Kids in danger, tight budget — it’s a rainy day

With almost $2.9 billion less in general revenue available for the next two-year state budget than they had in the current budget, Texas legislators must find ways to cut back.

At the same time, parts of state government will require more spending, not less. That means some agencies will face even greater cutbacks.

But this is not the time to be making those trade-offs. This is the time for finding the real needs.

There will be a day before the session ends on May 29 for deciding which needs must be met and which must wait.

When that time comes, lawmakers should not rule out tapping the Economic Stabilization Fund, better known as the Rainy Day Fund.

That fund stands at $10.2 billion and is expected to reach $11.9 billion by the end of the next budget cycle.

In his State of the State address on Jan. 31, Gov. Greg Abbott said he is “confident we can balance the budget without looting the Rainy Day Fund.”

He’s right, but it’s not smart that real needs should suffer while we have $10 billion to $12 billion tucked under the mattress.

Abbott pointed out one of the essentials: an overhaul of the child welfare and foster care system.

He drove the point home with a startling statistic. Last year, he said, more than 100 children died in the Child Protective Services system.

Despite increased spending in past years, the CPS horror story keeps growing. A federal judge has declared the system unconstitutional.

Abbott urged a thorough reset.

“Do not underfund this rickety system only to have it come back and haunt you,” he told the current class of legislators. “Do it right.”

He named it a top priority: “If you do nothing else this session, cast a vote to save the life of a child.”

In initial budget drafts, the House and Senate each allocated an additional $310.6 million from general revenue to CPS. The governor wants to bump that up to $500 million.

Other estimates say it will take as much as $1 billion in additional funding to “do it right.”

Lawmakers are examining CPS overhaul proposals, including a plan to assign some of its work to nonprofit contractors across the state.

All ideas should be on the table. Money shouldn’t be the sticking point in saving children’s lives.

This story was originally published February 17, 2017 at 7:29 PM with the headline "Kids in danger, tight budget — it’s a rainy day."