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LUFKIN — Texas lawmakers this year added $100 million to a scholarship fund to help families across the state pay for early child care, an extraordinary investment that may ease a waitlist to help thousands of children.

However, advocates say legislators fell short in creating more opportunities for the state’s youngest living with disabilities.

“Most families with children with disabilities are really struggling in one area, if not multiple,” said Bethany Edwards, director for research and evaluation at the Center for Transforming Lives, a North Texas nonprofit that helps single mothers. Edwards is also a parent of a child with disabilities.

“And there’s a lot that can happen from a policy standpoint to change these systems, but change seems to happen very slowly,” she said.

Expanding the state’s public preschool programs to children with disabilities and incentives for more and better training for child care workers were among the proposals that fell short this year. Texas lawmakers ended the legislative session June 2.

David Feigen, the director of early learning at Texans Care for Children, said early access to quality education programs can have long-term benefits for children with disabilities.

“When children enroll in early learning programs, their world really opens up,” Feigen said. “These early experiences are really critical for all children, but they’re really particularly critical for children with disabilities.”

Under current rules, children are eligible for preschool through a public school district if they come from low-income households, have limited English proficiency, have parents in the military, are homeless, in foster care or have a Star of Texas Award.

While that criterion captures many children with disabilities, it doesn’t account for them all. And adding a disabilities designation would create more opportunities for a group that often struggles to find adequate care, Feigen said.

Children with disabilities who learn alongside their typically-developing peers are often motivated to make bigger strides in their skill development, said Katrina Campbell, CEO of the Brighton Center in San Antonio. Her organization helps a broad spectrum of children with disabilities in myriad ways, including its own preschool program.

“It’s pivotal to have children with special needs in an inclusive setting, especially those really formative years,” Campbell said.

Access to early childhood education is invaluable for all families, but especially for those whose children need a little more support, Feigen said.

Lawmakers tried — and failed — to create more high-quality care options for children with disabilities beyond preschool. For example, House Bill 175 would have created new certificates for child care providers who enhance their offerings to care for children with disabilities. The Texas Workforce Commission already has some local training options for these providers.

If the bill had become law, supporters believe it would have created more spaces able to serve children with disabilities.

Federal law prohibits facilities from denying a child entrance to their programs if they are disabled. However, it costs more to care for children with disabilities because centers need to employ more and specialized staff. And if the facility can prove it is incapable of providing adequate care, it can ask the family to seek support elsewhere.

The expansion of the child care scholarships will help, advocates say. However, they are not the perfect solution.

A private pay family will pay $1,350 a month to attend the Brighton Center in San Antonio, Campbell said. The state only pays $850 a month for scholarships. This leaves the program with a $500 deficit per child per month, which adds up quickly.

The Brighton Center, as a nonprofit, does what it can through fundraising and other programs to close the funding gap. Most programs don’t have that option.

To help others in their region, the Brighton Center tries to teach other facility operators how to help children with disabilities so fewer children are asked to leave local programs. Campbell hopes those facilities will try to accommodate one or two children with disabilities, just to begin chipping away at the massive need.

One change lawmakers made that advocates hope will yield dividends is aligning a few of the agencies that manage the state’s child care efforts.

“Our state hasn’t been nimble enough to comprehensively address the challenges,” Feigen said. “And guidance can be inconsistent, the work to address nagging problems can be disjointed.”

House Bill 2310, which was signed by Gov. Greg Abbott on June 20, will require agency leaders from the Texas Education Agency, Texas Workforce Commission and Health and Human Services Commission to collaborate on early learning solutions for children with disabilities and delays. These leaders will work with providers, policy experts and families.

There have been efforts to bring agencies together in this way on other aspects of child care, and it has been effective, Feigen said. But there needs to be a concerted effort for children with disabilities.

Edwards is hopeful, but not optimistic that this bill will change anything for these families.

“It’s definitely not a bad thing, but it’s also just a plan to create a plan at this point,” Edwards said. “It won’t change the experience for parents or for families that are currently struggling and who are currently in the broken system.”

Disclosure: Texans Care for Children has been a financial supporter of The Texas Tribune, a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that is funded in part by donations from members, foundations and corporate sponsors. Financial supporters play no role in the Tribune’s journalism. Find a complete list of them here.

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