The 90th Texas Legislature convenes January 12, 2027, and the decisions made in Austin will shape education, food access and healthcare across North Texas. You can join us in speaking up for policies that improve education, strengthen financial stability and lead to healthier outcomes for every neighbor.  

Here are five ways to get involved now: 

1. Watch and share. Watch our full All Eyes on Austin webinar series below, and send this blog to a colleague, friend or neighbor. 

1. Join our advocacy network. Sign up for Policy in Brief, our monthly rundown of the bills that affect education, financial stability and health in North Texas. We’ll also send you alerts when it’s time to act. 

1. Know your legislators. Before the 2027 legislative session, now is the ideal time to find your state representative and senator and ask their offices how you can partner. 

1. Share your story. Personal and organizational experience brings data to life for policymakers. Tell your legislators how education, financial stability or healthcare access has shaped your life, your work or your community, and let them know what is at stake. 

1. Register for United Way Day at the Texas Capitol: Join the United Way of Metropolitan Dallas delegation and United Ways across Texas on Austin on February 24, 2027 for an opportunity to engage directly in advocacy and democracy with our elected representatives. Learn more and register. 

Read on to learn more about what’s at stake and how to take part. 

Get Ready to Advocate with United Way of Metropolitan Dallas 

Advocacy is especially important as we prepare for the 90th Legislative Session, which begins January 12, 2027. To help community leaders, partners and advocates understand the issues facing our region, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas recently partnered with United Way of Tarrant County and United Way of Denton County to host the 2026 All Eyes on Austin virtual policy briefing series. 

During these three webinars, policy experts and practitioners examined some of the most pressing challenges facing North Texans:  

• Building stronger education-to-workforce pathways 

• Addressing rising food insecurity 

• Closing gaps in behavioral healthcare 

Each briefing focused on different regional issues, yet a common theme emerged: Meaningful progress requires collaboration across sectors, data-informed decision-making and policies that center the people they serve. 

The policy decisions made in Austin will have a direct impact on communities throughout North Texas, from preparing students for high-demand careers, to ensuring families can put nutritious food on the table, to expanding early intervention and mental health supports.  

Watch the full webinar series below. 

EDUCATION 

How can Texas build stronger pathways from school to career? 

WEBINAR 1: Building Talent Pathways: Education Credentials and Workforce Readiness in North Texas 

The webinar series began on October 14 with a discussion of how Texas can better prepare today’s adult learners for success through stronger education-to-career pathways. Panelists explored the impact of the previous community college funding reform legislation, House Bill 8, and its outcomes-based funding model, along with competency-based education, workforce-aligned credentials, data sharing and the importance of including student voices in policymaking. 

Panelists emphasized that today’s modern learners often balance work, family responsibilities and education at the same time. Policies that recognize these realities can create more accessible and effective pathways into high-demand careers.  

During this briefing, panelists shared how success requires alignment among K-12 schools, higher education, employers and state policymakers, not isolated programs. They also underscored how dual-credit opportunities, competency-based degree programs and improved student data systems can each shorten the path from classroom to career. Moreover, funding models that reward student outcomes only work if institutions can track those outcomes across systems. 

Webinar Highlights 

• Moderated by Regina Williams, vice president of programs, Tarrant To & Through Partnership 

• Dr. Eric Ban, founder of the Economic Mobility Center, emphasized the critical role of better information sharing across institutions: “We have good data in Texas to understand the problems and challenges ahead of us. We don’t have good data to solve the problems and challenges.” 

• Celia Hall, Texas Instruments fellow at United Way of Metropolitan Dallas, reminded attendees why student perspectives must remain central to policy discussions: “When we invest in a student’s potential, we’re not just changing their trajectory. We’re investing in their future, in ours and in turn our communities.” 

• Dr. April Sanders, dean of the College of Innovation and Design, East Texas A&M University–Commerce, highlighted the importance of designing systems around the realities of today’s modern learners: “Understanding that type of student and their experience and their needs, that’s imperative for the future of higher education.” 

 Why Talent Pathways Matter for the 90th Legislative Session 

Insights from the panelists point to a practical opportunity for lawmakers. Texas already collects substantial data on education and employment, but it sits in separate systems. Investing in secure data sharing across K-12, higher education and the workforce system would let the state measure whether outcomes-based funding helps students finish credentials and earn family-sustaining wages.  

Panelists agreed that reducing barriers, expanding advising and support services and keeping the focus on student outcomes will be essential to building the talent pipeline North Texas employers need. 

Key Policy Takeaways 

• Allow for data sharing across education and workforce systems 

• Support advising, wraparound services and flexible pathways for working students 

• Strengthen employer partnerships with local colleges and school districts on credentials aligned to regional hiring needs 

FINANCIAL STABILITY 

How are SNAP changes affecting North Texas families? 

Webinar 2: Food Security and the Regional Economy: Addressing Hunger Through Policy and Partnership 

The second webinar, held on October 21, focused on one of North Texas’ most urgent and persistent challenges: food insecurity. Panelists explored the rising rate of food insecurity across the region, recent federal policy changes affecting SNAP benefits and the increasing strain these pressures are placing on food banks, healthcare systems and higher education institutions.  

The data presented were sobering. Nearly 1.4 million people across North Texas experience food insecurity, including more than 500,000 children. The rate of need is growing significantly faster than the region’s population, driven by escalating housing, transportation, utility and grocery costs that continue to stretch household budgets beyond their limits. 

The discussion underscored that food insecurity is not only a hunger issue but also an economic, health and educational challenge that affects the long-term well-being and prosperity of the entire region. Addressing it will require sustained collaboration among policymakers, community organizations, businesses and residents to strengthen the safety net and ensure that every North Texan has access to nutritious food and the opportunity to thrive. 

Webinar Highlights 

• Moderated by Hillary Evans, vice president of Policy and Advocacy, United Way of Metropolitan Dallas 

• Clarissa Clark, government relations officer, North Texas Food Bank, underscored the breadth of the challenge: “We know hunger is in every ZIP code.” 

• Jamie Olson, vice president of Policy and Advocacy, Feeding Texas, put the importance of SNAP into perspective: “For every one meal provided by a food bank or a food pantry, SNAP provides nine.” 

• Dr. Kiesha Shelton, supervisor, Family Empowerment Center, Tarrant County College, connected food security directly to student success: “If you’re hungry, it’s kind of hard to pay attention.” 

• Julie Wright, program manager, Texas Health Resources, captured the collaboration needed to address hunger at-scale: “One single organization is not going to be able to solve hunger or any other issue all by itself. It takes all of us together.” 

Why Food Security Matters for the 90th Legislative Session 

Charitable food assistance cannot replace SNAP. If federal changes shift costs to the state, Texas lawmakers will face a choice between absorbing new expenses and risking reduced benefits or participation. Either path would push more demand onto food banks that are already stretched.  

Because food insecurity is outpacing population growth, even flat funding for nutrition programs would mean falling behind. Higher education, healthcare and food bank partnerships suggest the region can multiply its impact by supporting local collaboration rather than duplicating it. 

Key Policy Takeaways 

• Hunger is a regional economic issue, not only a household one. It affects school performance, health outcomes and workforce stability 

• Federal SNAP changes could create significant fiscal challenges for Texas as new state cost-sharing requirements take effect 

• Innovative partnerships among food banks, colleges, health systems and community organizations are already showing what works 

HEALTH 

Where are the gaps in mental healthcare in Texas? 

WEBINAR 3: Closing the Behavioral Health Gap: Solutions for North Texas  

The webinar series concluded on October 28 with a conversation about the growing need for accessible, community-based behavioral health services across Texas.  

Panelists described a system that reaches well beyond hospitals and clinics into schools, courts, workplaces, law enforcement and community organizations. Texas has made historic investments in inpatient infrastructure over the last decade, but significant gaps remain in outpatient services, workforce capacity, prevention and youth support. Speakers focused on prevention, noting that most crises develop over time and can be avoided through early intervention, school-based support and better coordination among partners. Outpatient care and crisis response are the missing pieces, and a referral is not the same as care: Warm handoffs and real connections to services determine whether help is received. 

Webinar Highlights 

• Moderated by Stephanie O’Banion, director of Statewide Initiatives, United Ways of Texas 

• Nelson Jarrin, executive vice president of State Policy, Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute, reminded attendees that most crises develop over time: “People don’t just debilitate…overnight. That’s a series of failed interventions when somebody could have been put on a better path in life.” 

• Martha Sanchez, director of policy, Jed Foundation, explained why connections to care matter as much as access: “If a student goes to their school counselor and all they get is a brochure or the phone number to 988, that brochure is likely going to end up at the bottom of the backpack, all wrinkled up.”  

• Lee Johnson, CEO, Texas Council of Community Centers highlighted the need to balance investments across the continuum of care: “We’ve done a fantastic job of investing in inpatient care. And if that inpatient investment is going to succeed in the way that we need it to as our state for people, we also have to have the frontline outpatient services for adults and kids, and we have to have a crisis response system.” 

Why Behavioral Healthcare Matters for the 90th Legislative Session 

The panel’s message is that Texas has built the top of the funnel, with crisis beds and inpatient capacity, but needs to strengthen the entry points. Outpatient services, school-based supports and a trained workforce determine whether people reach care before a crisis and whether inpatient investments deliver lasting results.  

Lawmakers weighing budget priorities can use this framework to ask whether each dollar prevents a crisis, responds to one or supports recovery afterward. 

Key Policy Takeaways 

• More investment is needed in outpatient services, youth and school-based mental health supports, and behavioral health workforce development. 

• Schools, employers and community organizations should build warm-handoff practices so people leave with a connection, not just a phone number. 

• All of us should learn the signs of a mental health concern and share local resources with our networks. 

Looking Ahead 

All three policy briefings delivered the same message: Policy works best when it reflects lived experience and supports local solutions. Whether the goal is stronger education-to-workforce pathways, food on every table or timely behavioral healthcare, panelists called for working together across schools, employers, health systems and government; using data to decide what works and letting people shape the policies that affect their lives.