We Need More Foster Homes
In recent news our attention has been turned to the question: What happens to children and youth that are in care of the State of Texas?
This is most commonly known to us as the foster system. Parents, most often, come into hard times through poverty or addiction. Local Child Protective Services (CPS) and CPS Courts determine that the children, for their safety and for a specific amount of time, need to be removed from their parent’s care. These children are in what the state calls, conservatorship.
In December 2022, there were around 570 children in CPS conservatorship from West Texas. If the child has extended family that can care for them, then CPS will always prioritize that placement. When family is not available, the child will be placed with a licensed foster placement. This could be a home or an institution depending on the needs of the child and availability placements. In December 2022, 255 West Texas children and youth were in a licensed foster placement. Sadly, only 12% were placed in their home county while 61% were placed 200 miles or more away from home.
Clearly, no one wins. Parents lose daily connection with their children and trade it for monthly or less frequent interactions. It’s not a far stretch to think they feel isolated in the biggest fight of their life and lose hope. The children feel like they ripped from their home environment and dropped into a strange setting. It is no wonder that parents give up and children act out.
We need homes right here in West Texas that are focused on keeping families together. Rather than rescuing children from situations we perceive as terrible (but they perceive as normal), we need families that are willing to jump in with them and help navigate the system to restore the family.
Us along with our partners are hosting a Foster Adopt Q&A on Feb 28th at Mid-Cities on 191 starting at 6:30pm. If you are ready to get started right now go to FosterWestTexasKids.com to find an agency near you.
If you want to stay connected, request to join our mailing list. We will keep you in the loop about child welfare in West Texas. You can also follow us on social media with the links below.
Here are the numbers broken down:
570 Children in the conservatorship
255 children in foster care
- 12% place in county and
- 61% place 100 miles or more away from their hometown. (loss of local connections for )
- Age demographics
- 26% – 0-2
- 17% – 3-5
- 20% – 6-9
- 13% – 10-13
- 24% – 14-17
See the story on NewsWest9 – Children in need of foster families in West Texas