Social services screener upsets House members
Source: By POLLY ROSS HUGHES, Houston Chronicle,April 18, 2006, 11:36AM
AUSTIN - Angry House budget writers demanded Monday to know if the state will consider firing a new private contractor — or barring it from other state jobs — if its staffers continue bumping eligible Texans from health and welfare services. The contract with Texas Access Alliance, headed by outsourcing giant Accenture LLP, is part of a major overhaul of eligibility screening of social services for children, the elderly, disabled and poor. While lawmakers once were told the project would save the state $646 million over five years, that's now in doubt.