Texas Department Of Human Serv Essay, Research Paper

Texas Department of Human Services

The Texas Department of Human Services was established in 1939. Formally known as the Texas Department of Public Welfare (DPW). DPW took the Old Age Relief Commission, the Child Welfare Division and the Texas Relief Commission.

The mission of the Texas Department of Human Services is to provide financial, health, and human services that promote the greatest possible independence and personal responsibility for all clients. (www.dhs.state.tx.us)

The Philosophy of the Texas Department of Human Services is as follows: They are committed to respect their clients. They are committed to have excellence within their staff. They are committed to quality they provide to assure responsiveness to the needs of their clients. They are committed to wise use of public funds. They are committed to accountability. They are committed to partnership. And last but not least they are committed to equitable access.

The Texas Department of Human Services has four Public Service goals, two Regulation and Enforcement goals, one Skilled Workforce goal and one Responsibility and Effective Management goal. The goals are as follows:

Quality Public Service Goal 1: Foster an organizational culture that focuses on program excellence by providing easy access and highest quality service delivery to the families and individuals we serve. Goal 2: Increase our emphasis on prevention and early intervention, particularly in the critical areas of long-term welfare dependency, family violence, and teen pregnancy. Goal 3: Work collaboratively with our state, federal, local communities, and other stakeholder partners to develop new and innovative ways to better serve our clients. Goal 4: Enhance the integrity, service delivery, and benefit issuance through increased payment accuracy and fraud detection and prevention efforts.

Regulation and Enforcement Goal 5: Eliminate fraud and abuse in the delivery of services to ensure that quality benefits are provided to the most vulnerable citizens of this state. Goal 6: Improve regulatory oversight of long-term care facilities to ensure that residents receive high quality care and services and are protected from abuse, neglect, and exploitation.

Skilled Workforce Goal 7: Recruit, retain, and develop a skilled and diverse DHS workforce.

Responsible and Effective Management Goal 8: Manage agency operations and funds wisely to meet the needs of Texas citizens. (This was taken directly from the Texas Department of Human Services located at www.dhs.state.tx.us.)

The Texas Department of Human Services provides a wide range of programs for families in the state of Texas, an example of one of these programs is the Child and Adult Nutrition programs include the Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP). CACFP provides cash reimbursement to child and adult day-care providers for serving meals to participants who meet U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) standards. This is a way to encourage providers and daycare centers to provide children with a well rounded and nutritionally balanced meal.