Testimony on Interim Charge 1:…

Temporary Assistance for Two-Parent Families in Texas: Reorienting TANF Toward Integral Human Development and Flourishing

Temporary Assistance for Two-Parent Families in Texas: Reorienting TANF Toward Integral Human Development and Flourishing   Key points: TANF was designed to promote two-parent family stability, but current implementation in Texas diverts funds away from this core purpose. Strong empirical evidence shows that children in two-parent households experience better educational, economic, and behavioral outcomes. Texas TANF...

Safer Communities Through Second Chances: The Case for Federal Expungement

When criminal records follow people forever, families struggle, employers lose workers, and communities lose productive citizens. Federal law offers almost no path to redemption, even though second chances strengthen public safety and the economy. Key Points The federal expungement system is effectively nonexistent. Permanent criminal records for non-violent federal offenses undermine work opportunities, family stability,...

Mexican Cartels Have Infiltrated Our Cities

Mexican cartels, with dangerous motives, have quietly and consistently infiltrated urban areas across the United States, leaving everyone to wonder about the scale and scope of their impact. Arrests have been made in the brutal killing of a pregnant San Antonio woman and her boyfriend—in what police say is a drug-related crime. Savanah Nicole Soto,...