The Legal Eagle of East Texas

  For generations, Texans have become dominant figures in Washington influencing national politics. Despite the state sending more Republicans to Congress than any other state following this year’s election, Texans so far have made little inroads when it comes to President-elect Donald Trump’s  C abinet and high-level staff appointments .  Trump has tapped several allies from Florida for top appointments like the secretary of state and attorney general. So far, Texas has seen only one major appointment: John Ratcliffe, the former Texas congressman who is Trump’s pick for CIA director. “I don't think it's a conscious decision to exclude Texas or to give Texans short shrift or anything like that,” said Southern Methodist University political science professor Matthew Wilson. “I think it's largely driven by personalities. There have not been as many Texans as there have been Floridians in Trump's inner circle. Since Trump does seem to put such a premium on loyalty and pers...

  During the Texas 88th legislative session, Rider 45 [1]  in House Bill 1 was passed, which requires providers to report on information on referrals they have received by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) or a Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC). Moving forward, DFPS must publish a report by September 30 of each year. For those children in the care of the legacy system, DFPS will utilize the General Placement Search (GPS) application to track the number of children referred to each provider, the number the resulted in an admission or not, and the reasons for denial in the provider contacts. For those children in care of an SSCC, the SSCC will be providing their data to DFPS.   What is Required From Providers? Providers are now required to respond to  all  placement requests with an acceptance or denial.  If declining a placement,  providers must include the denial reason  (i.e. insufficient capacity, child charac...

Why We, the people, Started a Watchdog Group! Voting may determine who heads a government and its agencies, but it will not necessarily ensure that the operations of that government or its agencies are honest, open, and accountable to the citizens.   Government accountability is hindered by secrecy, helped by exposure to the public view. New forms of citizen action can assure that local governments are accountable to their citizens on more than Election Day. Political corruption and its costs, Whether because there has been an increase in political corruption or because there has been a decrease in willingness to tolerate political corruption .. indictments and convictions of office holders have proliferated in recent years. Political corruption is not a victimless crime All residents of an area whose government is corrupt suffer as a result of that corruption, either in higher taxes or in lower service levels. • In addition to fiscal costs, political corruption incurs social ...