Recent Changes in Texas Welfare and Work, Child Care, and Child Welfare Systems. State Update No. 1. Assessing the New Federalism: An Urban Institute Program To Assess Changing Social Policies.

This brief updates an overview of welfare benefits and services in Texas in 1997, when House Bill 1863 and the federal Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 first went into effect. Since 1997, Texas and 12 other states from the Assessing the New Federalism study have implemented many changes in social safety net services. This brief highlights Temporary Assistance for Needy Family (TANF) benefits and employment services, workforce development, child care, and child welfare. It presents a demographic, economic, and political overview of the state, describing its safety net structure and summarizing changes in caseloads since 1997. It examines changes in the TANF/workforce development, child care, and child welfare systems. Texas remains a low-benefit state with the highest rate of children without health insurance and nearly the lowest TANF and Medicaid benefit, eligibility, and coverage level among the states studied. Texas is ahead in implementing provisions of the Workforce Investment Act. Child care coverage has increased since 1997. Child welfare remains a state-administered system. The devolution of workforce development and child care programs to local workforce development boards has created large variation in service availability, quality, and efficiency statewide. (Contains 28 endnotes.) (SM)