High school classes can be daunting. When students are also burdened by the fear of losing a mother with cancer, the trauma of past sexual assault, the accumulated toxic stress of a chaotic childhood, or the weight of other mental health difficulties, those classes can quickly go from challenging to nearly impossible -- if proper mental health support isn't available.
In the News: Texas Will Begin Tracking Pregnant Foster Youth
In the News: Federal Judge Finds Texas Has "Broken" Foster Care System, Says She'll Order Changes
Dallas Morning-News - "The judge has correctly identified a number of achievable steps that Texas can take to provide the safety and support these children need," said former CPS caseworker Ashley Harris, the [Texans Care for Children's] child-welfare expert. "Hopefully CPS, legislative leaders and children's advocates can now move past the legal battles and work together to come up with the solutions and funding to support these children," she said.
Celebrating Five Successes of 2015
What We Learned About Childhood Toxic Stress at Our 'Wounded Places' Film Screening and Discussion
Last week, Texans Care for Children partnered with the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health to co-host an event that brought together Texans who work in a variety of fields but all want Texas kids to grow up to succeed in school and life. We screened the film Wounded Places, an installment of the Raising of America documentary series that takes a hard look at the impact toxic stress has on children.
Legislature Must Build On Children's Health Coverage Progress
In the News: Experts Urge Texas to Push for Limits on Pre-k Class Sizes
Austin American-Statesman - "The research is clear that large pre-K classes are not high quality. We're setting up even the best trained teachers for failure if we put them alone in a classroom with 20, or 25, or even 30 4-year-olds," said Stephanie Rubin,CEO of the advocacy group Texans Care for Children.
TEA Meeting on Implementation of High-Quality Pre-k Legislation (HB 4)
Testimony to TEA
We appreciate TEA's efforts to engage stakeholders in the HB 4 implementation process. Key areas in implementation include data collection, collaboration with child care and Head Start providers, and the enforcement of the legislation's requirement that districts attempt to achieve low student-teacher ratios.