Texas Teens Cover - Senate

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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY JANUARY 2001
Conversely, welfare reform could have detrimental effects on teenagers.
According to the Urban Institute, “time limits for the receipt of welfare benefits
and reductions in benefits for recipients who do not meet program rules, as well
as the potential inability to obtain steady, well-paying employment, could
prevent other families from escaping poverty.” Thus, welfare reform has the
potential to either benefit or harm families and children, depending on how the
program is structured.
Programs to assist teenagers in developing coping strategies could also be a
strategy to reduce the effects of teen risk factors. Some coping strategies
identified by the Urban Institute include personal characteristics, such as
temperament, disposition, and behavioral and cognitive skills, as well as
environmental characteristics such as social support from the community,
parental warmth, adult monitoring and supervision, and positive role models.
Yet, even when coping strategies are present, high levels of risk are found to be
associated with poorer developmental outcomes for children. Thus, it is clear
that teens confronting these risk factors deserve special attention by policymakers.
Policy Implication: Monitor the effects of welfare reform on mitigating the teen risk
factors.
At this point, the effect of welfare reform on the teen risk factors is speculative.
Hard data, with the use of sophisticated statistical models, will provide a more
concrete understanding of the effects welfare reform is having on adolescents. A
multiple regression analysis, along with a factor analysis, could be two statistical
tests for isolating those specific variables influencing teen risk factors.
Policy Implication: Address the need for better Texas data.
In spite of extensive data gathering and analysis by the census bureau, TSDC,
and government agencies such as THHSC, there are gaps in the data for Texas
that hinder our ability to identify and target teenagers in need. While general
statistics on the status of children are available, data at a higher level of detail,
especially data relating just to adolescents, would be very useful to
policymakers. For example, data on the race and ethnicity of Texas children in
poverty is only available thorough the U.S. Census Bureau Current Population
Survey. This sample is so small that data for the smaller population groups such
as African-American children under age 18 is volatile and unreliable.
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SENATE RESEARCH CENTER
Safe Passages: Texas Teens on the Road to Adulthood - x