New state law aims to protect Texas kids

AUSTIN – Governor Rick Perry signed the Home Visiting Expansion and Accountability Act Friday, June 14.

Senate Bill 426 – authored by Senator Jane Nelson (R-Flower Mound), co-authored by Robert Deuell (R-Greenville), Royce West (D- Dallas) and sponsored in the House of Representatives by John Zerwas (R- Fort Bend) – ensures the states’ investment in home visiting is going to programs with a proven record of effectives and requires those programs track and measure outcomes such as reduced child abuse and neglect, improved maternal and infant health, increased family self-sufficiency and enhanced school readiness.

The Legislature voted to increase the state’s investment in evidence-based home visiting by $7.9 million in General Revenues. In addition, an approximate $2 million more will flow to home visiting from legislation passed which allows Texas Citizens to make an optional $5 donation to these programs when purchasing copies of a marriage license, birth certificate, or divorce decree. The total funds secured for the biennium in home visiting amounts to approximately $10 million, which will serve 2,946 new families.

When properly administered and monitored, home visiting can save public funds by producing healthier families and children, helping children do better in school and avoid repeating grades, and result in fewer children ending up in the costly child welfare, mental health and juvenile corrections systems.

Home visiting programs match parents with trained providers who give information and support during pregnancy and during their child’s early years, a critical developmental period. Families who participate in home visiting are eligible because of risk factors that often lead to negative outcomes including preterm birth, poverty, being led by teenaged parents or parents with low education, or poor maternal health.

The law was championed by Tex Protects and endorsed by a diverse coalition including the Texas Home Visiting Consortium, law enforcement professionals, business leaders, medical professionals, and child advocates.