By Maxine Shapiro, KERA 90.1 business commentator
Dallas, TX – It's not easy raising children when you've never been taught the proper way to do it. How do you buy a child car seat when you can't afford it? And you're a teenager living in a poor community, and all you want to do is stay out of jail. Three state-funded prevention programs addressing these issues are now in jeopardy of closing. I'm Maxine Shapiro with KERA Marketplace Midday.
A recent Dallas Morning News article revealed what prevention programs will have to close:
Healthy Texas Families. You feel good just hearing the name - now listen to what they do. This is from their web site. Families assessed to be at risk of child abuse or other poor childhood outcomes receive voluntary weekly home visitations. The support workers teach parents what to expect from birth until the child is 5 years old. They learn basic parenting skills that some people never get in a lifetime. Healthy Texas Families lost all of its funding.
The Injury Prevention Center of Greater Dallas, funded by The Texas Department of Health, would distribute child car seats to those families who didn't have the money to buy them. In previous years, 300 to 600 seats were given out in Dallas. This year - none. The state funding stopped.
And a $1 million Community Youth Development Program was cut by 16%. This program's main objective: keep kids out of jail through athletic programs and by helping kids with their homework.
You know, when I read about all the prevention programs that are being cut or closed, I began to wonder if a little tax increase would have been that bad. As I've said here before, polls indicated many were open to a higher tax on cigarettes. Heck, double their price, I don't care. But I still can't figure out what was going through the state legislature's mind. I believe the term "shortsighted" might be an understatement. Can someone in Austin please look beyond his or her next election? For KERA Marketplace Midday, I'm Maxine Shapiro.
Marketplace Midday Reports air on KERA 90.1 Monday - Friday at 1:04 p.m.
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