Foster Care and Child Welfare Week in Review – November 6, 2020
It was a fairly light week for foster care in the news. It’s almost as if something else was dominating the news cycle this week.
Nevertheless, here are some news items from this week related to foster care, adoption, and child welfare that caught my eye:
1. November is National Adoption Month
Thousands of children are currently waiting to be adopted in the State of Texas. These children have been left without a family and are waiting to become a part of your family. November is National Adoption Month and with COVID-19 many of the adoption events in Texas and the nation have been postponed.
2. ‘Finding Forever Families’ – Meet Sergio
As November is National Adoption Month, the El Paso Herald Post has partnered with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to help raise the profile for kids in foster care whose permanency goal is adoption. Sergio has a lot of personality, enjoys talking and being with people. He says when he grows up, he wants to “help people” and “rescue dogs.”
3. ‘I’m your dad forever’: Single foster dad adopts five siblings so they can stay together
Robert Carter, a single foster dad, officially became a father of five on Friday. Carter adopted siblings Marionna, Makayla, Robert, Giovanni and Kiontae. He said he didn’t want the siblings to be separated. The new father of five said he knows first hand how it feels to be removed from a biological home and separated from siblings.
4. Texas agencies request $72 million to cover costs from foster care lawsuit
Two state agencies in charge of the foster care system in Texas have requested a combined $72 million to cover costs associated with a decade-old federal lawsuit. A federal judge warned state officials in September that they could again be held in contempt of court if reforms—largely concerning oversight of residential foster care facilities and abuse investigations—weren’t implemented.
5. WF foster parents, agencies encourage others to explore fostering
Across the state, thousands of children are in need of a home to rest their heads at night. In Texoma, the need is dire and one pair of local foster parents said it’s difficult and it’s maybe not what you’d expect, but the impact it has is something that can’t be found just anywhere.
6. Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force issues first biennial report To Texas Legislature
The Office of the Governor’s Sexual Assault Survivors’ Task Force (SASTF) today issued its first Biennial Report to the Texas Legislature. The report includes policy recommendations for the 87th Legislative Session and summarizes activities conducted since the task force held its inaugural meeting on February 6th — including the creation of over 150 recommendations relating to the review of state policies, protocols, and best practices for the collection, preservation, tracking, analysis, and destruction of evidence in sexual assault cases.
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