Early Childhood, Press Releases
Peter Clark
Statement on Gov. Abbott Opening Child Care

State must closely monitor health concerns and provide federal funds to providers

Statement on Gov. Abbott Opening Child Care
Blog, Child Health
Peter Clark
Over a Million Texans May Lose Insurance Under ...

By now, we all know that Monday’s CBO report estimated that the Senate health care bill ("BCRA") will increase the number of uninsured Americans by 22 million. And now we’re starting to see some estimates of what that would look like in Texas.

Early Childhood, Blog
Texans Care for Children
Local Research on Texas Pre-k Grants Provides ...

Districts urged the Legislature to provide adequate and predicable funding for boosting pre-k quality.

Early Childhood, Testimony
Andrea Brauer
Sunset Advisory Commission Report of the Texas ...

Testimony to the Sunset Advisory Commission

Texans Care for Children, among other suggestions, recommends Establishing an Office of Learning at the Texas Education Agency.

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Ensuring the Success of Youth Dually Involved with CPS & Justice Systems

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Testimony to the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee

The abuse and neglect that leads to children’s involvement with Child Protective Services leads to involvement with the juvenile justice system. However, there is little coordination and data sharing between the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, resulting in costly, and sometimes counterproductive, duplication of services and worse outcomes for youth. Local efforts in Texas show that improved coordination can lead to better results. Texas policymakers should study the current population of “dually involved youth,” establish a data collection and information sharing system, and create a taskforce to improve coordination.

In The News: Juvenile Justice Agency Making Case to Escape Budget Cuts

If state leaders insist, the Texas Juvenile Justice Department has identified ways to cut its budget by $16.8 million, or 2.8 percent, for the 2018-2019 biennium. But the agency really wants a $170 million bump so it can comply with state and federal laws, fix up some of its battered facilities and bolster behavioral programs.

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TEA-Commissioned Report Recommends Limits on Texas Pre-k Class Size

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A new report required by the state Legislature as part of the high-quality pre-k bill passed in 2015 recommends that Texas limit all pre-k classrooms to a maximum of 22 students and allow no more than 11 students for each teacher or aide in pre-k classes with more than 15 students “in order to create conditions for high-quality classrooms.”

In The News: Four CPS Leaders Lose Jobs Amid Agency Shakeup

Child Protective Services officials fired four high-ranking managers this week, saying the changes are part of a strategy to reform an agency under fire for failing to protect the state’s most vulnerable children from being abused or killed.

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Nutrition in Early Childhood: A Foundation for Lifelong Health

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When children are healthy during the first years of life, they are more likely to maintain a healthy weight throughout their childhood, be successful in school, and achieve lifelong health. Unfortunately, Texas children as young as two are already on track to grow up at an unhealthy weight. With the majority of young Texas children spending significant portions of the day in child care settings, Texas parents need child care providers to be a strong partner in providing healthy food and drinks and plenty of active play time. Fortunately, there are steps state leaders can take to help parents identify healthier child care providers and ensure child care providers partner with parents in supporting healthy kids.

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Opportunities to Improve Children’s Mental Health in Texas

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Testimony to the House Select Committee on Mental Health

Texans Care for Children is a statewide, non-profit, non-partisan, multi-issue children's policy organization. We drive policy change to improve the lives of Texas children today for a stronger Texas tomorrow. We envision a Texas in which all children grow up to be healthy, safe, successful, and on a path to fulfill their promise. We appreciate all the work that the committee has done to bring attention and discussion to the far reaching effects mental illness has on Texas children, families, adults, and communities and ways Texas can improve the outcomes of those who experience mental illness and the systems that serve them.  We thank you for the opportunity to offer recommendations on ways the state can make a positive difference in supporting the mental health of children and youth.

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Ensuring the Success of HB 4 and Texas Pre-k Students

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Testimony to the Senate Education Committee

HB 4 is an important step forward, and grant applications show that school districts strongly embrace it. However, there is more work to do to ensure that pre-k students and HB 4 are successful. Legislators should continue to support pre-k quality improvements across the state, in districts of every size and every region; ensure that per-student HB 4 funding is sufficient to produce strong gains in the classroom; and align other state early childhood policies with the early learning goals of HB 4.

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The Research is Clear: High Quality Pre-k Pays Off

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Research shows effective pre-k programs improve school readiness and academic achievement, reducing the need to provide special education services and helping more students advance to the next grade level on time. To harness the power of pre-k, Texas should build on the state’s new High Quality Pre-k Grant Program to improve the quality of and access to pre-k.

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Aug. 23 Children's Policy Series Forum: Building Healthy Foundations for Young Kids

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Please join us on Tuesday, August 23 from 1:00 to 2:30 pm for the next edition of the Children's Policy Series, a new effort to break down the artificial walls between children's policy issues and bring Texans together to identify policy strategies to improve child well-being. The August 23rd forum will look at Building Healthy Foundations for Young Kids.

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Improving Student Performance by Targeting Non-Academic Barriers to Learning

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Testimony to Senate Education Committee

Ample research demonstrates that non-academic factors influence students’ academic performance. Students are more likely to succeed in school when they are emotionally and physically healthy, feeling safe, and engaged and supported, yet Texas data show that many of our students report significant challenges in these areas. Fortunately, there are several concrete steps legislators can take to address these challenges and improve students’ academic performance.