The Opportunity of the 87th Legislative Session (Meet the Team)

The 87th Legislative Session is underway, and with it comes the opportunity to fight for smart solutions to child abuse and neglect. Now more than ever, the TexProtects policy team is laser-focused on strategies that strengthen families, prevent child abuse, and promote healing during these times of exponential need. The Plan COVID-19 has dramatically impacted […]

Frontline For Children | January 2021

The monthly top 10 most noteworthy child welfare research articles.

How TexProtects Is Advocating for Children and Families in the State Budget

The work of the 87th Legislature is already well underway, and TexProtects’ staff is hard at work alongside agency and legislative leaders in ensuring that Texas keeps child safety and family wellbeing at the top of the priority list this session.

PARENTING HELP: IT TAKES A COLLABORATION TO ENSURE HEALTHY FAMILIES

As part of our home visiting campaign, we’re bringing you stories from home visiting programs in Texas. Read our full home visiting landscape report here. This story comes from DePelchin Children’s Center, a nonprofit accredited foster and adoption agency with locations in Houston, Austin, Lubbock, and San Antonio. As one of the lead contractors for […]

FRONTLINE FOR CHILDREN | HOME VISITING SPECIAL EDITION

In this special edition of Frontline for Children, we take a deep dive into the latest research and resources on home visiting as part of our #HomeVisitingIsEssential campaign. TexProtects Takeaway: Home visiting saves dollars and makes sense. Investments in home visiting programs demonstrate positive impacts and cost savings across two generations and multiple domains including […]

How To Address Loneliness In Our Youth During COVID-19

Most people feel lonely at some point in their lives, but two landmark Cigna studies found that more than half of respondents reported some degree of loneliness, with young people being the loneliest among all the generations studied. What happens when the loneliness epidemic converges with the COVID-19 pandemic, keeping many students at home away […]

Insight into DFPS priorities for 2022-2023

While we can likely all agree that 2020 has been a year that has somehow simultaneously flown by and dragged on, one thing is certain: the 87th Legislative Session is right around the corner and will be here before we know it. This session brings with it lots of unknowns about how it will be conducted, and state departments have been preparing for […]

Here’s How TexProtects Has Been Advocating for Texas Children and Families in October

TexProtects has been hard at work advocating for children and families. Recently, we submitted comments in response to Requests for Information (RFI) from three different legislative committees on how lawmakers can leverage the funding opportunities in the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA), invest in early childhood brain development, and ensure the trauma-informed training components […]

What to Expect for Child Welfare Funding in the 87th Legislature

The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) recently released their Legislative Appropriations Request. In a typical legislative budget cycle, one would expect numerous exceptional items. However, with the current economic climate in the midst of a pandemic, DFPS’ approach to the budget is narrow in scope and only aimed at initiatives they consider to […]

What One Grandparent Wants You to Know About Supporting Kinship Caregivers

Mercedes Bristol is a grandparent raising five grandchildren after their involvement with Child Protective Services (CPS). She also advocates for the needs and rights of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren. Mercedes is what is known as a kinship caregiver. According to the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), 276,800 children in Texas reside […]