(AUSTIN) — The Texas Department of Housing and Community Affairs (TDHCA) today announced a $51,600 award to Hidalgo County to help reduce the number of migrant farmworker households living in poverty and help them transition toward greater self-sufficiency.

The Hidalgo County Community Service Agency will use the funds to assist migrant farmworker households reach their intended destination, as well as educational or training opportunities that include tuition at a local institution of higher education.

“Helping Texans transition out of poverty and toward self-sufficiency is a critical component of TDHCA’s mission,” noted TDHCA Executive Director Tim Irvine. “Migrant farmworkers have unique needs that might otherwise go unmet, making it more difficult for these individuals to ever achieve self-reliance. Through partnerships with stakeholders like the Hidalgo County Community Service Agency, we can soon measure success not by the number of people we help, but by the number who longer depend on our assistance.”

The award was part of a $670,600 discretionary fund award under the Community Services Block Grant (CSBG) Program and represents a portion of the state’s $32.4 million annual allocation from the federal government.

In addition to Hidalgo County, also awarded discretionary funds to one county and two nonprofit organizations serving migrant farmworkers; and both the Texas Homeless Network and Texas Association of Community Action Agencies, two statewide organizations providing technical assistance and training to TDHCA funded homeless services providers and to CSBG eligible entities.

The CSBG Program assists households earning no more than 125 percent of the federal poverty guideline, which equals an annual income of $28,812.50 for a family of four. Funding for the program comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and supports a variety of direct services in addition to helping maintain the core administrative elements of local partner organizations.