Community Overview

May, 2005

The effects of the downturn in the economy on Austin and Travis County

ECONOMY:

LOCAL

• The Austin City Limits Music Festival and South by Southwest Music Conference has an estimated economic impact of $30.9 million (money spent in Austin by outside visitors), according to a study by Texas Perspectives Inc. The Star of Texas Rodeo, a nonprofit organization raising money for higher education scholarships, does more business for Austin than both these Festivals combined. ( Austin Business Journal 3/25/05 )
• Sales of existing homes in Central Texas reached a record high in 2004 with 21,000 houses. ( Austin American-Statesman 3 /5/05 )
• The median price for houses in the Austin area increased by 6% from Feb. 2004 to Feb. 2005. Half of the houses sold in February cost $159,000 or more, according to the Austin Board of Realtors. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/18/05 )
• Austin ranked in the top ten for best location to buy retail properties over $5 million, according to the Commercial Real Estate Advisor’s recently released study on national markets. The survey looked at prices, capitalization rates, projected employment and disposable income growth. ( Austin Business Journal 3/25/05 )

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STATE

The University of Texas has an annual 7.4 billion dollar economic impact on the State, according to a study by UT's Bureau of Business Research . For e very dollar that Texas spends toward its colleges and universities, there is a $5 return to the state economy in the form of direct spending, increased productivity and new economic development. The University of Texas is the City of Austin ’s largest employer with more than 21,000 workers, nearing one of the largest employers in the State. (Austin American-Statesman 3/1/05 ) There was a 2% increase in sales tax collection in Texas , between March 2004 and March 2005. ( http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/local)

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NATIONAL

• Real Gross Domestic Product, the output of goods and services produced by labor and property in the US , grew at an annual rate of 3.1% in the first quarter of 2005, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. There was a 3.8% real GDP increase in the forth quarter of 2004. Personal consumption expenditures, private inventory investment, exports, equipment and software, and residential fixed investment contributed the most to the increase in real GDP. ( http://www.bea.doc.gov/bea/newsrel/gdpnewsrelease.htm)

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EMPLOYMENT:

LOCAL

• In 2005, layoffs in 16 area businesses have affected 830 individuals in Travis County . (WorkSource http://www.worksourceaustin.com )
• According to the Texas Workforce Commission, Austin-area’s job market recovered from a 3-year slump, with the five-county region gaining 13,100 jobs in 2004, a 2% growth rate, the highest since the 5.9% 2000 tech boom. (Austin American-Statesman 3/11/05 )
• • The biggest increase in 2004 was in employment services, which includes temporary employment, at 25% growth.
  • The professional and business services sector, including higher paying jobs, grew by 3.7%, or 3,200 jobs. The health care and social assistance sector, including hospital jobs, grew by 2.6%, or 1,500 jobs. Manufacturing, on the other hand, lost 600 jobs.
  • Wholesale trade, or suppliers of office and computer equipment, grew 5%.
• In January 2005, the job growth rate of Austin ’s five-county region reached 2.9%, according to the Texas Workforce Commission. They also reported a decline in the unemployment rate, falling to 5.1% from 5.7% from January 2004. (Austin American-Statesman 3/11/05 )

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STATE

• The unemployment rate in Texas for March 2005 was 5.5%, compared to 6.1% in February 2005. In March 2004 the state unemployment rate was 6.4 % representing a near 1% decline in unemployment this year.( http://www.tracer2.com)

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NATIONAL

• Nationwide there were 7.7 million unemployed citizens; the unemployment rate of 5.2% decreased in March 2005 from 5.7 in March 2004. In March, the unemployment rates for adult men, whites, and Hispanics decreased, but were unchanged for women, teenagers, and African-Americans. (US Census Bureau)

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DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES

• In a demographer’s report released by the City of Austin in March, African-Americans in Austin have been shown to have higher incomes and superior levels of education than African-Americans nationwide. (Austin American-Statesman 3/27/05 ; City Demographer’s Summary http://www.ci.austin.tx.us/aascorecard/downloads/aareport.pdf)
• The disparity between the poverty rate for African-Americans (19.5%) and the local community (14.4%) is one of the lowest in the United States , but the disparity of incomes between blacks and whites remains greater than the national average.
• In Austin , 19% of African-Americans over 25 earned a bachelors or higher education degree, one of the highest percentages in the US . However, this percentage is not exceptional when compared to Austin ’s educational attainment rate of 40.4%.
• The percentage of Austin African-American citizens living in the suburbs has increased at twice the rate of White citizens. Between 1991 and 2001, African-Americans living in the suburbs grew from one in five to one in three.
• The Austin African-American population has decreased to 9%, and continues to decline. However, the Latino population has grown 23%.
• The Asian population in Austin has doubled since 1990, increasing to 6%. Propelled by an emergent Asian-American population, total retail sales of Asian food nationwide have increased by 27.3% between 2000 and 2004. (Demographer’s Summary, Austin Business Journal 4/1/2005 )
• Single parent households are increasing nationwide, according to the Foundation for Child Development. Since 1975, the number of children younger than 18 living in single parent households has grown from 17 to 27.5%. (CNN.com 3/30/05 )

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DEMAND INDICATORS:

Basic Needs:

• 2-1-1 has received double the number of requests for assistance with Basic Needs since 2001. Referrals to agencies providing Adult Mental Health Counseling increased by 22% and the number of Spanish-speaking callers grew by 70% in 2004. ( 2-1-1 Community Needs and Trends Report 2004)
  
• Requests for emergency shelter and food have increased over the past year across the nation, according to a 2004 Survey of Hunger and Homelessness . 72% of agencies surveyed in Texas reported a 32% average increase in emergency food requests, and 50% of agencies reported the same increase in emergency shelter requests. Of these agencies, 84% found that there was an overall reduction in their income, noting a 43% decrease in state funding. (www.nscahh.org)
• The creation of the Health Alliance for Austin Musicians will help Austin musicians to afford basic healthcare, making use of primary care services from the Seton Healthcare Network clinics, dental care from St. David’s Foundation, and mental health services from the SIMS Foundation. To qualify for primary care, musicians must live in Travis County and make less than $23,925 a year individually or $48,375 for a family of four. (Austin American-Statesman 3/16/05 , http://www.healthallianceforaustinmusicians.org)

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Housing:

• Housing price increases exceeded wage increases nationwide ,according to a study by the Center for Housing Policy. Between 1997 and 2003, there was a 76% increase in the number of low and middle-income families paying more than half their income for housing, as opposed to the HUD-suggested 30%. Three of four immigrant working families pay more than half their income on housing. ( Austin American-Statesman 4/29/05 )
• Foreclosure postings in Travis County hit a 14-year high, due to an increase in home equity loan delinquencies. There were 412 postings for the April 5, 2005 , auction, exceeding the 408 postings last year. This marks the fourth time ever in Travis County that the postings for foreclosure surpassed 400. (Austin American-Statesman 3/19/05 )
• The City of Austin received the Duvernay Award, a national award for exemplary affordable housing. Austin was one of 16 cities to be honored for its use of Community Development Block Grants and Home Funds to support affordable housing. (Family Eldercare Spring 2005, http://www.familyeldercare.org)

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Physical and Mental Health:

• In 2004, Travis County had the highest number of heroin deaths it has seen for 13 years ; 41 people died of heroin overdoses. (Austin American-Statesman 2/18/05 )
• There has been a decrease in the state budget for tuberculosis despite the growing number of TB cases, especially among Hispanics. Of the total 1,594 cases of Tuberculosis reported in Texas in 2003, 49% were Hispanics, an enormous increase compared to 3% ten years ago. Total TB cases in Texas increased by 3% from 2002, giving Texas the nation’s fifth highest TB rate. The state budget for tuberculosis medical treatment is $11.7 million, $1 million less than in 2004. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/15/2005 )
• The HIV infection rate has doubled in the past 10 years for African-Americans in the United States , but remains unchanged for Whites according to the results of the 12th annual Retrovirus Conference in Boston . In 2003, the rate of new infections among African-Americans in Travis County was almost four times the rate of Whites. ( Austin American-Statesman 2/26/05 )
• St. David’s initiated the Electronic Medication Administration Record (eMAR) System in January, a bar-coding system that helps prevent medication errors , after heightened concerns post-1999 Institute of Medicine Report that announced 100,000 deaths a year nation wide are due to medical errors in hospitals. The system is in place in North Austin Medical Center , Round Rock Medical Center and South Austin Hospital as well. ( Austin Business Journal 3/11/05 )
• Malpractice lawsuit filings in Texas have declined by 70% since passage of a law capping lawsuit awards on non-economic damages. Texas malpractice insurers are cutting rates and lowering malpractice insurance costs. Texas Medical Liability Trust, the largest medical liability underwriter in Texas , charges Austin-area doctors $8,700 to $92,700 for malpractice insurance. American Physicians Insurance Exchange, Texas ’ third largest insurer for doctors, is cutting rates by 5%, affecting 12% of total doctors statewide. (Austin American-Statesman 2/17/05 )
• ATCMHMR Service Statistics, FY 2004:
  
• Since September, Seventeen thousand of nearly 130,000 people receiving care at community mental health centers were declared ineligible for services, due to the new Resiliency and Disease Management system instituted after a forced 5.11% decrease in the budget of state mental health centers. The new system assigns categorical labels to clients and limits care to those who exhibit at least one of three psychiatric disorders: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or clinically severe depression. 50% of potential clients soliciting care from the El Paso Mental Health Mental Retardation Center are turned away for not meeting necessary criteria, and 15% of those soliciting help from Harris County MHMR Center are considered ineligible. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/7/05 )
• Health care expenditures are 50% higher for people who claim high levels of stress at work, according to the Journal of Occupational and Environmental Medicine. ( Austin Business Journal 3/11/05 )
• 80% of workers claim to feel stress on the job, 50% claim to need help managing stress, and 42% would like to see help given to coworkers to manage stress, according to the latest Gallup pole.
• US industries lose $300 billion per year due to job stress in their employees, according to the American Institute of Stress.
• Stress, anxiety, or associated disorders cause people to miss an average of 20 days of work, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Texas has the highest percentage of uninsured people in the nation- 25% compared to the national 16%. Of uninsured Texans, 58% are Hispanic adults, 27% are White adults, and 11% are Black adults. (Indigent Care Collaboration)
• Austin Travis County Mental Health Mental Retardation Center will not pay for more than seven days of hospitalization of its psychiatric patients. (Austin American-Statesman 2/18/05 )
  • State hospitals will need special permission from the MHMR Center for patient extended stays. A day in the Austin State Hospital costs $419
  • Limits on mental health visits are a result of increasing demand. In 2004, mental health diagnoses in 20 Austin-area hospitals rose 79% from 2003.
  • Between September and December 2004, the 10 state hospitals regularly accommodated 51 more people than they are equipped to handle.
• Nearly a fourth of adults in the Lanier High School area stated that poor mental health kept them from performing usual activities for at least one day in the past month . (St. David’s Foundation http://www.stdavidsfoundation.org)
• Children’s well-being is improving nationwide due to less risky behavior, according to the Foundation for Child Development. (CNN.com 3/30/05 )
  • National adolescent and teen birth rates have fallen by half between 1992 and 2004.
  • Binge drinking among high school seniors nationwide was 36.9% in 1975 and dropped to 29.2% in 2004.
  • The number of youth (age 12-17) crime victims in the nation fell from 120 in 1,000 in 1994 to 45 in 1,000 in 2004.
• Children Enrolled in CHIP in Central Texas as of Feb. 1, 2005:
  
• 51% of adults in the Lanier High School area and 49% of adults in the Travis High School Area were considered overweight or obese, as indicated by the body mass index. (St. David’s Foundation http://www.stdavidsfoundation.org)
• National children’s obesity rates have tripled between 1974 and 2004, increasing from 5 to 16% according to the Foundation for Child Development. (CNN.com 3/30/05 )
• Children who watch the most hours of television have the highest incidence of obesity, according to the American Heart Association. Nearly half of children between the ages of 8 and 16 watch three to five hours of television a day. (Family Connections Spring 2005, http://www.familyconnectionsonline.org)
• More American teenagers abused a prescription painkiller in 2004 than Ecstasy, cocaine, crack or LSD, according to the 17 th annual study on teen drug abuse released in April. (MSNBC online 4/21/05 )
  • 18% of teens, or 4.3 million youths, reported that they had taken Vicodin to get high; 10% of teens reported their abuse of OxyContin.
  • 9%, or 2.2 million youths, reported having abused an over-the-counter medication, such as cough syrup.
  • Despite a rise in prescription drug abuse among teens, use of marijuana, Ecstasy, and methamphetamines all decreased.
• The number of teen births in Travis County was 35.5 per 1,000 women age 15-19. For Texas , this number was 39.4 and for the Nation this number was 25 teens. (Child Well Being Report Card 2005 https://caction.org/IssueAreas/EEC/ChildReportCard.pdf).

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Education and Workforce Development

• The number of third and fifth-grade students statewide and in the Austin area who pass the TAKS reading test on the first try is down from the 2004 results. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/12/05 )
• 89% of third-graders and 73% of fifth-graders in Austin School Districts passed the reading test on the first try, corresponding to state averages of 89% and 75% respectively.
• Last year, 91% of third graders and 79% of fifth-graders passed; both groups of students are required to pass the reading portion of the test to move on to the next grade.

One in fourteen Hispanic students in Texas who took the ACT college-entrance exam, performed well enough to be considered for college-level work in English, math and science , according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. In addition, the Board reports that a little more than one third of Hispanic high school students in Texas advance to college, contrasted to one-half of whites, and they are less likely to graduate. ( Austin American-Statesman 4/3/05 ) Employers expect to hire 13.1% more recent college graduates in 2004-2005 than were hired in 2003-2004, says the National Association of Colleges and Employers. (MSN.com 5/5/05 ) InMarch 2005, the WorkSource Career Centers received 18,140 customer visits or an average of 907 visits per day. The Centers have received 57,105 customer visits since January 2005, a 3% increase from total visits recorded for the same time period in 2004. ( http://www.worksourceaustin.com)

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Public Safety:

• African-Americans are over three times more likely to be searched than Whites by the Austin Police Department according to an annual report released in February by the Steward Research Group. Hispanics are 2.3 times more likely to be searched, says the report, increasing slightly from 2004 statistics. In Texas , two-thirds of law enforcement agencies claim to search minorities more frequently than Whites during a traffic stop, but that statewide, whites were as likely as minorities to be found with illegal goods. ( http://www.criminaljusticecoalition.org/racial_profiling_report_full.pdf)
• Austin police use of Taser stun guns has increased from 1% of use-of –force incidents between 1998 and 2003, to 23% in 2004. ( Austin American-Statesman 4/8/05 )
• There are nearly 240,000 adult felons under probation supervision in Texas , more per capita that any other state.
• • Each year roughly 30,000 probationers are unaccounted for or missing.
  • Around half of probationers in high school flunk out of their senior year.
  • Of about 53,000 felons who were dropped from probation in 2004, 46% were sent back to prison or jail. ( Austin American-Statesman 2/23/05 )
• Characteristics of a successful prison vocational program include a lengthy programming period between 3 and 6 months , reports a 2002 study by the Urban Institute Justice Policy Center . ( http://www.catf-austin.org)
• Austin Children’s Shelter turned away 60 children in March 2005, due to lack of space, beds, supervision, and other services. The Shelter serves children, from birth to age 17, who have been removed from their Austin-area homes due to life-threatening abuse or neglect.According to the Shelter,child abuse and neglect has been increasing in Travis County . (Austin Children’s Shelter http://www.austinchildrenshelter.org)
• Children’s Shelter and Abuse Statistics:
  
• Nearly 75% of foster children in Texas are placed in homes by private agencies, a responsibility delegated by Family and Protective Services, whose main focus is the investigation of abuse and neglect claims. ( Austin American-Statesman 2/23/05 ; chart Austin American-Statesman 2/20/05 )
• Family and Protective Services Statistics:
  

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RESOURCES:

• According to a report released by The Foundation Center , grants of $10,000 or more given by America ’s 1,010 largest philanthropy foundations between 2002 and 2003 have decreased overall donations by 10% due to a weak stock market. ( http://fdncenter.org/research/trends_analysis/pdf/fgthiltes05.pdf The Non-Profit Times , 3/14/05 )
• Austin Recovery, which includes the programs Residential Detox, Family House for women and children, and Outpatient Services to Salvation Army residents lost major funding, and in some cases, all funding due to new state guidelines. (www.austinrecovery.org)
• Austin Economic Club recently opened as a nonprofit, nonpartisan group helping to encourage economic development in Austin . www.austineconomicclub.org. ( Austin Business Journal 3/25/05 )
• The Hogg Foundation gave $4.6 million in grants for mental health services in February 2005; $500,000 went to local Travis County organizations, divided equally between ATCMHMR Center , Waterloo Counseling Center , Lifeworks, Lutheran Social Services of the South, and Austin Child Guidance Center . (Hogg Foundation http://www.hogg.utexas.edu)
• LifeWorks in Austin received a check for $5,000 from AT&T in February 2005. (TX Non-Profits http://www.txnp.org/Archives/AroundTexasDisplay.asp?ArticleID=1858)
• Lifeworks, the largest local provider of free and low-cost counseling for families and children raised $4 million dollars through grants and private donations to build a resource center for youth, expand the emergency shelter and create an endowment for future works. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/9/05 )
• Montopolis Community Health Center reopened in February, a clinic serving mostly low-income families. Already over 5,000 patients have lined up to receive services by the end of 2005. State and federal grants amounting to $700,000 aided the clinic’s renovation and reopen. (News 8 Austin 2/21/2005 )
• Approximately 35,000 kindergartners to fifth graders finished the ninth annual Marathon Kids run in February. Running 26.2 miles over the span of 5 months allow Austin-area kids and their parents to fight childhood obesity and aim toward a healthier lifestyle. (News 8 Austin 2/21/05 )
• The Dell TechKnow Program has been approved by AISD Trustees, providing 6 th and 7 th graders with the unique opportunity to assemble and refurbish computers as a part of higher, hands-on learning in spring 2005. Austin Partners in Education will coordinate the program, and AISD will donate $44,000 per year to fund it. (AISD - http://www.austinisd.org/inside/docs/annual_report_2004_complete.pdf)
• Austin School Trustees have approved a redesign of Johnston High School that will produce more intimate learning communities to better prepare students for college. The goal of this project is to promote a more focused instruction, with the goal of improving student performance. (AISD http://www.austinisd.org/inside/docs/annual_report_2004_complete.pdf)

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LEGISLATIVE ISSUES

• Twenty-eight offenders in Texas , including one from Travis County , have had their punishment reduced to life-sentences after the US Supreme Court declared it unconstitutional to execute offenders sentenced for a crime committed before the age of eighteen. The ruling affects 72 offenders across the nation and 19 states, which previously allowed the execution of juvenile offenders. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/2/05 )
• District Judge Sam Sparks refused to strike an anti-smoking referendum from Austin 's May 7 ballot, allowing smoking in only a limited number of Austin venues.The Referendum has since passed 52-48%. The arguments were brought by several bar and club owners who claimed the referendum violates the U.S. Constitution. ( Austin American-Statesman 3/18/05 )
• The American Jobs Creation Act of 2004 has changed tax law on tax benefits for landlord-constructed and tenant-constructed improvements. ( Austin Business Journal 4/1/05 )
• SB 566 is awaiting Governors Perry's signature after having passed in both the House and the Senate. The bill creates a Medicaid buy-in program for employed persons with disabilities. ( http://www.capitol.state.tx.us/capitol.htm)

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WHAT CAN YOU DO TO HELP?

• Choose a local social service agency to support financially.
• Copy and distribute this document to help increase public awareness.
• Support the local economy by shopping at local businesses.
• 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 211 or search for volunteer opportunities on United Way Capital Area’s website at http://www.unitedwaycapitalarea.org.
• Also see the 2001 CAN Urgent Issues Action Plan and other documents at caction.org for additional information about community-wide approaches to addressing these issues in our community.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The Community Overview was researched and written by the Community Action Network, 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.

LEAD WRITER:

Wendy Bradley, Community Action Network

CONTRIBUTORS:

Patricia A. Young Brown – Travis County Hospital District, ICC
Rosanna Garry – Austin Children’s Shelter
Leanne James – WorkSource
Lisa Kerber – St. David’s Foundation
Lynda Shanblum – Community Volunteer
Mildred Vuris – ATC MHMR Center
Andy Welch – AISD
David Wilkinson – Skillpoint Alliance
Fred Butler, Sam Woollard, – Community Action Network

COMMUNITY ACTION NETWORK PARTNERS:

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