Child Poverty Action Lab (CPAL) Information

The Problem: Among major cities, Dallas has the third highest rate of child poverty in the nation. Today, one out of every three of our children grows up in poverty. This impairs cognitive and physical development, incites risky behaviors, and creates lasting health challenges. Consequently, chances for economic mobility in our region are slim -- and the odds that today’s children in poverty will grow up to be parents of children in poverty are high. CPAL exists because the level of child poverty in Dallas is morally unacceptable and economically unsustainable. CPAL’s North Star Goal: Reduce Child Poverty by 50% over the next 20 years The Approach: Key drivers of success (basic needs, education, jobs, family/neighborhood prosperity, etc) are symbiotically entwined. There is no single silver-bullet that will move large numbers of children to future economic security, especially within the timeframe of two decades or less. Instead it will require action from multiple angles, using data as a guide to identify our biggest opportunities for progress and to highlight the most impactful strategies to prioritize for scale. CPAL acts as a data backbone committed to breaking intergenerational poverty and improving economic mobility across our region. For the first time in Dallas’ history, the chief executives of our largest government agencies (T.C. Broadnax – City of Dallas, Clay Jenkins - Dallas County, Michael Hinojosa - DISD, Gary Thomas - DART, Fred Cerise - Parkland, Laurie Larrea - Workforce Solutions, Joe May - DCCCD, Rene Hall – Dallas Police Department, Chris Durovich – Children’s Health) have been meeting together on an ongoing basis. Collectively representing $9B+ in annual budget authority, this group of leaders has chosen reducing child poverty as their common agenda and CPAL is keeping data at the center of the conversation.