Growing Up
BLOG POSTS, PRESS RELEASES, & ANNOUNCEMENTS FROM CHILDREN AT RISKOpinion: Vulnerable LGBTQ+ youth need support
Coming out is a testimony in itself. I told my mother when I was a sophomore in college. Preparing to come out wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. I drafted numerous speeches and spent countless tearful nights racked with anxiety. But, to my surprise, the best speech...
Most student achievement is attributed to out-of-school factors
The following is the first in our Children's Health Vlog Series. This entry highlights the out-of-school health factors that influence student academic performance and their impact. It also covers best practices for crafting quality environments for children to learn...
May Round-Up: Busy Session, Bright Futures
The 87th Texas Legislative Session comes to a close The regular 87th Texas Legislative session wraps up in just a few days at midnight on Monday, May 31st. CHILDREN AT RISK staff have been working around the clock to support the public policies Texas families need...
March Round-Up: Advocates in Action
Advocates in Action As the 87th Texas Legislative Session heats up, Children at Risk advocates are hard at work supporting and drawing attention to good bills for kids. So far this session, Children at Risk has hosted three advocacy days and virtual rallies,...
Testimony in Support of HB 1540: Preventing Child Trafficking from RTCs
Children at Risk Senior Staff Attorney and Anti-Trafficking Expert, Jamey Caruthers, testified in support of House Bill 1540 (S. Thompson) in front of the Texas House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee on March 15, 2021. In Fiscal Year 2019, 1,973 children and youth...
Growing Up In Houston: Assessing the Quality of Life of Our Children
In partnership with the United Way of Greater Houston, JPMorgan Chase & Co., CHILDREN AT RISK is excited to share the 2021-2022 edition of Growing Up in Houston: Assessing the Quality of Life of Our Children. The goal of the GUIH project is three-fold: to provide...
January Round-Up: New Year, New Projects, People, & Public Policies!
CHILDREN AT RISK kicked off the new year with new projects and a new legislative session. Below are just a few highlights from our efforts this January! CHILDREN AT RISK & Anti-Trafficking Advocates Rally to End Trafficking NOW! Closing out Human Trafficking...
Access to Affordable High-Quality Child Care is Scarce
By Kaeleigh Hernandez, Early Childhood Education and Sara Moran, Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (Note: The analyses in this post uses data on child care centers from September 2019) Across Texas, nearly half of all child care providers accept subsidies...
CAR Welcomes 5 New Governing Board Members!
In today’s ever-changing landscape, strong leadership is more valuable than ever! Children at Risk is pleased to announce five additions to our Governing Board of Directors. Their many talents and diverse professional experiences will help our organization continue to...
Access to Affordable High-Quality Child Care is Scarce
By Kaeleigh Hernandez, Early Childhood Education and Sara Moran, Center for Social Measurement and Evaluation (Note: The analyses in this post uses data on child care centers from September 2019) Across Texas, nearly half of all child care providers accept subsidies...
Subsidized Child Care System in Texas
Because money is often a critical barrier to accessing child care, Texas gives working families subsidies that can help them pay for child care. Where does the money for child care subsidies come from, where does it go, and who is left out? Here's a quick primer:...
Educational Equity in the Digital Classroom: It is all about access
Forced adaptation is a concept in biology that describes the modification of an organism’s properties by imposing drastic changes to its environment. This may be done purposefully, to bring out characteristics deemed beneficial, such as improving the...
2020 Kroger School Food Rankings
2020 Kroger School Food Rankings
What COVID-19 Means for Texas Children & Families
Amidst the closures and stop gaps in business as usual, our thoughts turn to the state, local, and community institutions grappling with how to keep Texas families safe and healthy. According to the most recently available census data, more than 1.5 million in Texas...
Texas Rising Star Recommendations
Every four years, the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) reviews and updates the Texas Rising Star (TRS) guidelines. CHILDREN AT RISK has developed a high-level overview of the TRS Workgroup’s recommendations to help the public prepare for TWC’s upcoming TRS Public...
Early Childhood Apprenticeship Programs: Creating a pipeline of highly-qualified teachers
By Ali Schoon In the recently released report, Early Childhood Apprenticeship Programs, CHILDREN AT RISK reviews how apprenticeship programs can create a pipeline of highly-qualified early childhood education teachers in Texas. This blog touches on three important...
Preventing Food Insecurity in Texas: How to Implement a School Food Pantry
By Stacy Cantu-Pawlik In Texas, 14.3% of children live in food insecure homes. That’s 1.4 million Texas households! Sadly, Texas is 1 out of 15 states in the U.S. with higher food insecurity rates. These children do not know where their next meal will come from, thus...
What is HBO 680 and how does it impact children?
Child care providers (often referred to as “day care”) are important to our communities, and in Texas, about half of them care for low-income kids with working parents who receive financial assistance (or “subsidy”) from the Texas Workforce Commission. Even though...
Investing in Teachers who are Charged with Child Development & School Readiness
by Patrick Gill, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to drive Texas’s...
The Moment of Truth: Do We Care if Poor Kids Have Medical Coverage?
By Jenny Eyer & Dan Micciche Health coverage for children means a lot more than a yearly doctor’s visit. Children with health coverage have better school attendance, higher educational attainment, and improved economic opportunities than those without coverage. If...
Growing Up In Houston
From President & CEO of CHILDREN AT RISK, Dr. Robert Sanborn Data must be the catalyst and starting point to any conversation regarding the well-being of our children. While we can look at a multitude of indicators to gauge how we are doing as a city and state, we...
Only 10% of Eligible Children in Texas Receive Child Care Assistance
by Patrick Gill, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to drive Texas’s...
High School Students Create App to Record Children’s Experiences from Hurricane Harvey
By Rebecca Harms, Disaster Recovery and Research AmeriCorps VISTA High School freshmen, Tracy Wei, Kaylee Yu, and Raina Parikh are the creators of the SAY (Stories About You) Houston app that was recently published in the IOS Apple Store. The app gives children a...
Quality ECE Can Transform the Future Workforce of Texas
by Patrick Gill and Shay Everitt, CHILDREN AT RISK In the recently released report, Building Brains & Economies: Quality Child Care as an Engine for Economic Development in a 21st Century Texas, CHILDREN AT RISK examines how quality child care can be leveraged to...
Hurricane Harvey’s Impact Revealed the Unique Needs of Children During a Disaster
By Rebecca Harms, Disaster Recovery and Research AmeriCorps VISTA Harvey's Impact on Children by the Numbers Hurricane Harvey has a significant impact on children, disrupting children's lives immediately and continuing for months into the recovery. Harvey was the most...