AUSTIN — Today, the Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) unveiled a comprehensive policy agenda promoting marriage, family formation, and putting Texas children on a path to prosperity. This is the latest addition to TPPF’s Liberty Action Agenda for Texas’ 90th Legislative Session.
“Despite the family’s central role in instilling personal and social responsibility, no other institution has been faced with so many challenges that make a family seem unattainable or even undesirable,” said policy analyst Noah Torres. “If Texans want to ensure a bright future not only for their children, but for all Texans, the state must face these challenges and strengthen the family by eliminating barriers to family formation, protecting families from exploitation by Big Tech, ensuring social programs adequately support families, and ensuring parents remain their children’s first teachers. The future of our common home—Texas—depends on happy and healthy families in each of our homes, and these priorities are an essential step toward that future.”
“Young Texans are being told by our culture and by misguided government policy that marriage and family are too expensive, too risky, or simply outdated. That message is wrong, and it has left too many children without the stability they deserve.” said policy scholar Hannah Bruck. “Texas must take a confident, unapologetically pro-family approach that strengthens marriage, promotes responsible fatherhood, protects parental rights, reforms child welfare, and shields children from harmful digital platforms. These priorities reflect both compassion and common sense and position Texas to lead a true cultural renewal rooted in strong families.”
The Family Success Project policy agenda includes:
Improving TANF Programs to Strengthen Marriage and Family: Reorients TANF to prioritize promoting two-parent families and measures program success through clear metrics.
Child Support at Conception: Allows courts to order child support payments starting at conception to provide financial support for mothers and promote father accountability.
Establishing the Texas Office of Parental Rights: Creates an enforcement office within the Attorney General’s office to protect parental rights across multiple domains.
Success Sequence Education: Requires instruction on the ‘Success Sequence’—graduation, full-time work, marriage before children—to reduce poverty and promote family success.
Child Welfare Reform: Expand upon success transforming the culture of child welfare to prioritize family integrity, reduce the number of children who enter foster care, and improve the quality of services intended to protect children and preserve families.
Prohibit Social Media Companies from Peddling their Addictive, Harmful Product to Minors: Prohibits minors from accessing social media to mitigate mental health harms and exploitation risks.
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