Legislative update from our Director of Policy and Advocacy, Dr. Jill McLeigh
About 6 weeks remain in the 88th Legislative Session, and so far, we have seen no shortage of bills related to child welfare. In addition to tracking legislation, especially bills related to our policy priorities, we have been working with our colleagues in the child advocacy community to promote legislation that we believe benefits children with child welfare involvement and to propose substitute language to help strengthen bills being considered in committee.
One way we do this is by serving on the Steering Committee for the Child Protection Roundtable
(CPRT). The mission of the Roundtable is to be the leading voice and driving force in child protection public policy and governmental action to help prevent child maltreatment before it occurs, ensure protection and well-being of young people who come into care, and heal the ongoing trauma young people experience as a result of maltreatment. As a member of the Steering Committee, we help plan content for and facilitate monthly meetings of the 80+ organizations that participate in the collaborative to ensure members know about developments within the system. Prior to the start of Session, Steering Committee members identified five priorities that we believe are critical to improving Texas’ child protection system. We created a letter (pdf) detailing these priorities to which member organizations could sign-on and then sent it to legislative and executive leaders. During the Legislative Session, the Steering Committee shifts its focus to what is going on at the Capitol and sends weekly emails to its members listing legislation we recommend supporting and legislation with which we have concerns in current form that are being heard in committee the following week. The monthly meetings held during the Legislative Session have focused on high-level discussions of the House and Senate budget proposals and bills that fall within our priority areas and that are priority bills for member organizations. Last but not least, Steering Committee members had the opportunity to meet with DFPS Commissioner Stephanie Muth in March and will continue to do so on a quarterly basis going forward. These open lines of communication are critical to the development and implementation of good policy.
Another way in which we advocate is by producing white papers and policy briefs. In keeping with our policy priorities for this Legislative Session, our most recent publications focus on addressing the health of children in foster care (pdf) and empowering kinship caregivers (pdf). You can also review our past publications.
We also advocate through our leadership role in the North Texas Foster Care Consortium. The Consortium has recently produced a regional profile (pdf), a community-based care infographic (pdf) and held a webinar on kinship legislation. During our next quarterly meeting, the new single-source continuum contractor for Region 3 Metroplex East will be presenting, along with members of the state’s Office of Community-Based Care Transitions. This meeting will be held in person. Learn more and to register for the meeting.
Although our policy and advocacy work is heightened during Session, we engage year round in promoting efforts to strengthen the child welfare system and supports for caregivers. Stay tuned for more information on our advocacy efforts.
