The Public Welfare Act of 1939 (Senate Bill 36, 46th Legislature, Regular Session) created the Texas Department of Public Welfare. Previously, the Child Welfare Division of the Board of Control (established in 1931 but not funded until 1935), the Texas Relief Commission (1933-1934, later part of the Board of Control, 1934-1939), and the Old Age Assistance Commission (1936-1939) had performed parts of the new agency's functions. The Department of Public Welfare (DPW) became the Department of Human Resources (DHR) in 1977 (Senate Bill 1325, 65th Legislature, Regular Session), and the Department of Human Services (DHS) in 1985 (Senate Bill 351, 69th Legislature, Regular Session).

The department currently has the following broad functions. It administers state and federal programs serving low-income families with children, and elderly or disabled persons, including the following: temporary financial assistance for basic family needs; nutritional assistance; access to health care; nursing home and community-based care. It regulates long-term care facilities. It administers programs for survivors of family violence and victims of natural disasters.

More specifically, a variety of programs have been administered by DHS over the years, including the following examples.

Financial assistance programs (utilizing both federal and state funding sources) have included the following: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), which is the current focus for DHS; Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC); Old Age Assistance (OAA); Aid to the Permanently and Totally Disabled (APTD); Aid to the Blind and Disabled (ABD); Food Stamp Program; Commodity Distribution Program; several Refugee Programs (the Office of Immigration and Refugee Affairs was transferred from the Governor's office in 1995); Repatriation of U.S. Citizens Program; Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (HEAP), and Temporary Emergency Relief Program (TERP) (transferred to the Department of Housing and Community Affairs in September 1992); and Disaster Assistance.

Medical assistance is (or has been) provided through the following: Medicaid, which is financed through a combination of federal and state funding, and is state-administered; purchased health, indigent health, and preventive health services, like Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnosis, and Treatment (EPSDT) (these programs were transferred to the Texas Department of Health in September 1993); and regulation (licensing and certification) of long-term care facilities (transferred from the Department of Health in September 1993).

Social services include (or have included) the following: Child Care Program, Job Training Work Experience Program, Refocus Pilot Project, Employment and Training Program, and the Work Incentive (WIN) Program (all transferred to the Texas Workforce Commission in June 1996); Child Protective Services (which includes adoption and foster care), Adult Protective Services, and Child-Care Licensing (transferred to the newly-created Department of Protective and Regulatory Services in September 1992); Services for Runaways and At-Risk Youth Program (transferred to Protective and Regulatory Services in September 1993); Child Support Enforcement (transferred to the Attorney General in 1985); and licensing and regulation of nursing home facility administrators (transferred to DHS in 1997 when the Texas Board of Nursing Facility Administrators was abolished).

The governing Board of Human Services (previously called Board of Human Resources and, before that, Board of Public Welfare) is composed of six members (expanded from three members in 1989), appointed by the governor with the advice and consent of the senate, for overlapping six-year terms. Board members must possess demonstrated interest in, and knowledge of, human services. The members elect a chair. The board appoints the chief administrative officer, called variously the Executive Director of Public Welfare, the Commissioner of Public Welfare (beginning in 1941), the Commissioner of Human Resources, or the Commissioner of Human Services.

Over the years the administrative structure of the Department has undergone significant and very frequent change. A consistent feature of the Department, however, has been the division of work between the State offices (which develop and coordinate programs) and the regional offices (which actually deliver the services). Texas is currently divided into 10 regions.

As of April 1999, the Department is organized into eleven offices. Six of them report directly to the Executive Deputy Commissioner: Deputy Commissioner, Management Information Systems; Deputy Commissioner, Program Integrity; Associate Commissioner, Long Term Care Regulatory; Deputy Commissioner, Regional Operations; Deputy Commissioner, Office of Programs; and Director, Executive Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Project Management. Four offices report directly to the Commissioner: Chief Financial Officer; Associate Commissioner, Government Relations; Associate Commissioner, Legal Services; and Deputy Commissioner, Support Services. One office, Internal Auditor, reports directly to the Board. The Department employed 15,841.5 full-time equivalent employees in 1999.

House Bill 2292 (78th Legislature, Regular Session, 2003) merged twelve state health and human services agencies into five, officially abolishing the Texas Department on Human Services, and dividing its functions into two state agencies: the newly created Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), and the already existing Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC).

This legislation consolidates community care and nursing home services programs of the Texas Department of Human Services, mental retardation and state school programs of the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation, and aging services programs of the Texas Department on Aging into the new Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services. The new Department of Aging and Disability Services will begin consolidated (i.e., integrated) operations in spring/summer 2004.

The legislation also consolidates Medicaid, the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP), Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) policy, family violence services, refugee services, nutrition programs, and early childhood coordination programs under the already existing Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC). Medicaid and CHIP programs were consolidated under HHSC during the 2002-03 biennium. Integration of the remaining programs under HHSC will be completed by June 2004.