Austin, Travis County Officials To Livestream Report On Area's Well-Being

AUSTIN, TX — Austin Mayor Steve Adler and Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt will participate in a livestreamed press conference on Thursday outlining the social, health, educational and economic well-being of Travis County in general and the greater Austin area in particular.

The assessment is an offshoot of the Community Advancement Network (CAN) initiative, and will be staged at 9 a.m. on Thursday, May 18, officials said. Among some key points to be discussed are:

Yet challenges persist, and shortcomings also will be discussed:

• 36% of all Travis County households are cost-burdened, paying more than 30% of total income for housing. Low-income renters are most impacted. 83% of renters who earn less than $35,000 a year are cost-burdened.
• Even though the poverty rate overall has declined, troubling disparities remain, especially for children. More than one-third of all Black and Hispanic children in Travis County live below the federal poverty level. The rate of poverty for these children is five to seven times higher than the rate of poverty for White and Asian children.
• More people have health insurance, but Black residents of Travis County have higher rates of poor mental health, smoking and obesity.
• Even though our community has seen a narrowing gap between students of different races and ethnicities in high school graduation rates, the gaps have not closed in college success.
• People who are Black in Travis County are arrested and booked into the Travis County jail at a rate that is highly disproportionate to their representation in the overall adult population.

The eighth annual CAN Dashboard report and website provide an overview of the social, health, educational and economic well-being of Travis County and the greater Austin area, officials said.

The report charts progress by tracking 17 community-wide indicators to gauge whether we are getting closer to achieving our community vision of promoting equity and opportunity for all, by answering four questions: Are we safe, just & engaged? Are we meeting our basic needs? Are we healthy? Are we achieving our full potential?

For many Central Texas residents, the answer to these questions is no, Raul Alvarez, the executive director of CAN, said: “The CAN Dashboard explores disparities in the outcomes and experiences of low income families and people of color in our community,” he said. “Until our income, health and educational success are not predicted by the color of our skin or the neighborhood we live in, there is much work yet to be done.”

The press conference will be livestreamed from the Austin City Hall Media Room.

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