Potter and Randall Counties in the Texas Panhandle have been making incremental improvements when it comes to overall child well-being. Even so,as Amarillo.com reports, both counties continue to rank at or below average when compared with the nation at large. A new report measured child well-being in four areas: economic well-being, education, health, and family and community. Texas as a whole is ranked 43rd in the nation. The Lone Star State received the lowest marks for teen birth rate, children living in high-poverty areas and number of uninsured children.
The associate director of the Center for Public Policy Priorities said Texas needs to be more proactive in trying to solve problems and create opportunities for children.
Suggestions for improvement included updating Texas’s school finance system, providing access to mental health care, and closing the health care coverage gap. Expanding Medicaid would immediately impact hundreds of thousands of Texan lives.