Speaking Up for At-Risk Children and Youth
Dear friends,
During Black History Month, Texas CASA is taking the time to reaffirm our commitment to creating a brighter, more equitable life for all Texas children and families. We are actively taking steps to uphold this commitment and recognize that transparency is key to addressing disproportionality and disparity issues in the foster care system.
According to the DFPS Fiscal Year 2023 Disproportionality and Disparity Analysis, when compared to White children, African American children and families statewide in Texas are:
- 1.9 times more likely to be reported,
- 2.1 times more likely to be investigated, and
- 1.8 times more likely to be removed.
Furthermore, DFPS states that in Texas, a higher percentage of African American children:
- Are removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect.
- Don’t return home to their families.
- Grow up in foster care without being adopted or finding another permanent home.
While we know these issues cannot be fixed overnight, we can actively contribute to positive change by continuing to learn and grow. Committing to culturally responsive CASA outreach, training and recruitment is essential to eliminating racial disproportionality and disparity. Having a CASA volunteer who can relate to the experiences, or at the very least, is comfortable discussing the experiences of the child and family they are working with, without bias, can make all the difference. These are a few great places to start on your journey or to use as a refresher:
- Read Pages 182 – 185 of the CASA Volunteer Manual, “Honoring and Respecting Diversity” and “Disproportionality Statistics: Race”
- Listen to Parts One and Two of the Texas CASA Podcast on Understanding and Undoing Disproportionality with Tanya Rollins (30 minutes)
- Watch Dr. Jessica Pryce’s TED Talk Video: The Case for Race-Blind Foster Care Removal Decisions
- Dive into the Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) resources and training. Even though CASA volunteers are not directly involved in removals, you can be involved in helping children remain connected to and possibly return to their family of origin or with kin by using the tools provided through CFE.
- Register for the Strengthening Core Advocacy: Centering Well-Being and Belonging for Children and Parents (SCA) training developed in 2023. This 3-hour course is for local CASA staff and volunteers who want to learn more about spotting bias and inequity in the child welfare system. SCA is a great way for you to learn about bias within the system and earn in-service hours as well.
- Read the article 5 Recommendations for Allies Who Want to Do the Work During Black History Month which includes more resources for self-guided learning.
- Read the article Children’s Books to Inspire Black Joy During Black History Month & Beyond for recommendations on how to make space for joy and celebration so the kids you serve can see themselves reflected in books.
February is also National Teen Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month. Did you know that one out of every three U.S. adolescents experiences some type of physical or emotional dating abuse before they reach adulthood? This statistic is even higher for youth in foster care, who are more vulnerable to becoming victims of intimate partner violence and human trafficking.
Dating is an important part of human development and helps many teens feel “normal.” Feeling normal and fitting in can be especially crucial for a teen in foster care who’s having to balance homework with court dates, possible sibling separations and family visits. Knowing this, we encourage you to review the Texas CASA Normalcy Matters guidebook and companion video. The guide covers everything from participating in sleepovers, summer camp and extracurricular activities, to having access to a cell phone, dating, taking driver’s education or receiving an allowance.
We owe it to the children and families we serve to help close gaps in well-being and increase access to opportunity. As a powerful statewide network of advocates, we must stay focused on the grounding power of CASA’s vision: a safe and positive future for all Texas children. I have every faith that our CASA community will make this vision into a reality with heart, compassion and strength. Thank you for your steadfast commitment to making a difference.
Warmly,
