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.

Testimony

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Support HB 1521: Ensuring the Success of Youth Involved with CPS & Justice Systems

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Testimony to the House Juvenile Justice and Family Issues Committee. 

The limited coordination and data sharing between the juvenile justice and child welfare systems results in costly, and sometimes counterproductive, duplication of services and worse outcomes for youth. To improve effectiveness and efficiency, Texas must improve information sharing between the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

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Oppose HB 3859 Regarding Children Served by Faith-Based Foster Care Providers

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Testimony to the House Committee on State Affairs

HB 3859 has 3 provisions aimed at ensuring children’s rights are protected. However, we are concerned that HB 3859 could be interpreted to limit children’s rights or hurt a child’s well-being based on a provider’s religious beliefs. We recommend 2 changes to ensure HB 3859 will not allow providers to discriminate against children for religious reasons.

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Support SB 818 to Promote Early Childhood Nutrition & Fitness

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Testimony to the Senate Health and Human Services Committee

Texans Care for Children firmly supports SB 818 because it takes specific steps to update and clarify minimum standards for nutrition and active play – areas already regulated through child care licensing standards – to ensure more children have a healthy start in life.

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Support SB 818/HB 2664 to Improve Nutrition and Fitness in Early Child Care

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Texas should improve minimum standards for child care facilities for nutrition, active play, and screen time to allow the smallest Texans the opportunity to build a healthy life.

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Building Healthy Foundations for Kids

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Testimony to the House Committee on Appropriations, Subcommittee on Article II

Key improvements are needed in the Article II budget – including Medicaid, CHIP, and Early Childhood Intervention – to make sure vital programs are sustainable through the 2018-2019 biennium.

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Testimony on HB 6

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Testimony to the House Committee on Human Services

We support expanding community-based foster care. However, that expansion must proceed with caution and clarity. To reach that goal, we support strengthening HB 6 provisions regarding the timeline for expanding community-based care, oversight, qualifications of an SSCC, rate setting, contingency plans, and contract compliance. We look forward to working with the author and the Committee to address these issues and ensure next steps in community foster care are in the best interests of children.