The TNOYS Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC) has been making an impact since it began in 2018. Read more about its work so far here. These accomplishments would not have been possible without strong and dedicated members. Get to know a little more about YALC member Justin Hayward in this recent interview. Why did you… Read more »

The TNOYS Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC) has been making an impact since it began in 2018. Read more about its work so far here. These accomplishments would not have been possible without strong and dedicated members.Get to know a little more about YALC member Charles Batiste in this recent interview Why did you join… Read more »

TNOYS has a longstanding commitment to elevating youth voice and developing youth-adult alliances so that youth and young adults can have a say on the issues and decisions that impact their lives. TNOYS’ Young Adult Leadership Council (YALC), launched just last year, has already provided its members with dozens of opportunities to do just that.  … Read more »

Thanks to a grant from the Office of the Texas Governor, TNOYS is launching a collaborative new project this month with the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies (The Center) to reduce the risk of youth becoming victims of child sex trafficking (CST) and to facilitate recovery for survivors. Through the project, TNOYS will build… Read more »

For over 30 years, PEAKS Adventure Camp has provided an opportunity for teens in foster care to have a traditional camp experience, learning to overcome challenges and build partnerships with adults as they prepare to enter adulthood. This year, a last-minute budget shortfall threatened to keep TNOYS from hosting PEAKS Camp, but thanks to a… Read more »

In 2017, 1,700 youth in foster care in Texas ran away, and for many it wasn’t the first time they had done so. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has launched an effort to better understand why youth run from care and how they can better support these youth to prevent them… Read more »

One of the many benefits TNOYS offers our member organizations is assistance making their voices heard in policy decisions that impact their work. Last month, we hosted one of the most important events that helps us do that, our biennial Member Advocacy Day and Innovation & Excellence Showcase at the Texas State Capitol. The day… Read more »

TNOYS and our members are proud to have led many statewide efforts here in Texas to combat youth homelessness, from conducting the Youth Count! Texas survey to launching Texas’ Statewide Workgroup for Youth Homelessness. But it’s critical that we are also plugged in to efforts at the national level, to ensure that we stay abreast… Read more »

TNOYS has always made it a priority to elevate the voices of youth in a variety of ways in our policy work. Hearing directly from youth with lived experience in the youth services and child welfare system has a powerful impact on all who witness it. It is especially important that the lawmakers who create… Read more »

Since the start of the 86thTexas Legislature this January, TNOYS has been at the forefront in engaging youth and young adults from our member and partner organizations in the legislative process. Through opportunities to give testimony during legislative hearings and at our February 1stYouth in Action Capitol Day, youth have been able to share their… Read more »