One unique role we play is around education. We inform legislators on the challenges facing families each day, since we have a first-hand view of how families need and benefit from services for infants and toddlers with disabilities.

Any Baby Can is a provider of Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) services in Central Texas. These in-home therapies like speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy and more help children with developmental delays and medical diagnoses reach their full potential.

Guillermo Lopez, our ECI Senior Director, testified before the House Appropriations subcommittee on the significant impact of these life-changing therapies and services. With the growing demand and rising costs to provide those services, Guillermo urged legislators to prioritize increasing the funding per child. In addition, he advocated for the need to track ECI enrollment growth to improve forecasting and avoid future gaps in funding for essential services.

Natalia Castillo, mom of a former ECI client, also shared her powerful story to the Senate Committee on Finance. She talked about her daughter's remarkable journey from birth to today and how ECI services positively impacted their lives.

ECI services across Texas received a $57 million increase in the initial draft of the state budget and an extra $6 million on top of that, thanks to a budget amendment in April.

This win is a significant step forward, and while there is still work to be done, we are excited about this progress and enjoyed meeting legislators who are ECI champions.