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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 again this month, and although job loss has slowed when compared
to last year, large layoffs are occurring this month. 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.
Items highlighted with blue text are new for this
month.
ECONOMY:
- During January, February and March of 2002, Austin’s
sales tax receipts dropped by at least 9% each month when compared
to the same months of the previous year. In April,
however, receipts were 0.6 percent higher compared
to figures a year ago. The City’s forecast had projected that
the revenue would fall 7% in April, so this small rise in
sales tax receipts shows that the local economy may
be stabilizing (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to the latest study by Capitol Market
Research, the occupancy rate for Austin is
90.3%. Rents declined 10.4% through June compared to the
first half of 2001 (Austin American-Statesman).
- Although the local housing market has cooled from
the frenzied pace of recent years, sales are still healthy. In Central
Texas, real estate agents sold 1,697 houses in May, up 2 percent
from the same month last year, according to the Austin Board
of Realtors (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to the 2000 Census and a newly released
study by the Mumford Center, no other large U.S. metropolitan
area saw a greater rise in median household income than Austin- San
Marcos or a sharper drop in the proportion of residents living in
poverty. Of the 50 largest metro areas in the country, Austin
climbed up the index’s ratings to 15th most prosperous in the
nation from 40th in 1990 (Austin American-Statesman).
- Charitable giving is down for 2001. Americans
gave $212 billion to charity in 2001, or 2.3 percent less
than in 2000, when inflation is taken into account. This
decline is somewhat sharper than in typical recession years, according
to the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University (American Association
of Fundraising Counsel Trust for Philanthropy).
- Despite a projected increase in demand for services this summer,
the City of Austin will be closing each branch library for
one day each week beginning June 3rd. This is projected to
save the city $323,000 over the year, part of efforts to offset a
$72 million projected shortfall in next year’s city budget.
Property tax rates are also projected to increase to help cover the
shortfall (Austin American-Statesman).
- The state is facing more than $300 million in unexpected
social service and health-care costs in 2002-2003 because
of the weakening economy and growing demand for public services (Austin
American-Statesman). More than 31% of the state’s $113.8 billion
budget goes to social services, more than any other area except education.
However, Texas ranks near the bottom in the nation in per-capita social
service spending.
- Builders started construction on 2,231 new homes
in Central Texas from January through March, 2002, a 26% drop from
the same months last year.
EMPLOYMENT:
- Austin telecommunications startup General Bandwidth,
Inc. announced June 19th that it would cut 117 jobs, or roughly 60
percent of its work force. The three-year-old company now has fewer
than 100 workers, down from 285 last July (Austin American-Statesman).
- New Census figures released show that the median family
income in the Austin area (including Bastrop, Caldwell, Hays,
Travis, and Williamson counties) rose 22% to $59,426,
the largest increase of any metro area in Texas. The statewide median
family income is $45,861.
- According to an Economic Outlook Survey released on May 14th, 47%
of Central Texas employers plan to increase their workforces
during the third quarter of 2002, and none of the companies
responding to the survey forecast reductions (Austin Business Journal).
- Although job creation has exceeded layoffs, Angelou Economic Advisors
reported 23,000 layoffs in 2001.
- The Travis County unemployment
rate remained steady from 5.5% in April to 5.5% in
May. The May Travis County unemployment rate was better than
the State’s May unemployment rate of 6.2%.
- Between January 1 and June
19, 2002, 4,484 people were laid off in the greater Austin area
(WorkSource).
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COST OF LIVING:
- According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, the
hourly wage (at 40 hours per week) needed to afford a two-bedroom
apartment at the current Fair Market Rent is $17.06 in Travis
County.
- The Travis Central Appraisal District reported that property
appraisals in East Austin rose faster than in any other part of town.
On average,valuations of single-family homes in Travis County rose
8% to $212,798 during 2001 (Austin American-Statesman).
- 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.
DEMAND INDICATORS:
Housing, Homelessness, Basic Needs:
- In the last five years, the monthly distribution
of food by the Capital Area Food Bank has increased
220%. Since April 2001, there has been a 17% increase
in the number of families seeking emergency food relief from
the Capital Area Food Bank (2002 Central Texas Hunger Report).
- Since receiving additional funding from the City
of Austin and Travis County, Caritas’ Community Support
Program has provided rent/utility assistance to nearly 200 individuals
and families from April to June of 2002. Of these 200 individuals,
58% had lost their jobs in the past 6 months.
- According to the Central Texas Sustainability Indicators
Project Blacks and Hispanics continue to be 30 percent to
50 percent less likely to be approved for a home
loan.
- As of March 2002, the number of Texas
families on TANF, is 129,433. This is a decrease of 2.5%
from January 2002 to March 2002 (Center for Law and Social Policy).
- The official child poverty rate for the
United States is at 16 percent. Child poverty for
blacks and Hispanics is 30 percent and 28 percent, respectively
(Coalition for Human Needs). The most recent child poverty rate for
Travis County is 13.9%, according
to the 2000 Census.
- 2000 Census data shows that the Austin area has the highest median
rent ($721) of any metropolitan area in the state. 41% of
Travis County renters spend more than 30% of their gross income on
rent. In comparison, 20.6% of homeowners spend more than
30% of their gross income on monthly owner costs. According to HUD,
housing costing more than 30% of gross income is unaffordable.
- Census data also shows that 1,590 households lack complete
plumbing facilities, 2,317 lack complete kitchen facilities, and 6,426
do not have telephone service.
- On May 13th, President Bush signed the 2002 Farm Bill,
which includes significant improvements in the Food Stamp Program.
The Bill simplifies enrollment in the Food Stamp Program, increases
benefits for larger families, restores benefits to many legal immigrants,
reforms the Quality Control system by which state performance is evaluated,
and authorizes an increase in funding for the Emergency Food Assistance
Program (Center for Public Policy Priorities).
Physical and Mental Health:
- According to the Travis County sheriff’s
office, about 20 percent of the inmates at any given time in the Travis
County jail suffers from some form of mental illness. Austin’s
certified mental health police officers book about 100 patients a
month into mental health care facilities, which fill up quickly, leaving
jail as the only option (Austin American-Statesman).
- Austin/Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation
Center handles more than 3,000 continuing clients a month and only
has 25 employees to make house calls to about 400 clients- usually
those with the most severe problems (Austin American-Statesman).
- According to the Technical Advisory Committee
Report, Central Texas lacks enough primary-care doctors to serve its
growing population, and not enough is spent on indigent health care.
The report also found that almost one-quarter of Central Texas residents
don’t have health insurance, contributing to a 26.4% increase
in emergency room usage in Travis County in the past four years (Report
prepared by Morningside Research & Consulting for the Technical
Advisory Committee, June 2002).
- The Texas Association of Business released findings
indicating that 75% of the 4.5 million uninsured Texans have full-time
jobs. When children of those workers are counted, 80% of uninsured
Texans are in working families. The association also reported that
Texas businesses offering health care benefits spent $39 billion in
2000 and face a 25% increase this year, compared to 15% nationally
(San Antonio Express-News).
- The Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental
Retardation reports that only 39,000 (or 26%) of the 150,000 emotionally
disturbed children qualifying for state assistance are served (Dallas
Morning News).
- There are an estimated 29,000 mentally ill inmates
in the state prison system and another estimated 15,000 in Texas jails,
according to the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill. NAMI also
reports that 400,000 Texas adults and 150,000 Texas children need
some type of mental health treatment (San Antonio Express-News).
- Survey results released on May 14th show that Americans
are much more likely to report problems securing access to healthcare
due to cost, in comparison to four other industrialized nations,
including the UK, New Zealand, Canada, and Australia (Reuters).
- In the first three months of 2002, Travis County emergency
rooms were closed 1,447 hours to at least some ambulance patients
– an increase of more than 100% from 2001 and the worst year
on record. At the area’s only level 2 Trauma Center, the Brackenridge
ER, about 20% of patients come from outside Travis County.
Brackenridge Emergency serves an average of 350 patients a day.
Since 1995, the number of patients being served by the ER
has gone up about 80% (KXAN-TV).
- A nationwide shortage of nurses that has existed
since the late 1990s is expected to worsen over the
next 20 years (Austin American-Statesman). While Texas is growing
more than twice as fast as the rest of the nation. We rank 46th in
the nation in registered nurses per 100,000 residents, making the
shortage especially problematic.
- 152,709 people in Travis County do not have health insurance,
approximately 23.6% of the total population. Nationally, 14% of the
population does not have health insurance. 21.4% of the Texas population
does not have health insurance, tying with New Mexico as the states
with the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation (U.S.
Census Bureau, September 2001). 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.
Transportation:
- According to a new national traffic study, Austin
rush-hour drivers spent 61 hours in traffic in 2000. 31 percent of
all daily trips are made in congested traffic and Austin’s “rush
hour” is 7.2 hours each day, up from 5 hours in 1994 (Austin
American-Statesman).
- According to new Census figures, 3.7% of Travis County residents
use public transportation, fewer than in Harris County where
4.1% use public transportation, but higher than the Texas average
of 1.9%. 13.6% of Travis County residents carpool,
remaining relatively unchanged since the 1990 census. The average
commute time in Travis County was 23.6 minutes, the third
longest time in the State, only surpassed by Houston and Dallas.
- In Travis County there are 21,840 (6.8%) households where
no vehicles are available (U.S. Census Bureau).
Education:
- The dropout rate for AISD has declined
by 37 percent in school year 2000-01, compared to the year
before. Rates decreased in each subgroup- including African-American,
Hispanic, and economically disadvantaged. Reagan and Johnston
high schools saw significant improvement; Reagan’s
rate dropped from 7.1 percent to 3.1 percent, while Johnston’s
rate dropped fell from 5 percent to 1.4 percent (Austin American-Statesman).
- Truancy rates have dropped by 52 percent
at Mendez Middle School and by 47 percent at Travis
High School since the implementation of a pilot truancy
court by AISD, City of Austin, and Travis County (Austin
American-Statesman).
- According to the Central Texas Sustainability
Indicators Project, in 2001, only 6.4 percent of black students
and 8.2 percent of Hispanic students attended exemplary schools
as defined by the State of Texas. In contrast, 31.2 percent
of Anglo students attend such schools (Austin American-Statesman).
- “ The Condition of Education 2002”,
an annual report from the U.S. Department of Education’s National
Center for Education Statistics, reports that while high school students
have enrolled in more advanced courses since the 1980s, the
performance of twelfth-graders in math and science has stagnated in
recent years. U.S. ninth-graders have relatively
good civic knowledge while reading literacy scores of 15-year-olds
are average among industrialized countries (U.S. Department of Education
ED Review).
- 2000 Census data shows that 37% of Austin area residents
age 25 and older hold bachelor’s degrees, tying with
Bryan-College Station for the greatest proportion in the state.
The Austin area also has the greatest proportion (85%) of high school
graduates among those age 25 and older, compared with 76% statewide.
- Although the teacher shortage appears to be worsening statewide,
the Austin and Round Rock school districts say that except for special
and bilingual education teachers, they have plenty of applicants this
year (Austin American-Statesman).
- Lamar Middle School earned the National Blue Ribbon Award,
an honor shared by only 25 schools in Texas and 172 campuses nationwide.
- Nationwide, about 31% of special education students 14
or older drop out each year. In Texas, about 6% drop out, 5% drop
out in the Round Rock Independent School District, and 14% drop out
annually in the Austin Independent School District (Education
Department’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative
Services).
- Blackshear Elementary School showed favorable
state test results, with 80% of its students passing
this spring’s Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Passing rates
increased from 15 to 46 percentage points in reading, writing, and
math (Austin American-Statesman).
Childcare:
- The 2000 Census shows that there are 6,230 households in
Travis County where a grandparent is responsible for caring for their
grandchildren.
Public Safety:
- According to the 2001 Austin Police Department’s
Preliminary FBI Uniform Crime Report released in May of 2002, the
Index Crime rate for 2001 increased 5% compared to 2000.
Violent crimes are up 5% from last year and property crimes are up
13% from 2000. Auto theft (+24%), burglaries (+16%), robberies (+17%),
and property thefts (+11%) all increased in Austin from 2000.
- The number of crimes around the Travis
County Central Booking Facility has dropped 16 percent since
the facility opened in April 2001. From October to April, 2002, 30,080
people were booked (Austin American-Statesman).
- The Austin Children’s Shelter
is experiencing a significant increase in demand for services. Currently,
they turn away 2 out of 3 requests for admission. To
date in 2002, they have sent 121 children to out of county shelters
and foster homes, solely due to lack of space at Austin Children’s
Shelter. This capacity issue is occurring along with decreased
donations from individual donors (Austin Children’s
Shelter staff).
- There is an estimated $35,738, 057 spent
each year in Travis County on abused children, including funding from
Federal, State, and local government as well as Private sources, and
Grants (Travis County Domestic Relations Office).
- Since October 1999, the Downtown Austin
Community Court has processed 8,877 offenders and
12,786 cases. The average monthly caseload
is 550 and a total of 53,260 hours of community service has
been contributed (City of Austin Community Court).
- According to a January 23rd Austin American-Statesman article, the
total number of 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.
Populations:
- The U.S. 2000 Census reflected a 59 percent increase
in the number of people in the Austin-San Marcos region who speak
only Spanish. During the 2000-01 school year, Austin ISD served 14,250
bilingual education and English as a second language students. The
Austin Police Department operates a hotline that is staffed by Spanish-speaking
officers and Spanish training is offered to recruits and veterans
(Austin American-Statesman).
- According to Census Bureau estimates released on April 29th, Travis
County's population increased by 2.6% (from 812,280 to 833,797) from
April 2000 to July 2001. Williamson County was the fifth fastest-growing
county in the nation, jumping 11.2% in the same time frame.
RESOURCES
RESPONSES TO COMMUNITY CONDITIONS:
- As part of SETON’s Centennial year, 786 employees
in 51 teams took part in “March Mission Madness,”
implementing projects to benefit clients and agencies with specific
needs. 58% of participants worked on basic needs projects,
14% on public safety, and the remainder on various education, health,
environmental, and homeless projects.
RESOURCE ISSUES IN THE COMMUNITY:
- The United Way/Capital Area raised $20
million this year, an all-time record. This year, however,
it sent $1.3 million to the National September 11th disaster
relief effort, and received $771,000 less in donor designations –
which are earmarked for specific local charities. Some of
the agencies receiving less designations include El Buen Samaritano
(-71.3%), Habitat for Humanity (-26.8%), Any Baby Can (-26.3%), and
AIDS Services of Austin (-24.9%). Some local agencies receiving an
increase in donor desinations include People’s Community Clinic,
up 57.1%, Children’s Advocacy Center up 66%, and Family Eldercare
up 16.9% (Austin American-Statesman).
- Airport Fast Park donated $90,000 to the
United Way/Capital Area, who sponsored a home recently built
by Habitat for Humanity (Austin American-Statesman).
- The Austin Travis County MHMR Hotline, reports that in the first
quarter of calendar year 2002, the Language Line interpreter
service has been used 286 times to translate Spanish, Vietnamese
and Croatian. Since ATCMHMR first contracted with Language Line in
August of 1999, the Center has used the service 1801 times and the
interpreters for 12 languages.
WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?
- Choose a local social services agency to support financially.
- Give to the United Way Capital Area's Community Fund or the Austin
Community Foundation's Urgent Issues 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:
Fred Butler & Sam Woollard - Community
Action Network
Annette Gula & Frank Almarez & Sherri Trebus - WorkSource
Mildred Vuris – ATCMHMR
Susan Andersen – Seton
COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:
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July, 2002 |
