February 1, 2017
Early Education Legislative Briefing
The CHILDREN AT RISK early education team hosted a briefing for legislative staff on January 20th at the Capitol. The event focused on three recently-released Texas reports and highlighted policy recommendations to improve state-funded early education, specifically child care and Pre-K. We appreciate Representative Dan Huberty’s sponsorship, and participation from our partners at Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium and Texans Care for Children! You can find the three reports and their executive summaries at the links below:
Early Investment Project: Subsidized Child Care in Texas – Funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Pre-K in Texas: A Critical Component for Academic Success – Funded by the Meadows Foundation
Ensuring the Success of HB 4 & Texas Students – Funded by the Texas Education Grantmakers Advocacy Consortium
Human Trafficking Rally and Legislative Briefing
CHILDREN AT RISK’s Human Trafficking Advocacy Day took the Capitol by storm on Wednesday, January 25th. The day started with a legislative briefing, sponsored by Rep. Senfronia Thompson, where CHILDREN AT RISK and Deputy Chief Kirsta Melton briefed staffers on our legislative agenda around human trafficking, and the recommendations of the Texas Human Trafficking Prevention Task Force, respectively. Simultaneously, the Christian Life Coalition, along with CHILDREN AT RISK, held an advocacy briefing for citizens from across the state at First Baptist Church in Austin.
At 11:00am, supporters and advocates gathered at the South Steps of the Capitol to cheer on Dr. Sanborn., Attorney General Ken Paxton, and our legislative champions in the fight against human trafficking: Rep. Senfronia Thompson, Sen. Whitmire, Sen. Carlos Uresti, Sen. Sylvia Garcia, Rep. James White, and Rep. Todd Hunter. The Texas trucking industry was also represented at the Rally along with Kylla Lanier, the Deputy Director for Truckers against Trafficking. After the conclusion of the Rally, CHILDREN AT RISK, along with our co-sponsors and fellow advocates made office visits to help educate legislators on the prevalence of human trafficking in Texas.