Good Start to Restoring ECI Funding for Toddlers with Disabilities

During her pregnancy, Natalia learned her daughter would be born with abnormalities. Thanks to Early Childhood Intervention (ECI), Natalia and Mariana recently danced together for the first time.

Unfortunately, chronic underfunding from the state has led to Texas kids like Mariana missing out on ECI. Actual funding per child is consistently lower than the target funding allocated by the Legislature for ECI.

The House and Senate introduced budgets include the agency’s Exceptional Item (EI) request for ECI, providing a good starting point. We urge the Legislature to fund the EI and go further to fully restore per-child ECI funding to previous levels and accurately account for increasing enrollment.