Impact Story: Texas 2036

Texas 2036 is planning for the future of Texas. To protect the miracle of Texas and to ensure that Texas remains the best place to live and work, Texas 2036 is helping legislators make thoughtful, data-driven decisions for long-term planning.

By 2036, Texas will be home to 10 million more Texans. That growth represents significant opportunity, but also is expected to strain the existing infrastructure. In March 2020, Texas 2036 released a strategic document to guide planning for the future titled Shaping Our Future: A Strategic Framework for Texas.

Health is among the seven policy areas Texas 2036 is focused, which includes mental health. According to the recently published strategic framework, Texas ranks 12th among its peers for availability of mental health care providers. In Texas, the ratio of population to mental health care providers is 880:1. To be competitive with its peers, Texas would need to reduce this ratio to at least 410:1.

Texas 2036 creates policy framework that is interconnected. For example, one idea to close the gap in demand for psychiatrists, which exceeds supply by 49 percent, is to make tele-health more readily available.

But expansion of tele-health would require access to broadband and internet. Dallas ranks among the worst connected cities in the nation with 35 percent of residents lacking a broadband subscription.

Through its framework and outreach, Texas 2036 is using data-driven insight to spotlight capacity issues that the state is facing, and showing how a coordinated response can achieve a better quality of life for all.

2036 is a big year for Texas. It’s the bicentennial! What better way to celebrate 200 years of the Lone Star State than by improving the lives of its residents, including accessible and affordable high-quality health care for all.