Public Policy & Advocacy | Texas Foster Family Association

The Latest News and Updates

U.S. House lawmakers unveil bipartisan child welfare legislation | On July 22, the U.S. House Committee on Ways and Means introduced the Protecting America's Children by Strengthening Families Act (H.R. 9076), a comprehensive package reauthorizing and updating Title IV-B of the Social Security Act (Title IV-B). The bipartisan legislation makes modest improvements to Title IV-B programs, including new resources for child welfare workforce recruitment and retention and additional flexibility to serve families experiencing poverty. Counties support H.R. 9076, which will support our ability to provide flexible services to children, youth and families at-risk for or currently involved with the child welfare system.

H.R. 8815: Youth and Family Engagement in Child Welfare Act | To amend subpart 2 of part B of title IV of the Social Security Act to ensure that youth and parents with lived experience in the child welfare system are consulted on policies, ensuring representation and inclusion of their perspectives in State child welfare program planning.

About the TFFA Public Policy and Advocacy Committee

For over 50 years the Texas Foster Family Association has advocated for foster, adoptive, and kinship families. We pride ourselves on being the state-wide voice for foster care.

Over 30 years ago, the state of Texas began outsourcing foster care to the private sector, and many of those families were not included in local foster parent associations, creating more need for the TFFA to provide support resources. Due to other changes in the system, there was also an increased need for advocacy efforts. For over five decades, the TFFA has focused on supports and services needed by the children in foster care and the resource families who so diligently serve them.

88th Legislature Second Session

Legislative Information and Statistics

Our Priorities

Support Child & Youth Serving Caregivers to be Bridges to Permanency Through Reunification

While it is important to support children and youth serving caregivers to keep children safe in foster care, sit is critically important to the well-being of children in foster care to experience positive relationships between their birth and foster parents. This, along with increased visitation, has the potential to improve a child's sense of belonging and improve behavior while they are in foster care.

We propose introducing a statewide model for training and supporting foster caregivers to coach and mentor birth parents.

Provide Timely Access to Trusted, Dedicated Staff and Peer Support

Research has demonstrated that children in foster care achieve better outcomes when they experience stable placements. Importantly, research has also shown that support to foster parents is associated with improved foster parent retention and decreased placement failure. The types of support identified as being critical to foster parents include timely support from caseworkers, effective training, support during crisis and peer support.

We propose the creation of a statewide task force to develop a foster parent mentor model for statewide implementation.

Eliminate Disproportionality and Disparity in the Texas Child Welfare System

At the state level, there continues to be a high proportion of African American children at all the different stages of DFPS than the proportion of African American children in the statewide population. African American children at 1.7 times more likely to be reported for child abuse/neglect, 1.9 times more likely to be investigated, and 1.6 times more likely to be removed than Anglo children. In 2011, SB501 created the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities in the Texas Health and Human Services (later changed to the Texas HHSC Office of Minority Health Statistics and Engagement.) One of the duties of this office was to address the issue of disproportionality of African American children in the foster care system; however, this office was defunded in 2017 and closed its doors in 2018.

We propose reinstatement of this office to include a branch/department focused on eliminating disproportionality in the Texas foster care system.

Stories We Follow

Rider 36 Report on Federal Funds Maximization, Semi-Annual Update

Rider 36 of House Bill 1, 88th Legislative Session, requires the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to submit progress reports related to the agency's efforts to maximize federal funds, including identifying the strategies DFPS has implemented and any successes and challenges in maximizing funding, as well as how the agency can maximize federal funds by program and funding source. Progress reports are required to be submitted by September 1 and March 1 of each year to the Legislative Budget Board and the Governor. Relevant federal funding updates since the September 2021 report are included in this progress report to serve as a companion to the September report.

Download the Plan

Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Placement Program Report Fiscal Year 2024

Pursuant to Family Code, Chapter 264, Section 762 added by House Bill (H.B.) 4, 85th Legislative, Regular Session, 2017, the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) must publish a report on the Relative and Other Designated Caregiver Program (RODC) not later than September 1 of each year. The report must include data on permanency outcomes for children placed with relatives or other designated caregivers, including the: • Number of disruptions in a relative or other designated caregiver placement; • Reasons for any disruptions in a relative or other designated caregiver placement; and • Length of time before a relative or other designated caregiver who receives monetary assistance from the department under this subchapter obtains permanent managing conservatorship (PMC) of a child.

Luggage Supply and Distribution for Transport of the Personal Belongings of a Foster Child

Texas Family Code 264.1078 requires the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to provide an annual report illustrating the number of times a trash bag was used to transport a foster child's personal belongings and the reasons the department failed to provide the child with appropriate luggage; and the department's supply inventory and inventory management practices for the luggage supply maintained.