The latest Health And Human Services Commission news from The Texas Tribune.
Dozens of experienced senior staff members have left Texas' health and human services agency, saying morale has sunk under the new executive director, and critics say it's hampered the state's ability to aid victims of Hurricane Harvey. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/08/15/StateAffairs0379TT_.JPG)
Food banks, pantries and other food access advocates are bracing for increased need in communities that struggled with food insecurity even before Hurricane Harvey — and planning how to meet needs in the months of recovery still ahead. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/09/20/HARVEYSNAP2_MS_TT.jpg)
Therapists who work with disabled children in their homes saw a glimmer of hope this year, when Texas lawmakers decided to restore some of the funds they cut for such services in 2015. It was short-lived. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/05/02/20160429-TXT-Richmond001.jpg)
The Heidi Group, an anti-abortion organization, is losing $4.1 million in state funding to offer reproductive health services for women after failing to serve as many patients as it thought it could. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/06/27/_Choiceworks012_room.jpg)
House lawmakers tentatively approved a series of bills Monday aimed at helping Texas curb its unusually high rate of women dying less than a year after childbirth. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2018/01/15/MaternalMortality_leadart.png)
The University of Texas Medical Branch and Hill Country MHDD Centers have put the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on notice that they’re ending services through the Early Childhood Intervention program. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/ChidrenHands.jpg)
The House grudgingly voted to accept the Senate's supplemental budget proposal, which would not restore funding for disabled children's therapy services. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/25/__BDC4587_Zerwas_.jpg)
Both chambers passed bills on Tuesday aimed at curbing postpartum depression and the alarming rise in Texas mothers dying less than a year after giving birth. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Pregnant-Mother-Holding-Belly.jpg)
With a Republican president in the White House, Texas health officials are seeking to restore federal family planning funding they gave up under the Obama administration to take a stand against Planned Parenthood. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/15/Womens_Health_Blanca_LS_TT.jpg)
Stuart Bowen, inspector general for the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, resigned amid revelations that he was moonlighting for a private firm that provided services for the government of Iraq. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/05/11/Stuart_Bowen_TT.jpg)
Easter Seals East Texas officials have put the Texas Health and Human Services Commission on notice they are ending services for 230 children in the Brazos Valley area on Aug. 31. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/04/04/Capitol-Health.jpg)
Both Republican and Democratic members of a key legislative oversight committee unloaded on Gov. Greg Abbott’s top health appointee Thursday, putting him and others on the hot seat for hours about alleged contracting abuses. Full Story
State Rep. Giovanni Capriglione is demanding to know why dozens of large Texas Health and Human Services Commission contracts don't appear in the state's budget watchdog's database. The agency says it isn't responsible for the problem. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/files/d5113915df216293c19ff8879d0f5638/BD%20INC%20Giovanni%20Capriglione%20TT%20NYT%202013)
The Texas House Committee on State Affairs weighed a bill on Wednesday that would require the burial or cremation of fetal remain. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/06/Fetal_Protest_2_CR_TT.jpg)
State officials have done a lot of work to stop sex trafficking in Texas, but the results revealed by the Tribune's Sold Out series are demoralizing. The state's own safety net is part of the pipeline for victims of trafficking. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/02/08/Sarah-LEAD-CCR_4850.jpg)
After three days of testimony from attorneys for the state and Planned Parenthood, U.S. District Judge Sam Sparks is letting the reproductive health provider stay in Medicaid until Feb. 21. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2015/10/24/PlannedParenthood_EATX.jpg)
Showing multiple clips from a video released in 2015 by the anti-abortion group Center for Medical Progress, state attorneys and witnesses said the footage was grounds for dismissing Planned Parenthood from Medicaid. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/Planned-Parenthood-Sticker.jpg)
Texas House and Senate leaders are starting out the legislative session nearly $8 billion apart according in dueling budget proposals released Tuesday. Among the sticking points: spending on public education and border security. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2013/04/02/ExpandingBudget-MoneyBagInCapitol.jpg)
Reproductive rights advocates have expressed concern that Texas lawmakers will take bolder steps in the upcoming session to defund abortion providers and dismantle access to abortion, birth control and other sexual health services. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2017/01/06/Fetal_Protest_1_CR_TT.jpg)
Here’s a look at the top health and human services storylines The Texas Tribune tracked this year. Full Story
/https://static.texastribune.org/media/images/2016/12/09/TT-year-in-review2016-Health-SpencerSelvidge.jpeg)