Foster Care and Child Welfare Week in Review – February 5, 2024
Here are some news items from last few weeks related to foster care, adoption, and child welfare that caught our eye:
One Accord For Kids, a West Texas nonprofit dedicated to helping children find families, is hosting a foster and adoption Q&A event. With 451 children in the Texas Child Protective Services system and many in an overburdened foster system, the organization aims to encourage more foster and adoptive parents. The event will take place on February 6th at the Mid-cities’ Community Church in Midland. Local foster and adoption agencies will be present to provide information and answer questions.
Starting from March 1, 2024, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services will privatize its responsibilities for abused and neglected children in North Texas, placing the majority of these responsibilities under a nonprofit contractor. This privatization, part of a broader overhaul of foster care, has raised concerns about continuity and support for foster children. The article claims that Dallas CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), a volunteer organization, remains a critical and trustworthy entity in providing stability and continuity for these children, especially as new staff come on board to manage their cases.
Between July 2022 and June 2023, 173,000 calls to the Texas hotline for allegations of abuse, neglect, and exploitation were abandoned after waiting for over 5.6 minutes, according to a federal court monitor’s report. This delay raises concerns about the safety of vulnerable children in the state’s care. The report highlighted that these abandoned calls could leave children in unsafe situations for extended periods. Advocates are worried that some children’s allegations may go unreported because the state lacks a system to track and follow up on abandoned calls, potentially leaving kids at risk of harm without intervention.
Eighteen-year-old Britney Pollack, who spent four years in Texas’ foster care system, described her experience as being shuttled between treatment centers, psychiatric hospitals, and various placements without stability. She often found herself labeled a “Child Without Placement” (CWOP) and was housed in taxpayer-funded hotel rooms, where the state offered minimal psychiatric treatment or services. The shortage of suitable placements for children with high mental health needs has led to dangerous situations in CWOP hotels, including assaults and sex trafficking. Texas’ foster care system has faced federal scrutiny for over a decade, with ongoing issues and a lack of progress.
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