Building an ESD System for Texas
Note: To help the reader navigate this report, a chart of acronyms is provided at the beginning of Chapter 2 in Exhibit 1 .
2.8 Building an ESD System for Texas
To begin the process of developing a strategic plan for ESD in Texas, several essential factors must be explored. These include identifying specific populations; determining services and service delivery methods; and assessing how ESD would affect access to the services. The TESD project team addressed each of these factors, and one of the first activities to occur was to accumulate and review available documentation. Two major reference documents are: State of EBT and Direct Deposit in Texas41 and Texas EBT Alternatives Analysis42 These reports include the identification of 30 programs in more than 15 agencies that could potentially benefit from some form of ESD. This information was the starting point for the strategic plan. Exhibit 3 is a list of the programs included in these two documents. 45
Exhibit 3 Source: Interagency Task Force on EBT and the Texas Department of Human Services.
ESD CANDIDATE PROGRAMS
PROGRAM AGENCY BENEFIT/ACCESS TYPE Childcare TWC Identification and Eligibility Child Support OAG Cash Child Support Supplemental Grant (TANF) TDHS/OAG Cash Employees Retirement System of Texas ERS Cash Family Violence TDPRS Identification and Eligibility Federal Direct Payments Federal Cash Firefighters Pension State Cash Food Assistance to Legal Aliens TDHS Cash Food Stamp Program TDHS Cash Foster Care TDPRS Identification and Eligibility In-Home and Family Support Services TXMHMR Cash and Information Lone Star Imaging System (LSIS) TDHS Fraud Deterrence and Detection Long-Term Care Aged and disabled Community Care TDHS Identification and Eligibility Long-Term Care Medical TDHS Identification and Eligibility Medicaid ID Form TDHS/TDH Identification and Eligibility Petty Cash * Cash Refugee Resettlement TDHS Cash Special Nutrition Programs TDHS Restricted Cash Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) TDH Food Prescribed Benefits State Payroll CPA Cash TANF (Cash Subsidy) TDHS Cash TANF - One Time Payment TDHS Cash Teacher Retirement System of Texas TRS Cash Texas Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired TCB Undetermined Texas Department of Criminal Justice TDCJ Undetermined Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs TDHCA Undetermined TexMedNet TDH Identification and Eligibility Transportation TxDOT Cash Unemployment Insurance TWC Cash
* Not tied to a specific agency.Interviews, either in person or by telephone, were held with most of the agencies providing the services identified in the reports. This included over 30 formal meetings and numerous individual and small group discussions with state agencies, advocacy groups, and other organizations with a direct or indirect interest in ESD in Texas. The results of these interviews and other research provide a snapshot of the agencies/programs and include goals, target populations, the current processes for service delivery, and information related to ESD. A summary of the interviews with state agencies is provided below. The reports, in their entirety, are found in Appendix A.