HB 3493 and SB 1528

These partner bills filed by Rep. Parker and Sen. Paxton will ensure that Texas develops and implements statewide strategies to effectively and efficiently prevent Adverse Childhood Experiences like child abuse and neglect. ACEs are traumatic events like child abuse/neglect or having a caregiver with substance use, mental health, family violence, or incarceration challenges. These events can disrupt healthy brain development and increase the likelihood of negative health, behavioral, educational, and economic outcomes including chronic disease.

Texas lacks a strategic, cross-agency and coordinated approach to preventing and mitigating the effects of childhood adversity. As a result, state investments may be ineffective, inefficient, and fail to address the root causes in a transformative way. These bills will bring together state agencies and stakeholders to assess current investments and strategies, define prevention needs and best practices, and identify strategies to increase the effectiveness of state investments. A better Texas tomorrow will demand innovative solutions and strategic alignment across the multiple systems and stakeholders working in communities to ensure we are doing more of what works and less of what doesn’t.