NEW YORK (AP) — One of every 50 American children experiences homelessness, according to a new report that says most states have inadequate plans to address the worsening and often-overlooked problem.The report released on Tuesday by the National Center on Family Homelessness gives Connecticut the best ranking. Texas is at the bottom.”These kids are the innocent victims, yet it seems somehow or other they get left out,” said the center’s president, Dr. Ellen Bassuk. “Why are they America’s outcasts?”The report analyzes data from 2005 to 2006. It estimates that 1.5 million children experienced homelessness at least once that year, and says the problem is surely worse now because of the foreclosures and job losses of the deepening recession.”If we could freeze-frame it now, it would be bad enough,” said Democratic Sen. Robert Casey of Pennsylvania, who wrote a foreword to the report. “By end of this year, it will be that much worse.”The report’s overall state rankings reflect performance in four areas: child homelessness per capita, child well-being, risk for child homelessness and state policy and planning.The top five states were Connecticut, New Hampshire, Hawaii, Rhode Island and North Dakota. At the bottom were Texas, Georgia, Arkansas, New Mexico and Louisiana.Reflecting the disarray caused by Hurricane Katrina, the report said Louisiana had the most homeless children per capita in 2006, followed by Texas and California.However, Bassuk — a psychiatry professor at Harvard Medical School — said many states fell short in regard to policy and planning. Only six were praised for “extensive” planning to curb child homelessness. Twenty-four states received an “inadequate” grade.Ken Martin, executive director of the Texas Homeless Network, said the large number of homeless children in Texas was predictable.”It’s not surprising when you don’t put money into human services that you have issues come up,” said Martin, who expressed hope that improvements are forthcoming.The Texas Interagency Council for the Homeless is fine-tuning a plan for curbing homelessness. Lack of such a plan earned the state an “inadequate” rating in the report.Michael Gerber, executive director of the Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs and chairman of the interagency council, said officials are assessing how to use $41 million in federal stimulus money Texas expects to receive for homeless programs.The report said homeless children are far more likely than other children to experience hunger, suffer chronic health problems, repeat a grade in school and drop out of high school.It stressed the long-term damage that can result from disruptions to friendships, health care and family routines.”These factors combine to create a life-altering experience that inflicts profound and lasting scars,” the report said.Ending homelessness for all U.S. children within a decade is possible, despite the recession, said the report, which Bassuk’s center issued to launch a campaign pursuing that goal.”If we fail to act,” the report said, “the consequences will play out for years to come as a generation of lost children grow to adulthood.”Associated Press writers Linda Stewart Ball in Dallas, Daniel Shea in Little Rock, Ark., and Dionne Walker in Atlanta contributed to this report.– – – -Contact The Daily Reveille’s news staff at [email protected]