Foster Care and Child Welfare Week in Review – August 28, 2023
Here are some news items from last week related to foster care, adoption, and child welfare that caught our eye:
Cordarius Lashun Pegues, previously known as ‘Cordarius,’ was discovered alone, dirty, and disheveled in a Midland, Texas alley in January. He was initially believed to be a teenager with an intellectual disability, making efforts to identify his birth family challenging due to his inability to communicate or know sign language. On August 21, authorities revealed that Cordarius is 24 years old. Nationwide concern and media attention aided in his identification. His mother, Charlotte Latasha Pegues, was arrested and charged with exploiting a disabled individual. Authorities expressed gratitude for the support and media assistance in bringing this case to national attention.
Cook Children’s Health Care System, in collaboration with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) and the Texas Advanced Computing Center (TACC), is launching the PRO-TX project to reduce child abuse and neglect in Texas. PRO-TX combines healthcare insights, data from DFPS, the U.S. census, industry research, and public/private data sources to identify communities at higher risk of child abuse and neglect. TACC provides supercomputing capabilities and is creating a data discovery portal to assist practitioners and policymakers in implementing necessary changes to support these communities and reduce the risk of harm to children.
The federal government is considering expanding the implementation of Infant Toddler Court Teams, a collaborative approach to child welfare cases involving children under three years old. These teams focus on early intervention and support for families with young children to prevent unnecessary removals. Currently, only six states have such programs, but the federal government’s interest may lead to more widespread adoption. Infant Toddler Court Teams aim to reduce trauma for very young children involved in child welfare cases and increase family preservation efforts, reflecting a growing emphasis on early intervention and child well-being in the system.
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