I’ve always been intrigued by community-based or county run vs. state administered/state run child welfare systems; does one model perform better than the other? I remember hearing about Florida transitioning to a community-based child welfare system following several instances in which children in the system were hurt by the system. This article references some great outcomes for Florida, and describes how Texas is in the midst of their own reform – Foster Care Redesign, a pilot operating in seven counties with plans to expand. Regardless of how the child welfare system is administered, it seems there are a few crucial components critical to positive reform and they are all rooted in the system’s relations with the community it serves. Child welfare systems rely on strong partnerships with community-based philanthropists, faith-based organizations, non-profit providers, volunteers, foster parents, people who care about the kids they know, compassionate teachers, and I could go on and on, and on. One thing I value most about community-based or locally administered child welfare systems is the common practice of understanding and appropriately responding to trauma with more of a public health, preventative approach. I believe child welfare systems are unable to meet the needs of the communities they serve, if they don’t involve the community. It looks like Texas is poised to shift focus to community-based child welfare systems statewide with a strong focus on looking to the community to develop strategies for recruiting foster homes, partnerships with schools, implementing trauma-informed services, and partnerships with local funding sources to supplement state and federal funding streams.
Imagine you don’t have a place to call home.
Your belongings are what fit in your small bag. You are separated from your brother, your sister, your dog or cat, and you know every day could move you to a new place with conditions you can’t predict — or worse, there’s no place for you to go.
This is life for many vulnerable children in our Texas foster care system.
Increasing media scrutiny, a federal court case and general public dismay have combined to finally make foster care a top issue for our elected officials and their appointees.
After years of false starts, management turnover and chronic under-funding, the question upon Texas now is not whether, but how to reform foster care.
Fortunately, we have options.
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