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Early Voting Continues Until October 30th

It's time to make your voice heard!

Grab your mask, make sure you have your approved ID, and head out to vote. Learn more at
votetexas.gov.

Federal Investigation Finds Texas Falling Short of Providing ECI Services to Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities and Delays

The U.S. Department of Education — drawing in part on our research and advocacy — recently concluded that Texas is failing to comply with federal law requiring states to provide early intervention services to all eligible children under age three with autism, speech delays, Down syndrome, and other disabilities.

According to the investigation, the inadequate funding provided by the Legislature is a primary reason that the program has fallen short. The federal government is giving Texas 90 days to submit a corrective action plan.

Let's make sure ECI funding is a priority during the next legislative session!

Read more in our blog post and in the Texas Tribune.

New Census Data Show Texas Kids of All Backgrounds — Black, White, Hispanic, and More — Have Higher Uninsured Rates Than the National Average

Because of the health policy decisions made by state leaders, Texas once again has the highest uninsured rate in the nation — by far — for Texans of all ages and for children.

Additionally, Texas has also seen an alarming spike in the uninsured rate since 2016 as anti-immigrant policies and rhetoric have scared mixed status families into pulling their U.S. citizen children out of Medicaid and other programs.

During the next legislative session, we should reduce the uninsured rate by accepting Medicaid expansion funding, extending health insurance for new moms to cover a full year, allowing eligible children to remain enrolled in Medicaid for 12 straight months, and boosting outreach to families — including mixed status families — about children's insurance options.

The Legislature Should Fully Fund Services for Kids and Families, Especially During These Hard Times

We're glad that state leaders listened to our concerns and cancelled plans to cut direct health services this year, but we're still concerned about health cuts they are considering.

In particular, we recently joined with 21 other organizations to urge state leaders not to move forward with proposed health cuts in the current fiscal year that could create delays for Texans signing up for Children's Medicaid, Medicaid for Pregnant Women, and other services.

While working to stop the proposed health cuts for this year, we're also working to ensure that the Legislature fully funds services for kids and families during the upcoming legislative session. The next step in that process is analyzing and responding to the Legislative Appropriations Requests that state agencies recently released. Stay tuned!

Texas Children's Policy Roundup

Our blog post: Healthy Texas Women-Plus is a Good Start, but Texas Moms Still Need the Legislature to Provide Insurance for 12 Months After Childbirth

Our blog post: Racial Justice Requires Improvements to the Texas CPS System

Our testimony: Next Steps Texas Should Take to Implement the 2018 Family First Act

Our testimony: State Policy Steps to Support Early Brain Development for Infants and Toddlers

Our testimony: Ways the Lege Can Support Student Mental Health and Positive School Climates

Our testimony: All Our Recent Testimony to the Legislature

For more updates, visit our Facebook page and Twitter page.

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