Hidalgo County Commissioners Court on Feb. 24 recognized the Hidalgo County Community Service Agency's (CSA) Access to Success program and presented tokens and proclamations to community partners, including McAllen Careers Institute, the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley School of Nursing and Lone Star National Bank.

Program outcomes: Jaime (presenting for CSA) told the court the inaugural Access to Success graduation included 18 individuals representing 67 family members. The county presented a short profile of two graduates — Angelica (a recent nursing school graduate) and Alberto (training to be an electrician) — who described how the program helped with tuition, transportation and basic needs while they completed training.

CSA staff reported a measurable income change for the cohort: the transcript records that the group's collective annual income at program entry was $393,109.08 and that the cohort graduated to a combined annual salary of approximately $1,100,000. The presenter and other speakers highlighted job types the cohort entered (welders, registered nurses, LVNs, police officers, probation officer, medical assistant, phlebotomist, accountant, computer scientists and others) and described scholarships and financial assistance used to support students.

Partner roles: speakers from the partners described their contributions. Jose Adame, executive director of McAllen Careers Institute, described certification programs the school provides and told the court the school has students who can earn $60,000–$80,000 in the first year after completing certain programs. Dr. Lilia Fuentes, dean of the UTRGV School of Nursing, and Professor Lana Rodriguez (UTRGV) said UTRGV supported students with clinical and academic partnerships and helped remove financial obstacles for indigent students. Julian Alvarez and other representatives from Lone Star National Bank described a financial‑literacy program and other supports the bank provided to help students with budgeting and credit.

Scholarships and fundraising: representatives at an earlier engineering-week segment said they raised 47 scholarships totaling more than $50,000 during 2024 eWeek efforts; CSA staff linked that scholarship culture with broader workforce efforts.

Action taken: the court approved the recognition and presentations by voice vote (recorded as “All in favor say aye. Aye. Motion carries.”). Several commissioners and community leaders attended the presentation and posed for recognition photos.

Why it matters: county staff framed Access to Success as a workforce and anti‑poverty intervention that helps low-income residents access credentialing and jobs with higher pay. Staff and partners argued the program's combination of financial assistance, case management and employer/educational partnerships helped graduates secure better-paying work and increased household earnings.

Speaker note: the transcript includes on-the-record personal statements by graduates (Angelica and Alberto) describing how the program helped with bills, gas and other expenses during training; those were presented as first-person remarks during the recognition portion of the meeting.