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April, 2002
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A review of this month's indicators shows that although the unemployment
rate remains higher than at any time in the last 10 years, the economy
in Travis County is beginning a slow recovery. Unemployment decreased
slightly, job loss is slowing, the housing market is growing, and assessed
home values are increasing. At the same time, we still see an increased
demand for social services when compared to last year. Those hardest hit
by the economic downturn have not begun to see an improvement in their
personal financial conditions.
ECONOMY:
- The U.S. Labor Department said on April 5th that the number of workers
on U.S. payrolls grew by 58,000 in March - slightly more than the
41,000 projected increase, and consistent with forecasts showing that
the economy is slowly climbing out of the recession.
- Angelos Angelou, a local economist, predicts that the Austin economy
will turn the corner in the second quarter of 2002 and rebound slowly
during the third quarter.
- A sign that the economy may be turning a corner can be found in home
sales. February saw the fourth consecutive month of growth for the
Austin-area housing market, with a 10% increase in the number of
homes sold. According to an Austin American-Statesman article, if the
trend continues, the housing market should make a rapid recovery from
the mild slump experienced during 2001.
- In February, Smart Money Magazine ranked the Austin housing market
as number one in the nation (taking into account predicted job growth,
recession resistance, housing affordability, and other factors). More
commercial real estate space is available and rates are going down.
The overall vacancy rate by year-end 2001 had risen to 18.8% up from
a record low 4.2% overall vacancy rate in December 2000. While this
is a positive trend for the economy in general, this means higher housing
prices for Travis County's working poor.
EMPLOYMENT:
- Although job creation has exceeded layoffs, Angelou Economic Advisors
reported 23,000 layoffs in 2001.
- The Travis County unemployment rate dropped slightly from
5.7% in January to 5.5% in February. The Travis County unemployment
numbers were better than the State's figures. The February unemployment
rate for Texas remained at 5.7 percent for the third consecutive
month (KEYE news).
- Between January 1 and March 25, 2002 1,632 people were laid
off in the greater Austin area (WorkSource), and layoffs have
continued into April (On April 5th, Vignette laid off 38 employees
in Austin, and 9% of employees worldwide, or about 113).
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- The local job market added 5,600 jobs in February, largely
due to increases in the government and service sectors. However, while
lower-paying service jobs increased, the high tech sector lost 1,200
jobs in February (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to local economist, Jon Hockenyos, there shouldn't be "any
more big local layoffs" (Austin American-Statesman).
- Traffic at the four WorkSource Career Centers remains brisk. WorkSource
Career Centers received 16,036 visits in January 2002 and 13,336 visits
in February, indicating that demand for employment assistance remains
high.
- For every 100 people who lose their jobs, the number of people uninsured
grows by 85. Of the 23,000 people in Travis County who were laid off
during 2001, approximately 19,550 people lost their health insurance
benefits.
COST OF LIVING:
- Of the top 10 occupational categories in the Austin-San Marcos Metropolitan
Statistical Area (MSA), 28.8% of the jobs (186,360) have a median hourly
wage of less than $10. The Center for Public Policy Priorities indicates
that a single adult with no children needs to earn at least $10/hour
in order to secure basic necessities. However, a single parent with
one child needs to earn a minimum of $17/hour ($33,819/yr). For
a family of two parents and two children, the Austin-San Marcos MSA
is the most expensive metropolitan area in the state in which to live.
- A recent study by the Public Policy Institute of California found
that cities that boost minimum wages above the federal level do reduce
poverty for the working poor but also increase unemployment.
- The median price for a single-family home rose 5% in February
to $160,000, its highest level ever (Austin American-Statesman). According
to a March 30th article in the Austin American Statesman, assessed market
values of homes in Travis County are expected to increase 10% in 2001.
- According to the 2000 Census, 45% of Austin housing is owner-occupied.
The state average is nearly 64%. The Austin rate is perhaps the lowest
in the nation (The Good Life, March 2002).
SEPTEMBER 11 IMPLICATIONS:
- According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University, treatment admissions are climbing by 10 to 12 percent
nationally. Individuals who have been sober for as long as 24 months
are relapsing and being admitted into treatment as well. Sales of street
drugs have also increased in New York City since September 11th.
- The Austin Police Department is restructuring in response to the
events of September 11, including forming a Homeland Defense Division, expanding
Search and Rescue and Explosive Ordinance Disposal (EOD, or Bomb Squad)
units, and considering changes to the role of Street Response.
DEMAND INDICATORS:
Housing, Homelessness, Basic Needs:
- From January 1 through March 20, 2002, the most frequent calls
to United Way's First Call for Help were for basic needs, including
utility bill assistance (721 calls, remaining relatively stable when
compared to last year), rent assistance (605 calls, up 43% from the
same time period last year), and food pantry requests (389 calls, up
33%).
- In a comparison of January 1, 2002 through March 20, 2002 and the
same time period of the previous year, United Way's First Call for
Help experienced increases in the number of calls from people needing:
rent assistance (up 43% or 605 calls), mortgage assistance (up 225%,
or 52 calls), food pantry items (up 33%, or 389 calls), employment assistance
(up 160% or 104 calls), referrals to Medicaid (up 167% or 32 calls),
and referrals to CHIP (up 45%, or 77 calls). Calls for affordable/low-cost
housing and homeless shelter decreased by 44% and 35%, respectively,
during the same period. (In 2001, First Call for Help had a Homeless
Helpline Specialist, which may explain the increase in calls for homeless
shelters during that time.)
- The Capital Area Food Bank has seen a 28% increase in total
pounds of food distributed from 2000 to 2001.
- The Crisis Assistance Pantry, (a collaboration among The Arc
of the Capital Area, Austin/Travis County MHMR, Ebenezer Baptist Church,
and Any Baby Can) has also seen a tremendous increase in demand. In
February of 2001, they served 381 unduplicated people with crisis assistance
(e.g. food, clothing, diapers), in September they served 573, and in
December they served 994- an increase of 260% over the course of
ten months. These numbers are not expected to decrease significantly.
- Austin Families, Inc. experienced a 58% increase in requests
from 2000 to 2001 for childcare services.
- Meals on Wheels and More is serving meals to more than 1,750 homebound
elderly and disabled people each day, an increase of approximately
12% when compared to last year, and almost 100% more than it served
in 1990. For 25% of MOW clients, it is the only meal they get all day.
With Travis County's elderly population projected to more than double
in the next 20 years, Meals on Wheels expects to prepare and deliver
1.5 million meals in 2020.
- In the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's FY 02 Budget,
the number of new Section 8 vouchers distributed nationwide will
be cut sharply from 79,000 in 2001 to 29,000 in 2002.
Physical and Mental Health:
- Due to higher-than-anticipated service utilization and increased
cost, Seton Health Plan is planning to drop Seton Solution, its individually
financed health maintenance organization plan. Seton sent a letter
April 1 to the estimated 1,900 members of Seton Solution announcing
that their health care coverage will end Oct. 31.
- A recent study by the Institute of Medicine found that racial
and ethnic minorities in the United States receive lower quality health
care than whites, even when their insurance and income are the same.
Explanations for the disparities include racial bias and the fact that
minorities are less likely than whites to have long-lasting relationships
with primary care physicians. The disparities contribute to higher death
rates among minorities from cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and HIV
infection.
- A recent study by the Center for Studying Health System Change found
that, in 2001, one in seven Americans had trouble getting medical
care or had to delay care, primarily due to cost. Getting care was
most difficult for the uninsured, those with low incomes, or those with
poor health. Getting health care was more difficult in 2001 than in
1997. In 2001, 5.8% of Americans said that they had gone without needed
care, compared to 5.2% in 1997. Similarly, in 2001, 33% of Americans
said they could not get an appointment soon enough, compared to 23%
in 1997.
- 152,709 people in Travis County do not have health insurance,
approximately 23.6% of the total population. First Call for Help has
experienced a 63% increase in the number referrals to CHIP/TexCare
partnership, suggesting that the promotion of the program is working,
or possibly that more middle class families are without health insurance
for their children. However, the CHIP program is now preparing for a
projected budget shortfall in August 2003 and staff is concerned that
a cutback in benefits will occur.
- Austin/Travis County Emergency Medical Services has seen an 8%
increase in calls this year, and is experiencing a shortage of
EMS workers and equipment. There are currently 350 EMS workers,
but approximately 390 are needed.
- In 2001, Austin police responded to 75 suicides, most occurring
in northwest and southwest Austin. This appears to be consistent with
suicide rates in Austin over the past three years, which have been consistently
near 10.5 per 100,000. Nearly 2,100 people commit suicide each year
in Texas. White males age 75 and over have the highest suicide rate.
- Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston,
and Abilene are all experiencing shortages in hospital beds for children.
- At the City's Community Health Centers (CHC), from September
1, 2001 through January 31, 2002, enrollment rose 35% among uninsured
patients. During the same period of the prior year, there was an
8% decrease in enrollment. The Community Health Centers have established
evening hours at three of the four urban clinics to cope with the added
demand.
- According to the Austin/ Travis County Health and Human Services,
Indigent Care Collaboration CHIP Outreach Coalition, Travis County
has 20,081 children under age 19 who are uninsured.
- The Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center
has seen a 14% increase in their patient load in January of 2002
compared to January of 2001. So far, the agency has shifted $598,895
from its cash reserves to cover the rising cost of serving 300 more
clients per month than this time last year, and providing increasingly
expensive medications (average cost per prescription increased from
$86 to $93).
- Teen pregnancy rates overall have declined in Travis County,
from 46.1 pregnancies per 1000 teenage women in 1996 to 36.6 in 2000.
(Of the total population of teen females in Travis County (23,811),
there were 871 pregnancies in 2000.) However, in 2000, Hispanic teens
had a pregnancy rate of 64.3, African Americans had a rate of 47.0,
and white teens had a rate of 14.9 per 1,000.
Education:
- In a recent survey of Austin Independent School District parents,
it was found that 95% expect their child will go to college and graduate.
Yet, that same survey found that nearly half of parents don't know
if their child is taking high school courses recommended by Texas Education
Agency (TEA) that will prepare him/her for college. Further analysis
of TEA data shows that relatively few students are actually taking steps
that will lead to college. For example, in the Class of 2000, 62% took
college entrance exams (51% for African American, 38% for Hispanic),
and only 41% had "passing" scores (only 20% for Hispanic students,
11% for African American). In a major step to address this gap, AISD
has already made the recommended (i.e. college prep) program the default
curriculum for all high school students.
Childcare:
- There are currently 3,811 children receiving WorkSource childcare
subsidies, and 1,513 children are on the waiting list.
Public Safety:
- Travis County Commissioners and their staff are looking for $750,000
to $1.7 million to cover court-appointed attorneys' fees, which
increased under the Texas Fair Defense Act. Over the past five years,
the county spent about $3 million annually to pay lawyers who represented
indigent defendants accused of crimes ranging from misdemeanors to murder.
According to a county report, commissioners will have to plan for as
much as $2.26 million more for FY 2003.
- According to a February 2002 report from the Department of Justice's
Bureau of Justice Statistics, from 1977 to 1999, total state and
local expenditures for police protection rose 411%, corrections rose
946%, and judicial and legal rose 1,518%. During the same period,
expenditures for education increased 370%, hospitals and healthcare
increased 418%, and public welfare increased 510%. (Because public
safety spending after 9-11 has increased, the discrepancy in spending
between public safety and other areas may be even greater now.)
- According to the Justice Policy Institute, the cost of incarcerating
over 458,000 prisoners for drug offenses now exceeds $9 billion
annually in the United States.
- According to a January 23 Austin American-Statesman article, total
indexed crimes were 23% higher in December of 2001 than they were
in December of 2000. Auto theft (+50%), burglaries (+35%), robberies
(+24%), and property thefts (+19%) all increased in Austin over the
past year. At the same time, the number of arrests fell 6%. There were
five murders in Austin in December of 2001 compared to three in December
of 2000.
- The Travis County Sheriff's Office has stated that overcrowding
has caused some plumbing problems at the downtown jail. According
to News 8, the jails can be 300 to 600 inmates over designed capacity
at any time.
- In 2001, SafePlace saw an increase of 31% in the number of "shelter
nights," an increase of 47% in the number of families staying in
the SafePlace supportive housing program, a 10% increase in the number
of rape survivors accompanied to the hospital, and a 33% increase in
the number of children receiving counseling for sexual abuse. (These
numbers may be due in part to SafePlace's increased capacity to provide
services.) The numbers of people served does not reflect all of the
victims of assault and abuse who need services; for example, SafePlace
averages 60 children at a time on their waiting list for counseling,
and this number has been as high as 99 children at a time.
Projections:
RESOURCES
RESPONSES TO COMMUNITY CONDITIONS:
- The City of Austin and the Commissioners Court each committed $500,000
toward the Basic Needs crisis, for a total of $1 million to be spent
before the end of the year.
- The $100,000 Dell Foundation donation to Caritas to address the Basic
Needs Crisis
- Since last fall, through the pursuit of grant opportunities, WorkSource
has been able to access an additional $7 million in child care, displaced
workers, and workforce training dollars to add to their initial approximately
$20 million allocation from TWC
RESOURCE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY:
- Gonzalo Garza Independence High School, an academic alternative
AISD High School for juniors and seniors, is in danger of losing
its child care center for the 2002-2003 school year. AISD is currently
searching for alternative funding sources to fill this $170,000 gap.
- The Austin Police Department will receive $4.5 million in
federal Community Oriented Police Services (COPS) funds to hire 60 new
full-time police officers, according to KEYE news.
- Travis County will receive more than $200,000 in federal money
to fund substance abuse treatment programs for juvenile and adult
offenders (News 8).
- According to the OAG Website, twelve victims service providers
in Austin/Travis county received funds under the Attorney General's
Victim Assistance Discretionary Grants Program, totalling $1,813,982.
Grants for the biennium will be awarded for projects that provide direct
victim services, victim services training, victim assistance public
awareness, and emergency funds to victims.
- Austin's March sales tax revenue (which reflects purchases made
in January) dropped even more than the City had feared, falling
9% from the same period in 2001, according to the Austin American-Statesman.
Austin's sales tax revenue fell faster than any other large Texas city's.
March was the tenth straight month that revenue has fallen below that
of the previous year. City officials covered the $732,000 shortfall
with savings from park and creek improvements, and 151 vacant City positions
will be frozen. The hiring freeze should provide enough savings to cover
another bad month, but starting next month, tax revenue will have to
rise above last year's levels to avoid further cuts.
- St. David's Healthcare Partnership announced on March 26th that
they plan to spend $200 million on new construction. St. David's
Hospital downtown, South Austin Hospital, Round Rock Medical Center,
and several other facilities will be renovated.
- United Way Capital Area raised $20.6 million this year, an
all-time high, and up from $20.5 million last year, but nearly $400,000
less than their goal of $21 million.
- Despite the downturn in the economy, foundation grants rose in 2001.
The nation's more than 56,000 foundations increased their spending by
5.1%, to $29 billion.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
- Give to the United Way Capital Area's Community Fund.
- Contact the United Way Capital Area's Volunteer Center at 512-323-1898
or search for volunteer opportunities on United Way Capital Area's website
at www.uway-austin.org.
- Also see the 2001 CAN Urgent Issues Action Plan at www.caction.org for
additional information about community-wide approaches to addressing
these issues in our community.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Community Overview 2001 was researched and written by the Research
& Planning Division of Travis County Health and Human Services &
Veterans Services, with assistance from numerous individuals in the community.
We attempted to include all those who had a part in this undertaking,
but if we have inadvertently omitted anyone, we apologize and ask that
you inform us so that we may recognize you appropriately as the process
continues.
TRAVIS COUNTY HHS & VS RESEARCH AND PLANNING DIVISION:
Blanca Leahy, Director
Joy Stollings, Charlotte Brooks, Judy Cortez, Sheila Hughes, Lawrence
Lyman, Susan Mathis, & Ellen Richards
CONTRIBUTORS:
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:
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