Texas’ rolls of cash assistance recipients under its TANF program have steadily shrunk over the last two decades. Some experts say the bureaucracy guarding the state’s safety net makes it difficult to access those benefits, even for Texans who fit the requirements.
2017
Posted in
Guides
Hey, Texplainer: How much money does Texas spend per child through CHIP?
During the next two fiscal years, Texas is set to spend roughly $200 per child per month through the Children’s Health Insurance Program.
Posted inState Government
Analysis: Texas has more than one problem with government rats
The infestation of Norwegian rats in a state building where health regulators work is not only a big, embarrassing mess — it’s a metaphor for a persistent problem in Texas government.
Posted in
Congress
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton retiring after graphic photo posted online
U.S. Rep. Joe Barton, the longest-serving Texan in Congress, announced that he is retiring after a tumultuous week.
Posted in
Criminal Justice
Texas reform advocates want to close all state-run youth lockups
Juvenile justice reform advocates want all the state’s youth lockups closed after the department’s latest sexual misconduct scandal.
Posted in
Courts
Texas appears to concede voting rights case on language interpreter law
It appears that Texas will not ask the U.S. Supreme Court to take up a case against the state’s restrictions on language interpreters at the ballot box, letting a lower court ruling stand.
Posted inState Government
The Brief: Poverty rates steady while welfare slashed, parents worry over end of CHIP, and is Lupe Valdez running for governor or not?
Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez denied reports Wednesday night that she had resigned ahead of a gubernatorial run, a deadline looms for the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the state’s poverty rates have remained consistent as welfare has seen a big drop.
Posted inState Government
How Texas curtailed traditional welfare without ending poverty
Though poverty rates have remained consistent, Texas has significantly reduced the traditional welfare it provides to poor Texans through cash assistance over the last two decades.
Posted in
Health care
Texas parents wait in limbo as policymakers struggle to save Children’s Health Insurance Program
Texas is pushing the federal government for temporary funding for the Children’s Health Insurance Program while Congress fights over a permanent solution.
Posted in
Texas Elections 2018
Despite reports, Dallas County sheriff says she hasn’t resigned to run for governor
Democratic Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez says she’s still considering a run for governor, but that reports that she has resigned are false.
