(TEXAS TRIBUNE) – For years, 7-year-old Israel Solis couldn\u2019t communicate with the world around him. Born with autism and nonverbal, he would bite and scratch himself in frustration when someone couldn\u2019t understand his needs. Therapy through a state-subsidized program gave him a voice: using a picture system he\u2019s learned from his providers in Houston, he\u2019s now able to convey his desires.<\/p>\n
But Texas wants to eliminate the state program, which allows some families to pay nothing for services, because of state budget cuts. In its budget request to the Legislature for the 2028-2029 biennium<\/a>, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) proposed eliminating funding for the Children\u2019s Autism Program<\/a> (CAP) entirely, stunning advocates, providers and parents.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the doors just completely close to access that at all, you just feel like it\u2019s all caving in on you, like \u2018how am I going to get some help?\u2019\u201d said Israel\u2019s mother Elizabeth Solis, who has another son who obtains services through a CAP-funded program at the University of Houston-Clear Lake\u2019s Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities<\/a>; she pays nothing for their services.<\/p>\n CAP, which started in 2008, contracts with 16 providers across Texas to provide focused applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy to autistic children at a reduced cost based on their families\u2019 incomes and insurance coverage. Children are eligible for up to 720 hours of ABA therapy, which advocates consider the gold standard for autism treatment, over their lifetime.<\/p>\n Over the last two years, the state spent $13.7 million on the program, and this year even expanded the program, extending eligibility to those up to 21 years old and removing a cap on yearly hours. In fiscal year 2026, the state autism program funded treatment for 583 children, but contractors report there are at least 1,000 more children<\/a> on waitlists statewide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe were really shocked to see nothing, and it\u2019s just blank where the line item should be,\u201d said Jacquie Benestante, executive director of the Autism Society of Texas. \u201cWe\u2019re used to having to fight for funding, but to actually have a program just slashed and canceled is pretty shocking.\u201d<\/p>\n In July, Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows directed state agencies, appellate courts and universities to cut spending by 3%<\/a> in the next biennium. In response to questions about why HHSC chose to eliminate the program, officials pointed to HHSC\u2019s 3% budget reduction summary<\/a>, which says the agency \u201cfocused reductions on the lowest direct service impact to clients and minimizing impacts to federal funding.\u201d <\/p>\n But, in HHSC\u2019s budget request proposing to axe the program, officials explicitly acknowledged the acute need for autism therapy. \u201cThe demand for services exceeds the availability of qualified providers especially in rural parts of the state,\u201d per the request. \u201cWhile private and public insurance now provide coverage for treatment services there are often not providers available in all parts of the state.\u201d<\/p>\n If the Legislature agrees to eliminate the program, children would still receive services through the end of August 2027, HHSC said.<\/p>\n Many of Texas\u2019 public programs are funded with federally matched dollars. Jeff Miller, a senior policy specialist at Disability Rights Texas, said CAP, as a solely state-funded program, may have seemed like an easy way to cut costs without endangering federal funding.<\/p>\n