Ensure all children in Uvalde have access to behavioral health resources

Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter directing Cecile Young, Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), to use all available resources to ensure that mental health support services are available for every child in the community of Uvalde following the tragedy at Robb Elementary School. Image for illustrative purposes
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Texas Border Affairs

Governor Greg Abbott

Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter directing Cecile Young, Commissioner of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), to use all available resources to ensure that mental health support services are available for every child in the community of Uvalde following the tragedy at Robb Elementary School. The governor also directed HHSC to work alongside the Texas Education Agency (TEA) and the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium to provide behavioral health resources and community support that are critical to Uvalde’s recovery.

“As these families begin to rebuild their lives, it is essential that the children of Uvalde have access to mental health treatment,” reads the letter. “The Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) has jurisdiction over behavioral health services on behalf of the state. Given this substantial capacity, I ask that you use all available resources to work with families to provide behavioral health services to every child in Uvalde who wants support. While we cannot erase what happened in Uvalde, we can ensure, through the coordinated efforts of HHSC, TEA, and other organizations, that every child in this community receives the support they need.

Read the governor’s letter.

Governor Abbott has taken significant steps to provide all available resources to support the community of Uvalde following the tragic shooting at Robb Elementary School. These actions include:

  • Launch of comprehensive plan for the state of Texas to help and support members of the community, including co-location of state agency representatives to the Family Assistance Center for immediate assistance in seeking benefits .
  • Issue a disaster declaration at the request of local leaders to expedite all national and local resources available to assist the community of Uvalde.
  • Ask Texas legislative leaders to convene special legislative committees to begin reviewing and developing legislative recommendations on school safety, mental health, social media, police training, gun safety, and more.
  • Directing the Texas School Safety Center (TxSSC) to immediately begin conducting comprehensive school safety reviews to ensure that all public schools in Texas are following proper procedures to maximize school safety.
  • Lead the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to provide strategies to make Texas public schools safer through enhanced safety standards.
  • Directing ALERRT (Advanced Law Enforcement Rapid Response Training) programs to provide training to all school districts in the state, prioritizing school-based law enforcement.
  • Lead DPS, TEA, THECB to expand and expedite the ability to report suspicious activity through the iWatchTexas reporting system.
  • Initial investment of $5 million to establish a long-term Family Resilience Center (FRC) in Uvalde County to serve as a hub for community services, including access to essential mental health resources .
  • Work with the OneStar Foundation to create a one-stop donation webpage to support the families of the victims, teachers and the community of Uvalde.
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