State health agency's budget plan would end the Children's Autism Program, which served 583 kids last year

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission has proposed ending the Children's Autism Program, a state-funded source of behavior therapy for children whose families cannot get it covered elsewhere, The Texas Tribune reported.

The program's line item is missing from the agency's budget request for the 2028-2029 biennium, which goes to the Legislature when it convenes in January. If lawmakers go along, children in the program would keep receiving services through the end of August 2027, the agency told the Tribune.

What the program does

Started in 2008, the program contracts with 16 providers around the state to offer applied behavior analysis therapy at reduced cost, scaled to a family's income and insurance. A child can receive up to 720 hours over a lifetime.

The state spent $13.7 million on it over the past two years and this year widened it, raising the age limit to 21 and dropping a yearly cap on hours.

In fiscal 2026 it paid for treatment for 583 children. Contractors say at least 1,000 more are on waiting lists statewide.

Why the agency cut it

In July, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows told state agencies, appellate courts and universities to trim spending 3% for the next two years. Asked why the autism program was chosen, agency officials pointed to a summary saying cuts were aimed at services with the least direct impact on clients and at protecting federal funding.

The program uses only state dollars.

Medicaid began covering this therapy in 2022 for people 20 and younger, which can make the state program look redundant. The agency's own request, however, notes that demand outstrips the supply of qualified providers, particularly in rural areas.

What advocates say

Advocates told the Tribune that Medicaid coverage does not reach every family. Families with no insurance, or on self-funded insurance plans that are not required to cover the therapy, fall outside it, and low Medicaid payment rates make it hard to find providers who accept it, said Jolene Pohl of the Coalition of Texans with Disabilities.

Jacquie Benestante of the Autism Society of Texas said advocates were surprised to see the line left blank.

The director of an autism center at the University of Houston-Clear Lake, which serves 41 families through the program and has about 200 more waiting, called the proposal devastating.

The Coalition of Texans with Disabilities has given money to the Tribune in the past five years, the newspaper disclosed.

Sources

The Texas Tribune