Young children have been historically undercounted in past censuses due, in part, to confusion around whether they should be included on the form. Children under five are one of the hardest-to count populations.
When we miss kids in the census, it harms children for a decade because our state loses billions of federal dollars for programs that give kids a healthy start in life: Head Start, Medicaid, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly "food stamps"), the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Title I, child care subsidies, Early Childhood Intervention, and school lunches.
Fortunately, there are several ways you can help increase the count of young children in Texas.