After the abortion ban, Texas added resources for needy families. Or did he?

As needy families wait in line for diapers and food at social resource centers, Texas funnels millions of dollars it doesn’t track into the bank accounts of nonprofits that may or may not provide the services the state pays them for. Lawmakers should review the program next session to ensure it has adequate oversight.

Recent reporting from ProPublica and CBS News raises questions about whether tens of millions of dollars for a state program for needy mothers and fathers is working as intended. Thriving Texas Families, formerly known as Alternatives to Abortion, offers services like parenting classes and counseling, as well as items like car seats, diapers and formula, through a nonprofit network. But the news outlet’s investigation revealed a troubling lack of accountability about how the money is being used.

Under the program, a nonprofit can bill the state $14 for distributing a few diapers — some nonprofits get them for free through diaper banks — or for distributing a single pamphlet, ProPublica and CBS News reported. Reporters found that a nonprofit that received $3.5 million through Thriving Texas Families spent less than $1 million on program services. But records reviewed by reporters showed the group added more than $2 million in assets, mostly in cash.

This is not to say that all nonprofits in the program use the funding in questionable ways. But the problem is that taxpayers can’t know for sure because the state doesn’t track the money it pays these groups.

State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, chairwoman of the Health and Human Services Committee, told us in an email that the legislation she authored, which renamed the program Texas Thriving Families, provided more railings than it had before. The legislation included provisions that the Health and Human Services Commission could spend only up to 3 percent of the program’s funding on administration costs and that it must hire a third party to evaluate the program’s effectiveness. Kolkhorst said the commission told him it would fully implement the law, including its oversight provisions, in 2025.

The program’s most recent fiscal report did not provide a detailed breakdown of program spending, so it’s unclear how much funds were spent on actual baby items like formula. Instead, the report focused on awareness-raising outcomes such as advertising campaigns and pamphlet distribution.

Drawing attention to these services is not a bad thing. But awareness cannot be the focus of these programs. What families need most are advice and articles to help them care for their babies, not educational pamphlets.

After banning abortion in almost all cases, Texas lawmakers chose to increase funding for the Texas Thriving Families program. They must show that their concern for the well-being of low-income families is genuine by taking steps to ensure that the money actually helps these parents and their children.

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