg. 11. Online. Available at:
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/_docs/2006/statereports/TX06.pdf. Accessed January
3, 2007.
160
Ibid, pg. 8.
161
Ibid.
162
US News & World Report, “America’s Best Colleges: 2007,” Online. Available at
http://www.usnews.com/usnews/edu/college/rankings/brief/t1natudoc_brief.php. Accessed
September 12, 2006.
163
The National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, “Measuring Up:2006: The
State Report Card on Higher Education,” pg. 14. Online. Available at:
http://measuringup.highereducation.org/_docs/2006/statereports/TX06.pdf. Accessed January
3, 2007.
164
National Adult Protective Services Association, Adult Protective Services Compilation of
Workload Studies and Caseload Data (1997). Available at
http://www.apsnetwork.org/Resources/docs/1997CaseloadSurvey.pdf. Accessed September 27,
2006.
165
US House of Representatives Special Investigations Division, Nursing Home Conditions in
Texas: Many Nursing Homes Fail to Meet Federal Standards for Adequate Care, prepared by
Representative Ciro D. Rodriguez and Representative Gene Green (Washington, D.C: October
2002), Online. Available at http://democrats.reform.house.gov/Documents/20040830112134-
57472.pdf. Accessed September 20, 2006.
166
Ibid.
167
Ibid.
168
Ibid.
169
US Government Accountability Office, Nursing Home Fire Safety: Recent Fires Highlight
Weaknesses in Federal Standards and Oversight (July 2004). Online. Available at:
http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04660.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2007.
170
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services, Legislative Appropriations Request for
Fiscal Year 2008-2009 (August 2006). Online. Available at
http://cfoweb.bdm.dhs.state.tx.us/2008_09LAR/DADS%2008-09%20LAR%20Vol%201.pdf.
Accessed September 20, 2006.
171
US Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Professions, National
Center for Health Workforce Information and Analysis, HRSA State Health Workforce Profiles
(December 2000).
172
Eckholm, Erik, “Hospitals Try Free Basic Care for Uninsured,” New York Times, (October 25, 2006).
173
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Strayhorn, Carole Keeton, Special Report: The
UNINSURED: A Hidden Burden on Texas Employers and Communities (April 2005) pg.1.
174
US Census Bureau, Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States:
2005. p. 26. Online. Available at http://www.census.gov/prod/2006pubs/p60-231.pdf.
Accessed September 11, 2006.
175
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (March 2004). Online.
Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed September 26, 2006.
176
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Strayhorn, Carole Keeton, Special Report: The
UNINSURED: A Hidden Burden on Texas Employers and Communities (April 2005) pg.3.
177
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts Online (March 2004). Online.
Available at http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare.
Accessed September 14, 2006.
178
Texas Health and Human Services Commission, “Demographic Profile of the Texas
Population Without Health Insurance in 2001.” Online. Available at
http://www.hhsc.state.tx.us/research/dssi/HIS/TXUNIN2001.html. Accessed September 11,
2006.
179
Ibid.
180
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Strayhorn, Carole Keeton ,Special Report: The
UNINSURED: A Hidden Burden on Texas Employers and Communities ( April 2005) pg.8.
181
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Texas Health Care: What Has Happened and What Work Remains
(June 2006). Online. Available at: http://www.cppp.org/files/3/HlthCare_FINAL.pdf. Accessed
December 1, 2006.
182
Texas Department of State Health Services, Health Professions: Supply and Distribution
Tables for State-Licensed Health Professions in Texas (November 2005). Online. Available at
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chs/hprc/health.shtm. Accessed September 19, 2006.
183
Ibid.
184
Ibid.
185
US Department of Health and Human Services, Bureau of Health Professions, Estimated
Supply of Health Personnel and Practitioner-to-Population Ratios: Selected Years 1970-2000.
Available at http://bhpr.hrsa.gov/healthworkforce/reports/factbook02/FB101.htm. Accessed
October 4, 2006.
186
Texas Department of State Health Services, Supply Trends Among Licensed Health
Professionals, Texas 1980-2004, Second Edition, pg. 7. Online. Available at:
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/CHS/hprc/05trends.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2007.
187
Ibid.
188
Ibid, pg. 15.
189
Ibid, pg. 33.
190
Ibid, pg. 47.
191
International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook, September 2006. Online. Available at
http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2006/02/index.htm . Accessed November 20, 2006.
192
US Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis, News Release: Gross Domestic Product
by State, 2005. Online. Available at http://www.bea.gov/bea/newsrel/gspnewsrelease.htm. Accessed
November 20, 2006.
193
Legislative Budget Board, Fiscal Size-Up 2006-07, pg.39. Online. Available at:
http://www.lbb.state.tx.us/Fiscal_Size-up/Fiscal_Size-up_2006-2007_0106.pdf. Accessed January 3,
2007.
194
US Census Bureau, ” Percent of People Below Poverty Level in the Past 12 Months: United States and
States,” (2005). Online. Available at http://factfinder.census.gov. Accessed November 20, 2006.
195
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Why A Minimum Wage Increase Would Be Good for Texas (October
2006). Online. Available at http://www.cppp.org/files/2/policy_brief_minwage.pdf. Accessed October 11,
2006.
196
National Center for Children in Poverty. “Family Economic Security,” from Columbia University:
Mailman School of Public Health. (December 2006). Available at
http://nccp.org/state_detail_context_TX.html. Accessed December 15, 2006.
197
Ibid.
198
Day, Sue, The University of Texas School of Public Health at Houston, Lower Rio Grande
Valley Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative, Nourishing the Future: The Case for
Community-Based Nutrition Research in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (2004). pg.15.
199
Texas Department of State Health Services, Supply Trends Among Licensed Health
Professionals, Texas 1980-2004. pg.2. Online. Available at:
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/CHS/hprc/05trends.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2007.
200
Center for Budget and Policy Priorities and Economic Policy Insitute, “Income Inequality
Has Increased in Texas Over the Past Two Decades,” (January 2006). Online. Available at
http://www.cbpp.org/states/1-26-06sfp-fact-tx.pdf. Accessed September 17, 2006.
201
Ibid.
202
US Census Bureau, Are the Rich Getting Richer and the Poor Getting Poorer? (August
2000). Online. Available at
http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/incineq/p60204/p60204txt.html. Accessed September 26,
2006.
203
Protex, Network for a Progressive Texas, Understanding the Texas Budget (November
2002).
204
Center for Public Policy Priorities, Why a Minimum Wage Increase Would Be Good For
Texas (October 2006). Online. Available at:
http://www.cppp.org/files/2/policy_brief_minwage.pdf. Accessed January 3, 2007.
205
Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts, Strayhorn, Carole Keeton, Special Report: The
UNINSURED: A Hidden Burden on Texas Employers and Communities (April 2005) pg.9.
206
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Texas Taxes Hit Poor and Middle Class Far
Harder than the Wealthy (January 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.itepnet.org/wp2000/tx%20pr.pdf. Accessed September 19, 2006.
207
Ibid.
208
Ibid.
209
Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, Who Pays? A Distributional Analysis of the
Tax Systems in All 50 States (January 2003). Online. Available at
http://www.itepnet.org/wp2000/text.pdf. Accessed September 19, 2006.
210
Ibid..
211
Texas Transportation Institute, 2003 Urban Mobility Study (2003). Online. Available at
http://mobility.tamu.edu/ums/. Accessed September 26, 2006.
212
Texas Transportation Institute, 2005 Urban Mobility Report (May 2005). Online. Available
at http://tti.tamu.edu/documents/mobility_report_2005.pdf . Accessed September 26, 2006.
213
Texas Department of Transportation, Texas Transportation Partnerships: Connecting You
to the World (Austin, Texas, August 2001) p. 7.
214
Texas Department of Public Safety, Motor Vehicle Traffic Accidents 2001. Online.
Available: http://www.txdps.state.tx.us/administration/driver_licensing_control/arb.htm.
Accessed: July 27, 2006.
215
US Department of Transportation, Federal Highway Administration, Targeting Highway
Fatalities (2002). Online. Available:
http://safety.fhwa.dot.gov/pubs/stats2002/index.htm#map1. Accessed: July 15,2006.
216
Hoelsher et al., “Measuring the Prevalence of Overweight in Texas Schoolchildren,” The
American Journal of Public Health (June 2004). Online. Available at
http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/94/6/1002?etoc. Accessed September 26, 2006.
217
Ibid.
218
Ibid.
219
“America’s Fattest Cities 2006,” Men’s Fitness. Online. Available at
http://chicago.about.com/od/aboutchicago/a/010705_fat.htm. Accessed January 3, 2007.
220
United Health Foundation, America’s Health Rankings: A Call to Action for People and
their Communities, (2006 Edition). Online. Available at
hhttp://www.unitedhealthfoundation.org/ahr2006/media2006/shrmediakit/2006ahr.pdf.
Accessed December 5, 2006.
221
The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, State Health Facts (2003). Online. Available at
http://www.statehealthfacts.kff.org/cgi-bin/healthfacts.cgi?action=compare. Accessed
September 26, 2006.
222
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2004 School Health Reports: Texas (2004).
Online. Available at http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/profiles/pdf/facts/TexasST.pdf.
Accessed September 26, 2006.
223
Texas Department of Health, Protect Texas: Texas Teen Pregnancy and Birth Facts, 2001.
Online. Available at http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/famplan/pdf/Teen01.pdf. Accessed September
26, 2006.
224
Texas Department of Health, Chronic Disease in Texas: Sexual Behaviors Among Texas
Youth, 2001 Survey (August 2002). Online. Available at
http://www.dshs.state.tx.us/chronic/pdf/NUMBER4.pdf. Accessed September 26, 2006.
225
Ibid, pg.3.
226
Ibid, pg. 4.
227
Ibid.
228
National Association of State Boards of Education, Healthy Schools: State Level School
Health Policies: State-by-State Policies on Pregnant or Parenting Students (December 2004).
Online. Available at
http://www.nasbe.org/healthyschools/States/Pregnant%20&%20Parenting.html#Texas.
Accessed October 4, 2006.