Needs Facing Huntsville Youth

Huntsville youth are faced with some of the most severe conditions of any students in the state. The following are a sample of the challenges facing Huntsville youth.

• The 2004 Area Median Family Income, $49,300, 7.5% less than the State Median (HUD)
• 59.8% of all HISD students are classified as Economically Disadvantaged (HISD)
• 20.3% of children under the age of 18 live in families with incomes below the official federal poverty threshold (The Texas Kids Count Project-Center for Public Policy Priorities, Austin, TX.  CPPP)
• Percentage of all live births to unmarried females aged 13 to 19 in 2001 was 11.8%, State average 10.0% (CPPP)
• Percentage of children enrolled in Medicaid, 15.4% vs. State average of  17.0% (CPPP)
• Children enrolled in Texas Children’s Health Insurance Program, 2.9%, State average, 6.3% (CPPP)
• Children receiving Food Stamps, 7.7% vs. State average of 9.3%(CPPP)
• Children receiving Free or Reduced Lunch, 46.7%, State Average, 45.4% (CPPP)
• Infants and Children receiving WIC, 43.6%, State Average, 35.0% (CPPP)
• Confirmed Victims of Child Abuse, 9 per 1000, State Average, 7.9 per 1000
• Children in Family Violence Shelters, 7.4 per 1000, State Average 2.8 per 1000 (CPPP)

Simply stated, on average, children in the Huntsville Independent School District come from poorer families, benefit less from government sponsored education, health insurance and nutrition programs, and suffer a higher level of abuse than the average child in Texas.

Other statistics from the 2001 Search Institute Survey of all HISD 7-12^th grade students:

• 49% of HISD youth reported being home alone for more than 2 hours per day
• 34% reported being “physically harmed” by someone in their own home
• 31% report to have been the victim of physical violence in the past two years
• 43% report drinking alcohol in the past 30 days
• 27% report using marijuana in the past 12 months
• 49% report riding in a car with someone who had been drinking in the past 12 months
• 46% report having had sexual intercourse one or more times (30% of 7^th graders, 71% of 12^th graders)
• 18% report suffering from an eating disorder
• 36% report to not value diversity