CTF s current plan based on current level of funding is to reach all 254 counties by the year 2010. The incidence of child abuse and neglect, child population, poverty, juvenile crime, violence and domestic violence, teen pregnancy, single-parent families, lack of parental employment, lack of affordable and available housing, food security, access to health care including prenatal care, access to affordable child care, drug and alcohol abuse, infant mortality, isolation and school dropout rates are major factors that must be considered when addressing the need for prevention of child abuse and neglect in Texas. On a national level, the above-mentioned factors have been identified as indicators that may lead to child abuse and neglect. Other presenting issues may be substance abuse, domestic violence, lack of parental capacity and skills in taking care of children, mental health problems and poor understanding of a child s normal development. In Texas, child abuse and neglect related fatalities rose from 103 in 1997 to 176 in 1998, mirroring the steady nationwide increase in child abuse deaths.
Parents continue to be the main perpetrators of child maltreatment.
Conditions in Texas Within the next five years, the population of Texas is expected to grow. The Texas child population will grow 47 percent in the next 30 years. Texas will have more than 8.5 million children in 2030. Although Texas has experienced an increase in adolescent parents, the state has also seen single parent families as well as absent fathers taking a more active role in their children s lives. Therefore, strengthening those families and providing educational opportunities to help prevent unhealthy families continues to be a critical need in Texas.