Community Overview

Several events in the past year have raised significant challenges for our community. First, we are experiencing the first sustained, substantial economic slowdown in over a decade. Second, a series of state and federal policy changes have had major impacts on some key social services. Third, the events of September 11 and the lingering threat of terrorism have brought a whole new set of issues to the forefront. This overview is intended to provide information about what is happening in all sectors of the community - public, private, non-profit and faith based.

HIGHLIGHTS OF NEW FINDINGS:

• Recent Successes
  
• Updated Unemployment Rates
  
• 2002 Layoff data, and demand at WorkSource Career Centers
  
• Smart Money Magazine ranks Austin #1 Housing Market
  
• Capital Area Food Bank's increase in demand for food
  
• Austin Families, Inc. increase in demand for services
  
• Meals on Wheels data showing increase in demand
  
• Decrease in new HUD Section 8 vouchers
  
• Home sales and median home price increasing
  
• EMS sees increase in demand and shortage of workers/equipment
  
• Hospitals Operating at Maximum Capacity, and statewide shortage of children's beds
  
• City's Health Centers see increases in uninsured patients
  
• Any Baby Can sees increase in demand and drop in funding
  
• ATCMHMR sees increase in demand
  
• Parents over-estimate their children's preparation for college
  
• New National Study shows spending trends in public safety vs. other services
  
• SafePlace sees an increase in demand for services
  

RECENT COMMUNITY SUCCESSES ADDRESSING HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICE ISSUES:

• The $100,000 Dell Foundation donation to Caritas to address the Basic Needs Crisis
  
• The $180,000 Mitte Foundation donation to Meals on Wheels and More 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

ECONOMY:

Toward the end of the year 2000, our community began experiencing a significant economic slowdown. Although job creation has exceeded layoffs, Angelou Economic Advisors reports 23,000 layoffs in 2001. For the first time in many years, we have seen unemployment in Travis County climb steadily, from just 2.2% in January of 2001 to 5.7% in January of 2002, the highest rate in more than 11 years. While the unemployment rate increased, employment growth for Travis County decreased 2.7 percent in January. Between January 1 and February 20, 2002 1,404 people have been laid off in the Greater Austin Area, according to numbers collected by WorkSource - Greater Austin Area Workforce Board. The economic climate has also affected the number of customer visits to the four WorkSource Career Centers. WorkSource - Career Centers received 148,507 customer visits in 2001.
Of the major employment sectors, manufacturing is the only sector that lost jobs last year, a decline of almost 6 percent. The manufacturing sector accounts for 12 percent of Austin's total jobs, half of which are connected to two large industries - Computers & Peripherals and Semiconductors & Electronics, both of which have been hit hard by the national economic downturn. Austin's manufacturing sector in 2000 accounted for the highest average annual wage per worker ($64,376) of all major employment sectors. The loss in manufacturing jobs means that Austin is losing higher-than-average paying jobs.
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 have also lost their health insurance benefits. Motorola announced on January 10th that they will be closing an Austin semiconductor plant, costing 200 jobs. On February 7th, Motorola announced that it cut about 670 more workers in Austin. They have also begun to cut 2,000 non-manufacturing jobs worldwide. 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. Of the top ten occupational categories in the Austin-San Marcos Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA), 28.8% of those jobs (186,360) have a median hourly wage of less than $10/hour. Information recently released by 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 to support a family ($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. Angelos Angelou, a local economist, predicts an increase of 45,000 new jobs in Austin in the next two years, but he also expects about 5,000 more layoffs before seeing a turn-around. Angelou also predicts that the economy will turn the corner in the second quarter of 2002 and rebound slowly during the third quarter.

SEPTEMBER 11 IMPLICATIONS:

• A study released on January 11th predicted that the September 11th attacks will result in the loss of more than 1.6 million jobs across the country in 2002. Tourism and airline sectors will be affected the most, although many other industries will also be negatively impacted.
  
• Thirteen states and four major cities have detected an increased demand for alcohol and drug treatment since the Sept. 11th attacks, according to a new report released December 10th by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
  
• 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 11th, 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:

• In a comparison of October 2001 through January 22, 2002 and the same time period of the previous year, United Way's First Call for Help has experienced a 28% increase in the number of callers. People needing help to pay electricity bills increased 113%. In addition, First Call for Help saw a 32% increase in calls for rent assistance, a 97% increase in calls for affordable housing assistance, and an 88% increase in calls for assistance with food.
  
• At First Call for Help, the top five caller needs in FY 2000 - 2001 were: 1)Utility Bill Assistance, 2)Rent Assistance, 3)Food Pantry, 4)Homeless Shelter, and 5)Low-cost/ Affordable Housing.
  
• The Capital Area Food Bank had 170 first-time requests for help in October of 2001, compared with 20 first-time requests in October of 2000. They have seen a 28% increase in total pounds of food distributed from 2000 to 2001.
  
• The Crisis Assistance Pantry, (which is a collaboration among The Arc of the Capital Area, Austin/Travis Co.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 child care services.
  
• Caritas is feeding 50% more people in its free lunch program this year than it did last year. At the same time, Caritas is experiencing a $700,000 decrease in their annual budget. Caritas formerly offered 5,000 separate rent, utilities, food, clothing, medical, ID and transportation appointments. This year Caritas will only be able to offer rent and utility appointments. Only those clients receiving rent/utility assistance will be provided other supplementary services. This has resulted in appointments for families needing assistance to decrease from 5,000 last year to 1,700 this year.
  
• 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.
  
• According to a January 12th article in the Austin American Statesman, apartment occupancy rates have fallen from 97.5% to 90.2%, the lowest level in more than 12 years. The average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment dropped from $691 in June to $655 in December. Although more than 8,000 apartment units are expected to be constructed in 2002, some developers have delayed new multifamily housing projects.
  
• In the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's FY 02 Budget, the number of new Section 8 vouchers will be cut sharply from 79,000 in 2001 to 29,000 in 2002.
  
• Another sign that the economy may be turning a corner can be found in home sales. According to the Austin Board of Realtors, home sales have edged up 4% in January, compared to one year ago. However, the median home price increased to $156,000 from $143,980 during the same time frame.

Physical and Mental Health:

• 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 cut-back 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.
  
• The January 16th edition of the Austin American Statesman reported that area hospitals are operating at maximum capacity and are occasionally closing their emergency rooms to ambulances, and diverting to other hospitals. Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth, San Antonio, Corpus Christi, Houston, and Abilene are all experiencing shortages in hospital beds for children.
  
• A recent informal survey of four providers of mental health services in Austin indicated they had experienced an increase in demand for services, which translated into larger waiting lists and longer delays in access to services. The increase in demand is attributed in part to the economic downturn and job loss. The providers surveyed primarily serve a population which does not meet the definition for serious mental illness. The survey revealed the following: 3 of 4 providers contacted experienced an increase in demand for services over the previous year; one provider experienced a 75% increase in services requested in November of this year compared to the same time last year; all of those experiencing an increased demand have longer waiting lists and waiting times to access services; half of providers contacted indicated the waiting times range from 2 to 8 weeks (in some cases, the waiting time has doubled over the previous year); and half of providers contacted have waiting lists ranging from 19 to 25 consumers.
• 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 3 of the 4 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.
  
• A poor economy has brought a record number of patients to Austin/Travis County health clinics. Many people laid off from their jobs have lost their insurance benefits, forcing them to seek public health care. People's Community Clinic has been forced to turn away more than 2,000 people seeking assistance since May of 2001.
  
• Any Baby Can, a non-profit that provides services to children with serious illnesses, ran out of crisis funds in August of 2001 and is now deferring assistance unless the need is life-threatening. They are currently only able to provide financial assistance to clients who are participating in the case management program and then only if the need is related to the illness of their child. Last year they were able to provide 1,372 families with basic needs assistance. Because of a dramatic drop in donations and private foundation funds available this year, they anticipate being able to provide assistance to only 800 families this year.
  
• 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.

Public Safety:

• 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.)
• In a comparison of the first 9 months of 2000 and 2001, APD Victims Services saw a 25% increase in the child neglect cases referred to their office, an increase of 42 clients served from one year to the next.
  
• Despite an increase in the population, the number of referrals to Travis County Juvenile Probation decreased by 27% from 1997 to 2000, and remained relatively stable from 2000 to 2001.
  
• 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 three murders in Austin in December of 2000 compared to five in December of 2001.
  
• 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. 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:

Research shows that economic deprivation can increase the incidence of substance abuse, crime, adolescent pregnancy, school dropouts, poor health outcomes, etc. If current economic trends continue, it is possible that Travis County will see additional impacts on these and other indicators in the future. The CAN will continue monitoring changing conditions in our community in order to respond more quickly and effectively.

You are encouraged to copy and distribute this edition of the CAN Community Overview