Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)
Acting on direction from the Texas Legislature, the health and human services agencies have started
activities that lay the groundwork for transformation of the health and human services system. The
following information was taken from the HHSC Connection.
Contrary to what some might believe, the 84th Texas Legislature did not approve beginning-to-end
instructions for how the health and human services agencies should reorganize. Yes, Sunset legislation
was approved, but those bills, for the most part, painted in broad strokes the Legislature’s vision for a
transformed, more efficient and effective HHS system. Many details for how to make that vision reality
were left to agency leadership.
The first detailed picture of what a transformed health and human services system will look like — down
to the program and division level — will surface sometime before March 2016. On or before that date,
HHSC must submit to a legislative committee overseeing the HHS transformation, a transition plan for
reorganizing the HHS system along functional lines. That plan, according to legislation, must establish the
following divisions within one agency, HHSC:
? Medical and social services
? Regulatory
? Administrative
? Facilities
? Office of policy and performance
? Office of inspector general
? Any other division determined to be necessary
The legislative intent is to consolidate all HHS client services, regulatory functions, as well as
administrative and support services, within HHSC, while leaving DSHS and DFPS as agencies focused on
public health and protective services respectively. Results of an upcoming functional review will help
define broad labels like client services and administrative and support services, and help determine what
functions move to HHSC and which ones stay at DSHS and DFPS.
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