February 3, 1999
Texas CLC calls
Legislature to focus on children
___By Ken Camp
___Texas Baptist Communications
___AUSTIN--The health, safety and education of Texas children are the most important matters facing the 76th Texas Legislature, children's advocates declared last week.
___Phil Strickland, director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and chairman of Texans Care for Children, spearheaded anews conference and legislative briefing for Children's Advocacy Day at the Capital Jan. 27.
PHIL STRICKLAND, director of the Texas Baptist Christian Life Commission and chairman of Texans Care for Children, responds to reporters' questions during a Child Advocacy Day news conference in Austin. Joining him are Shannon Noble, public policy director of Texans Care for Children; Patrick Bresette, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities; Rep. Garnet Coleman; and Judge Scott McCown. (Photo by Ken Camp)
___"How we treat our children is the central issue of this legislature," Strickland said. "The challenge I would present to legislators is to respond to the needs instead of the power. Listen to the cries of the children instead of the promises of lobbyists."
___Children's advocates praised Gov. George W. Bush's call for 380 additional child protection caseworkers as a "huge first step" for this legislative session. At the same time, they noted at least 2,000 are needed in the long term just to bring services to minimal standards.
___In his State of the State address, Bush said: "Our youngest Texans need our help. Last year, 176 children were killed by abusive parents or caretakers. For every one who dies, countless others suffer in anonymity. This breaks my heart. I urge you to increase funding so our child protection agency can hire 380 caseworkers to rescue children before they become a tragic statistic."
___At the news conference, Judge Scott McCown of the 345th District Court in Travis County applauded Bush's proposal, adding that preventive and therapeutic services also need additional dollars.
___Pointing to the needs of children who are at risk of abuse and neglect, McCown encouraged Texas lawmakers to increase child abuse and neglect prevention efforts by $15 million over the next two years. That would include funding for parent education and at-risk mentoring programs.
___"How we parent our children as families and care for our children as a state is the most important public policy issue in Texas," he said. "These children as they grow up will either fund our Social Security pensions or fill our prisons."
___All Texas children deserve access to comprehensive health care, including the 1.3 million uninsured children of the state's working poor, speakers stressed.
___Rep. Garnet Coleman, D-Houston, urged fellow lawmakers to enhance the Children's Health Insurance Plan to cover children up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level. He also called for a comprehensive benefits package that includes coverage for children's mental health, rehabilitation services, and treatment for at-risk children.
___Nearly three-fourths of the funding for the so-called CHIP program comes from the federal government through Title 21 of the Society Security Act. The program is designed to "close the gap" for the working poor. It serves those who do not qualify for Medicaid but who cannot afford private health insurance, according to Bryan Sperry, president of the Texas Children's Hospital Association.
___"CHIP is right for kids, fair for parents and fiscally sound," Sperry said.
___While welfare recipients should be held accountable for their actions, punitive measures against parents should not endanger the well-being of their children, said Patrick Bresette, associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities.
___Bresette called on Texas legislators to respond to the needs of the working poor by providing them certain benefits, such as Medicaid and child care eligibility, during their transition from welfare dependency to the workforce.
___Shannon Noble, public policy director of Texans Care for Children, urged lawmakers to support the governor's initiative to provide $34 million to reduce waiting lists for child care. She called for $2 million over the next two years for statewide pre-kindergarten programs to stimulate reading skills and foster literacy.
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