HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES COMMISSION

The infectious disease doctor has been at the helm of the department in an interim capacity since the fall, replacing longtime commissioner Dr. John Hellerstedt following his retirement. Shuford has been at the agency since 2017.

As public debate intensifies over how the state will divvy up billions in new money, community groups that treat children for mental illness fear they’re not a priority.

Texas agencies say they are being hammered by a historic staffing crisis, particularly when it comes to those in the trenches serving the state’s most vulnerable populations.

Dr. John Hellerstedt, who has led the Texas Department of State Health Services since 2016, will retire at the end of the month. Dr. Jennifer Shuford, the chief state epidemiologist, has been named his interim replacement.

Created in 2019, the Texas Child Mental Health Care Consortium identifies distressed students and refers them to mental health services.

The state’s poorest mothers are paying hundreds of dollars out of pocket when they find baby formula because they say they can’t risk waiting for the exact brand and size container covered by Texas’ Women, Infant and Children program.

More children are being treated in Texas hospitals for COVID-19 than ever before, and an unseasonable outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus is adding to the stress on children’s hospitals.

A federal attorney claims an order from Gov. Greg Abbott violates the U.S. Constitution’s Supremacy Clause and said legal action could follow if the state carries through with plans to pull licenses from the federally contracted facilities.

Texas state officials, including those in Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, knew for months that foster children were being illegally housed in an emergency shelter cited hundreds of times for dangerous conditions — but failed to report the violation to court-appointed watchdogs tasked with monitoring the state’s foster care system, according to court records.