Indicator 2.4: # of preschoolers under stress
Current Value
994
Definition
Line
Bar
Story Behind the Curve
What are the positive factors that are contributing to you reaching your desired result?
- Educational attainment: high levels in the community
- Local resources for families in need: Voice, United Way, Salvation Army, Compassion Corsicana
- Job opportunities: specifically in the industrial field
What are the negative factors that are restricting you from reaching your desired result?
- Communication barriers: Spanish speaking families looking for resources and jobs
- Lack of public transportation: Rural areas hard to reach
- Lack of job opportunities: COVID-19 has exasperated already bad job market
- Limited affordable housing
What populations are the most disadvantaged and what causes these disparities?
- Undocumented residents: language barriers
- Single parent families: lack of childcare (affordable, hours), single income
- Teen parents: lack of education, lack of support, lack of income, cycle hard to break out of
- Grandparents raising grandchildren: unable to save for retirement, no support from CPS/Food Stamps, health issues cause lack of activity
- Single Dads: fewer resources than for moms
- GED/HS Dropouts: hard to find adequate jobs
- Individuals with prior incarcerations: hard to find adequate jobs/housing/assistance/transportation
- Disabled Persons and Families with Children with Disabilities: hard to find adequate jobs/housing/assistance/transportation
Are there foreseeable factors that will affect your work over the next few months to a year?
- Covid-19: Loss of income
- Unemployment: Loss of employment due to shutdown
- Mental health: Loss of connection and mental health, face to face interaction with people limited
- Home school / school: Loss of childcare and strain on returning to work
- Changes in economy: Continued recession and uncertainty
What additional research is needed to better understand the factors that influence the slope of the curve and related disparities?
- How can more public transit be implemented?
- Would it be possible to utilize a non-profit to assist with purchase of transportation / repair / provide fuel, etc.?
- Are there other agency models for assiting families with repairs, fuel costs, etc. to boost transporation options for residents?
- How will COVID-19 effect rates of poverty long-term in our community?
Partners
Who are the partners who can help you reach your desired outcome? List partners and their roles.
- Community Resources: Voice, United Way, Salvation Army, Compassion Corsicana
- City and State officials
- Local Businesses
- Chamber of Commerce
- Schools
- The Navarro County Early Childhood Coalition
What Works
Research/Evidence-Based Practices:
- Roundtable: Mentorship program for families in poverty who walk alongside families to self-sufficiency.
- Universal basic income, i.e. stimulus checks.
- Increasing funding for public assistance programs including SNAP, Medicaid, SSI, etc.
Low Cost/No Cost Solutions:
- Providing Information on Resources already Available, partnering with schools and via social media. For example: COVID-19 Local Crisis Resource Guidebook.
- Job training programs: targeted to families and held at schools
- Help Me Grow: Centralized access point for families to call similar to 211 but with help on issues related to children. Can include helping to sign up for public assistance for children.
Innovative/Out-the-Box Solutions:
- Roundtable: Mentorship program for families in poverty who walk alongside families to self-sufficiency.
- Providing free services for families: free lunch and breakfasts at school, free uniforms, free diapers, etc.
- Expanding scholarships to local community college to help families go back to school and advance their careers and earning potential
- Support groups for single parents who have kids under the age of 6.
- Fun activities for single parents and their children: art classes, dance classes, karate, etc.
- An audio or video version of parenting classes for parents to listen to at their leisure. It could be a podcast?
Additional Research:
- How will levels of poverty be effected by COVID-19?
- Will non-profits keep their levels of funding through pandemic or will their funding decrease to meet greater needs in the community?
- What local solutions exist for helping families out of poverty that are not related to things like SNAP, Medicaid, etc.?
Strategy
What Strategy | By Whom (Partners) | By When |
Resource Guidebooks: COVID-19 resources and crisis resources in one place for community | ECC | January 2021 |
Roundtable: Mentoring for young families to lead them to self-sufficiency | ECC | TBD |
Advocating for more free services for families such as free lunch and breakfast, free uniforms, free diapers, etc. | Healthcare, ECC, Local leaders | Summer 2021 |