The Texas Legislature will write the 2028-2029 state budget during the 2027 legislative session, but the process of crafting the budget has already begun. The decisions that legislators make regarding the budget will shape the future of the state and the lives of Texans for years to come.

Most state agencies — such as the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) and the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) — recently submitted their budget requests, known as Legislative Appropriations Requests, or LARs. We have 10 key takeaways to share regarding the requests from agencies serving children and families.

But first, let’s take a look at the big picture.

The Big Picture

We’re glad to see that state revenue continues to come in strong, and the state has a large Economic Stabilization Fund. That means the Legislature is well-positioned to cover its obligations and make strategic investments during the next session. 

It will also be important for the Legislature to account for inflation in writing the state budget. Higher prices over the last several years are reflected in the tax revenue the state collects and the costs faced by school districts, state employees, contractors, mental health providers, families, and others. Those higher prices should be reflected in the budget as well. Texans who are under the strain of rising costs are counting on the Legislature to make sure state investments keep pace.

One theme across several programs is the long wait times that eligible Texans are experiencing. We encourage budget-writers to ensure that Texans who are already eligible for health insurance, child care, mental health support, or other services can access that support rather than facing long delays and waitlists. 

This year, the budget requests include an exercise to identify potential cuts if agencies needed to reduce their budgets by 3%. While reviewing these submissions from agencies, lawmakers should keep in mind that certain direct services that were exempt from these exercises in the past were included during this cycle. In many cases, cutting these services would be very harmful to Texas families, as indicated by state agencies’ requests for additional funding (known as “Exceptional Items”).

10 Takeaways from Budget Requests

We strongly support the following requests from state agencies and urge the Legislature to include them in the state budget:

• HHSC: Maintain a strong SNAP program as Texans deal with higher costs for groceries and other essentials. The agency’s request acknowledges some but not all of the funding required for SNAP in the next budget. The LAR includes funding to cover the administrative costs for SNAP that Congress shifted to states through HR 1 (Exceptional Item #2). During the next session, the Legislature will also pay a new temporary state “cost share” for SNAP due to the state’s error rate in the program, although the LAR does not clearly identify this new obligation. As the budget process continues, it will be important for lawmakers to clearly explain how they plan to account for the state’s new responsibility to cover this small portion of SNAP. A strong SNAP program is particularly important for ensuring groceries are affordable for many Texas families and seniors who are dealing with rising prices.
• DSHS: Maintain support for the Maternal Mortality and Morbidity Review Committee (MMMRC) and maternal health quality improvement efforts. The Department of State Health Service’s maternal and child health infrastructure supports the state’s work to understand and prevent maternal deaths and complications and to improve maternal health outcomes. Investments that enhance timeliness and accuracy of data collected and shared with the MMMRC are essential to support sound recommendations to the Legislature.  
• TIDC: Ensure more parents have an attorney during CPS investigations by funding the Family Protection Representation program at the Texas Indigent Defense Commission (TIDC). Texas should expand the CPS attorney workforce so families can access legal representation earlier in CPS investigations and keep children safely at home rather than in foster care. Strong legal representation from the start helps hold CPS accountable, protects parents’ rights, addresses safety concerns sooner, and supports better-informed court decisions. A recent survey of legal professionals across Texas found that families rarely have counsel during CPS investigations, even though that is when it matters most. The agency requests $128.7 million to match current county funding (Exceptional Item #2).

We support these requests — and urge the Legislature to go further:

• TWC: Ensure more working families have access to affordable child care by maintaining funding for child care scholarships and providing additional funding. We are very pleased to see that the Texas Workforce Commission (TWC) LAR includes a $100 million transfer from TANF to support child care scholarships. The LAR continues the investment that lawmakers made last session, which preserved safe, high-quality care for thousands of children and helped their parents go to work. With the cost of child care quickly rising and federal funds lagging behind, TWC is projecting to serve fewer families through the child care scholarships in the future.
• HHSC: Support toddlers with disabilities by funding Early Childhood Intervention (ECI). HHSC’s request for an additional $5 million to keep pace with ECI caseload growth is an important step toward ensuring every eligible child can receive services without waitlists (Exceptional Item #8). However, with the number of ECI providers declining and programs struggling with rising staffing and service costs, the Legislature should build on HHSC’s request by increasing per-child funding to help stabilize the program and ensure families can access high quality, timely services. 
• HHSC: Reduce delays and errors in processing Medicaid and SNAP applications by converting temporary eligibility workers into permanent staff. Texas currently has a backlog of 211,000 Medicaid applications and 150,000 SNAP applications, leaving families waiting months for health care and food. The agency is requesting $212 million to convert 642 temporary positions into permanent staff, which will create a more professionalized, stable workforce to process applications quickly and accurately (Exceptional Item #3). We urge the Legislature to support this request and take additional steps to reduce the backlog and ensure the enrollment system works for eligible families.

We are concerned about these potential cuts — but there is an opportunity for the Legislature to fully fund these services:

• DFPS: Keep kids safely with their families and out of foster care by restoring the Texas Family First program to the budget. When children are at risk of entering foster care, the program offers parents substance use treatment, mental health services, or in-home parenting support. In the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) budget request, the Texas Family First program is the last item listed under potential 3% cuts and the first Exceptional Item request for additional funding, totaling $32.5 million (Exceptional Item #1).
• HHSC: Support youth with the most complex mental health challenges by fully funding the YES Waiver. The YES Waiver provides highly effective services for youth at risk of entering psychiatric facilities or foster care for mental health services, but fewer youth have been able to access those services in recent years. HHSC’s list of potential 3% cuts includes a partial reduction in funding for the YES Waiver. The agency also submitted an Exceptional Item request for additional funding to support the mental health of high-acuity youth, providing a potential avenue for investing in the YES Waiver.
• HHSC: Help parents raise safe, healthy children and build strong, self-sufficient families by preserving funding for voluntary Family Support Services. These programs provide first-time and expectant parents with practical guidance on caring for babies and young children, help families address challenges with older children and teens, and connect young people with mentoring and structured after-school activities. Several programs are on HHSC’s list of potential 3% cuts, including some services facing significant reductions.

We want to highlight one final funding recommendation:

• The Legislature should increase funding for public education, including high-quality full-day pre-k. The Texas Education Agency has not released its budget request yet, and the agency’s request typically does not address the question of whether the Legislature should increase per-student funding in the school finance system. However, as lawmakers consider budget priorities for the session, they should address the need for additional funding for public schools, including full-day pre-k.

We look forward to working with legislators and our partners to ensure the next state budget supports Texas kids and families!