State health agency's budget request leaves out the Children's Autism Program, which served 583 kids last year

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has proposed ending its Children's Autism Program, a state-funded program that pays for therapy for autistic children at little or no cost to some families, as part of a 3% spending cut ordered by state leaders.

The agency left the program out entirely in the spending request it sent lawmakers for 2028-29, The Texas Tribune reported Monday. If lawmakers go along, children now in the program would keep getting services until the end of August 2027, the agency told the Tribune.

What the program does

The program began in 2008. It contracts with 16 providers around Texas to deliver applied behavior analysis, or ABA, therapy, with costs reduced based on a family's income and insurance. A child can receive up to 720 hours over a lifetime.

According to the Tribune, spending on it totaled $13.7 million over the last two years. In fiscal 2026 it paid for treatment for 583 children, and providers report at least 1,000 more on waitlists. This year the state had widened it, raising the age limit to 21 and dropping a cap on yearly hours.

Why the agency chose it

In July, House Speaker Dustin Burrows, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and Gov. Greg Abbott directed state agencies, universities and appeals courts to trim spending by 3% for the next two-year budget.

Asked why it picked the autism program, the commission pointed the Tribune to its summary of the 3% reductions, which says it aimed its cuts where they would have the least direct effect on clients and on federal funding.

The same budget request acknowledges the need. It says demand for autism services outstrips the supply of qualified providers, most of all in rural Texas, and that even where private and public insurance now cover treatment, providers often are not available.

Jeff Miller of Disability Rights Texas told the Tribune that because the program uses only state money, it may have looked like a way to save without putting federal matching dollars at risk. Since 2022, Medicaid has paid for ABA therapy for anyone 20 or younger, which could make the program appear duplicative.

Advocates push back

Advocates say Medicaid does not close the gap. Jolene Pohl of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities told the Tribune that families without insurance or on self-funded employer plans, which are not required to cover ABA therapy, can be left out, and that low Medicaid payment rates make providers hard to find.

"It would make more sense to increase the funding and get those kids off the waitlist," Pohl said.

The Autism Society of Texas' executive director, Jacquie Benestante, said the group was used to fighting for funding but was "really shocked" to find the line item blank.

The Legislature writes the next budget in the session that opens in January 2027.

Sources

The Texas Tribune