Update on ECI cuts:

Josette Saxton--Mental Health Policy Associate and Texans Care For Children advocate--updates us on the dire situation around ECI funding in this recent email:
"The House passed a budget that would reduce funding for ECI by $35m in the next biennium, compared to its current base budget. Because of reduced funding, DARS will need to narrow eligibility requirements in order to serve fewer children. Although the Senate Finance Committee was originally looking to fund ECI at current levels, it instead voted out a budget that would reduce funding for ECI by $30m. While this is more than is being proposed by the House, the Senate Finance Committee also inserted a rider that, if included in the final budget, directs DARS to increase direct service hours to 3 hrs on average each month (current average is 2). This means DARS will have to narrow eligibility even more than under the House proposal. The estimate I've heard associated with the Senate proposal is that DARS would be able to serve around 23,500 children in ECI, compared to serving over 30,000 children today. The full Senate is expected to vote on the Senate Finance Committee's proposed budget later this week, with few if any changes to the committee's recommendations.  The next step will be for a conference committee, made up from 5 members from House and Senate each, who will hash out the differences between the two proposals."