Texas Social Worker Turned Legislator Is a Champion for All Children

In the words of a legislative colleague in Texas, state Representative Vilma Luna is "a champion for children, economic development and a judicial system that is fair, diverse and accountable."

Luna (Flemming Fellow `97) advocates many of the same priorities she championed long before she became a legislator. Prior to her legislative tenure, she was an attorney for a county agency of Children’s Protective Services and, before that, a social worker.

Now Luna has fought successfully for a bill that brings new attention and resources to investigations of child abuse and neglect. HB 3778 will create positions for several new child protection investigators who will focus on cases with multiple referrals. These new investigators will "heighten awareness of red flag cases," says Luna.

Special education students and the families of those whose native language is not English are beneficiaries of three of Luna’s bills this session. HB 1275 will require a good faith effort be made to translate education plans for students with disabilities into the parents’ native language.

Luna works to balance community needs with economic development. Three years ago, she was instrumental in reshaping Smart Jobs — a tool to attract employers — to better distribute job training to economically distressed areas of the state. This session, she led the effort to reauthorize the Smart Jobs legislation.