Our team just wanted to take a moment to publicly express our appreciation to the many state employees who are helping Texans get through this pandemic.
For the last several weeks, we've been working with staff from numerous state agencies — such as HHSC, DSHS, TWC, TEA, DFPS, the Governor's office, and the Legislature — on a number of coronavirus-related challenges facing Texas kids and families .
As we said on Facebook and Twitter (with a little help from Batman), during this time our team has been impressed and grateful to see so many state employees working very hard — and making good things happen — under quite difficult circumstances.
CPS caseworkers and DFPS leaders are working to make sure kids are safe. Staff at TWC is making sure that nurses, grocery store workers, and other essential employees have child care so they can keep going to work. The state's ECI team is working to ensure there are safe ways for babies and toddlers with disabilities to keep getting the support they need to reach their developmental goals. Employees at TWC and HHSC, with an assist from legislative staff who offered to pitch in, are trying to help Texans get through an overwhelmed application system to sign up for unemployment benefits, Children's Medicaid, or other benefits. TEA staffers are working to ensure we meet student mental health needs during this time. Staff in state leadership offices ensured that Texas temporarily suspended state policies that eliminate health coverage for new moms 60 days after childbirth and mistakenly remove eligible children from Medicaid. We could go on and on.
And throughout all of this, these state employees — as well as invaluable employees at local and federal offices — are often doing this work while taking care of young children at home, worrying about their own health, or navigating the other stressors and challenges inflicted by this pandemic. Furthermore, many are working in departments that were understaffed, underfunded, and overwhelmed before the pandemic.
Their efforts have been a reminder of the life-changing work that our state agencies have always done — and a reminder that children and families will need these services running on all cylinders as the coronavirus threat, and its economic fallout, continue over the next year or two.
Is their work done? Of course not. I think state employees would be the first to say that there's a heck of a lot more to do.
And our team certainly has plenty of coronavirus response recommendations for state leaders to ensure Texans have health insurance during the public health and economic crises, child care providers are still standing when parents have to go back to work and rebuild the economy, and much more.
But for today, we have a much simpler message for state employees: Thank you.