{"id":62,"date":"2026-05-21T23:07:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-21T23:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=62"},"modified":"2026-05-21T23:07:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-21T23:07:09","slug":"texas-lawmakers-pull-funding-for-child-identification-kits-again-after-newsrooms-report-they-dont-work","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=62","title":{"rendered":"Texas Lawmakers Pull Funding for Child Identification Kits Again After Newsrooms Report They Don\u2019t Work"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Texas state legislators dropped efforts to spend millions of dollars to buy what experts call ineffective child identification kits weeks after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported that lawmakers were again trying to fund the program.<\/p>

Read more North Dakota Ethics Commission Has No Authority to Punish Officials Violating Ethics Laws, State Leaders Argue<\/a><\/p>\n

This is the second consecutive budget cycle in which the Legislature considered purchasing the products, which promise to help find missing children, only to reverse course after the news organizations documented the lack of evidence that the kits work.<\/p>\n

ProPublica and the Tribune originally published their findings in a 2023 investigation that revealed the state had spent millions of dollars on child identification kits made by a Waco-based company called the National Child Identification Program, run by former NFL player Kenny Hansmire. He had a history of legal and business troubles, according to public records, and although less expensive alternatives were available to lawmakers, Hansmire used outdated and exaggerated statistics about missing children to help boost sales.<\/p>\n

He also managed to develop connections with powerful Texas legislators who supported his initiatives. In 2021, Republican state Sen. Donna Campbell authored a bill that created a Texas child safety program. The measure all but guaranteed any state funding would go to Hansmire\u2019s business whenever lawmakers allotted money for child identification kits. That year, the state awarded his company about $5.7 million for the kits.<\/p>\n

Two years later, both the House and the Senate proposed spending millions more on the program. But when the final budget was published, about a month after the newsrooms\u2019 investigation, legislators had pulled the funding. They declined to answer questions about why.<\/p>\n

Funding for the program appeared again in this year\u2019s House budget. State Rep. Armando Martinez, a Democratic member of the lower chamber\u2019s budget committee, suggested allotting $2 million to buy the kits for students in kindergarten through the second grade. The Senate, however, didn\u2019t include that funding in its version of the budget.<\/p>

Read more Inside Elon Musk\u2019s Stellar Year at the Texas Capitol<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The newsrooms published a story in early May about the proposed spending plan. The final version of the budget that lawmakers passed this week again had no designated funding for the identification kits.<\/p>\n

Campbell, Martinez and the leaders of the House and Senate budget committees did not respond to the newsrooms\u2019 interview requests for this story or written questions about why the funding didn\u2019t make the final cut.<\/p>\n

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Read More<\/h3>\n
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\"\"<\/figure>\n <\/div>\n
\nA Former NFL Player Persuaded Politicians That His Child ID Kits Help Find Missing Kids. There\u2019s No Evidence They Do.<\/strong>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Hansmire did not reply to an interview request this week. In a prior response, he told the newsrooms he\u2019d resolved his financial troubles and said that his company\u2019s kits have helped identify missing children, though he did not provide any concrete examples. Hansmire told reporters to reach out to \u201cany policeman,\u201d naming several departments specifically. The newsrooms contacted a number of them. Of the dozen Texas law enforcement agencies that responded to the queries, none could identify one case where the kits helped find a runaway or kidnapped child.<\/p>\n

Stacey Pearson, a child safety consultant who previously oversaw the Louisiana Clearinghouse for Missing and Exploited Children, said legislators made the correct decision to eliminate the identification kits from the budget because there is no data proving they actually help improve kids\u2019 safety. She remains disappointed that Texas lawmakers continue to give the program any attention and hopes they won\u2019t contemplate the funding in the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery dollar and every minute, every hour that you spend on a program like this, is a dollar and a minute and an hour that you can\u2019t spend on something that is more promising or more sound,\u201d said Pearson.<\/p>

Read more Elon Musk Hired a Dozen Texas Lobbyists This Year. State Law Keeps the Extent of Their Influence Under Wraps.<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For the second legislative session, lawmakers have withdrawn funding for a company selling kits that promise to help find missing kids after ProPublica and The Texas Tribune reported there\u2019s no evidence to support that claim.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4],"class_list":["post-62","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-politics","tag-politics"],"yoast_head":"\nTexas Lawmakers Pull Funding for Child Identification Kits Again After Newsrooms Report They Don\u2019t Work - Moving Services America<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/movingservicesamerica.com\/?p=62\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Texas Lawmakers Pull Funding for Child Identification Kits Again After Newsrooms Report They Don\u2019t Work - 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