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.
Our new report on the 2015 legislative session explains the victories and disappointments from the legislative session and the new laws to monitor during the interim.
Research shows that child to caregiver ratios in child care centers is one of the most important indicators of quality. Yet some Texas children - particularly those who are from low-income families and have the greatest need for positive experiences in child care - are stuck in large classes.
Texas currently provides schools districts with funding for voluntary, half-day pre-K for four-year-olds who come from low-income families, speak English as a second language, or have another area of need.
With more and more research pointing to the benefits of early education, many states have strengthened efforts by consolidating agency functions or creating a separate early learning agency.
While HB 4 and SB 801 are aimed at improving quality in Texas Public Pre-K, the quality requirements outlined do not achieve the National Institute of Early Education Research (NIEER) definition of a quality program.
The assessments used in the child welfare system should be improved to ensure children in the system are more quickly matched with the services they need to heal, are more often placed in appropriate settings and are not assessed and reassessed at great cost when doing so is not warranted.
Teen pregnancy in foster care is disturbingly high. Often, the children born to these young parents are vulnerable to a continued cycle of child welfare involvement.