After COVID, Texas is less prepared for the next pandemic
Five years after Texas’ first COVID death, the state spends less on public health, vaccination rates have dropped and a distrust of authority has taken hold. Full Story
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Stephen Simpson is the mental health reporter, based in Austin, where he covers behavioral health in schools, treatment in the judicial system, substance abuse and the state mental health system, among other topics. He previously worked in his home state of Arkansas as a politics reporter, where he covered the state's Supreme Court, House of Representatives and correctional system for the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Stephen's earliest career experiences include reporting and copy editing at The Jonesboro Sun and The Pine Bluff Commercial. He earned a degree in online and print journalism with a minor in filmmaking from the University of Central Arkansas.
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Credit: Illustration by Diana Branzan for The Texas Tribune -
Obstacles slow Texas’ effort to improve conditions at substance abuse recovery homes
A new law was meant to uphold standards at homes where substance abusers are trying to rebuild their lives. But compliance is proving difficult. Full Story
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![House of Extra Measures residents during a meeting at a home in Houston, Texas, on March 2, 2025.]()
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Texas Senate advances bill to start a $3 billion dementia research fund
The legislation would require voters to approve the $3 billion start-up cost, and then the fund would be maintained at no more than $300 million annually. Full Story
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![State Senators discuss a Point of Order on an amendment to the SJR 1 property tax bill to include a bonus for Texas teachers, with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick on the Senate floor during the first day of the second special session at the state Capitol in Austin on June 28, 2023.]()
Credit: Evan L'Roy/The Texas Tribune -
Texas mental health licensing board gives initial OK to remove training requirement associated with DEI
Officials say the motive for the change to the rule requiring mental health providers to receive cultural diversity or competency training for license renewals has been misunderstood. Full Story
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![Psychotherapist Monrovia Van Hoose's office on Friday, Mar. 11, 2022.]()
Credit: Lauren Witte/The Texas Tribune -
Texas measles cases rise to 279. Here is what you need to know.
West Texas measles outbreak still limited to 11 counties, as of Tuesday. All but two of 279 infected patients were unvaccinated. Full Story
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![Devonay Pena comforts her 13-month-old daughter, Jaqi Herrera, after Herrera received her first dose of the MMR vaccine at the City of Lubbock Health Department in Lubbock on Feb. 27, 2025.]()
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Every month, hundreds of Texas children are waitlisted for a mental health program billed as an alternative to foster care
Despite a long waitlist, the number of children served in the YES Waiver program has declined because of provider shortages. Full Story
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![YES Waiver Participant Quin Heston and his mother, Nidia Chairez Heston, stand outside their home in Austin on Jan. 27, 2025.]()
Credit: Julia Zeddies for The Texas Tribune -
Measles cases reported in Texas as vaccine rate against the disease has fallen
Two of the four cases are in Lubbock, which hasn’t seen a case in more than 20 years. Meanwhile, measles vaccination rates in Texas have fallen over the last four years. Full Story
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![A vaccine vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) is pictured at the International Community Health Services clinic in Seattle, Washington, on March 20, 2019.]()
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Social media isn’t the only cause of mental health woes among Texas youth, advocates say
Social media’s danger on youth mental health has captured the attention of Texas lawmakers, at times, eclipsing focus on bigger threats — provider shortages and funding cuts to programs. Full Story
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![Social media appliations are seen grouped on a mobile device in this illustration photo taken in Warsaw, Poland on 16 January, 2025.]()
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Texas lawmakers eye sharing health care workers with other states to address provider shortages
Advocates say interstate compacts, which allow professionals to use their work licenses in multiple states, can solve Texas’ workforce shortage. Skeptics fear Texas would send more workers than it would receive. Full Story
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![Scenes from UT Health San Antonio’s NOW Clinic on Tuesday, July 16, 2024, at the NOW Clinic in San Antonio, Tx. The New Opportunities for Wellness (NOW) Clinic provides San Antonio with quick and reliable behavioral health services from professionals.]()
Credit: Olivia Anderson/The Texas Tribune -
Amid a $7 million deficit to Texas’ suicide hotline, thousands of calls are abandoned monthly
The state’s 988 suicide had the nation’s fifth highest rate of abandoned calls in August, the latest data available, amid a multi-million funding deficit that could worsen as federal dollars expire this year. Full Story
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![A sign for the national suicide and crisis hotline number, 988, is posted at a North Austin parking lot, on Friday, Jan. 3, 2025.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune