TexProtects Statement on Senate Bill 11

We believe 2017 will be the session that we truly turn the corner on child maltreatment and we echo legislators request that Governor Abbott declare CPS and foster care to be emergency items in the 85th session. Texas Insider Report: Dallas/Austin Texas Statement from Madeline McClure Founding CEO of TexProtects the Texas Association for the Protection of Children on Senate Bill filed yesterday for the upcoming 85^th Texas Legislative Session:

TexProtects applauds Senator Charles Schwertner and his coauthors Senators Jane Nelson and Carlos Uresti for their leadership in tackling the perpetual crises at Child Protective Services and Texas foster care system. Senate Bill 11 includes many of the child protection improvements for which we have advocated for years: geomapping of child abuse and neglect hotspots to effectively target prevention investments; concentrating recruitment of kinship and foster care homes and staff with the most tenured caseworkers; tracking recurrence of child maltreatment to identify missteps and opportunities for casework improvement; a pilot program of Family Based Safety Services aimed at reducing recurrence; reviewing and extending retention of abuse and neglect records; collaborating with universities to evaluate prevention programs receiving state funding for efficacy and cost-benefit analysis; and other items. We believe 2017 will be the session that we truly turn the corner on child maltreatment and we echo legislators request that Governor Abbott declare CPS and foster care to be emergency items in the 85th session. We anticipate this bill and others to come will provide a laser focus CPS preserve children with families when at all possible and prevent maltreatment of our states most precious resource: Our children."

TexProtects The Texas Association for the Protection of Children was created to tackle issues of Child Protective Services (CPS) reform prevention and public awareness to bring a collective organized voice representing the needs of children at risk of abuse and survivors of child abuse and neglect. The organization is autonomous nonpartisan and nonpolitical designed to educate decision makers private funders and the public at large. To date it is the only Texas organization that has a dedicated focus on the main issues of protection prevention and healing of abused and neglected children. For more information please visit www.TexProtects.org.