DALLAS (AP) — U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt toured a shelter for Hurricane Katrina victims Saturday and said his agency has established a special "evacuee" status to improve their access to benefits.

"We are stripping away many of the eligibility and enrollment requirements normally needed to apply for federal benefits," Leavitt said in a news release before his visit. "No one who has been a victim of this disaster should be prevented from getting benefits they need because of government red tape."

The process will allow states to enroll evacuees without requiring documents such as tax returns or proof of residency for programs such as Medicaid, child care support, foster care assistance and substance abuse treatment.

Leavitt visited the Dallas Convention Center, where about 1,000 people displaced by the hurricane are living, as part of a two-day trip to states helping Katrina victims. He visited Georgia and Arkansas on Friday.

Leavitt praised a plan by Dallas officials to house evacuees using locally raised money, rather than waiting for federal assistance, saying Dallas was serving the hurricane victims "in a powerful, compassionate and competent way."

"The federal government will ensure that Texas will be reimbursed," Leavitt said Saturday. But he did not mention a possible time frame or say if the state would be fully reimbursed for all services.

Gov. Rick Perry has asked the federal government for full reimbursement, saying evacuee assistance would cost Texas millions of dollars.