The Texas Department of Family & Protective Services (DFPS) has requested that TNOYS collect information on the current needs of foster youth, provider organizations, foster families, and other related entities impacted by Hurricane Harvey and the subsequent flooding. If you have been impacted, please send your name, contact information, and a list of current needs —… Read more »

TNOYS recently made the decision to revive the Emergency Shelter Task Force, which had for many years provided representation, networking, and support for Texas’ emergency shelter providers. This newly reorganized group met for the first time on Aug. 16 for an informative and productive gathering, and we’re excited to have the group up and running… Read more »

This post is being updated continuously as we receive new information. For TNOYS’ initial response to Hurricane Harvey with information on how to access our network for support, please see our Executive Director’s Aug. 28 email here. Hurricane Harvey has devastated many areas of Texas with both the initial storm and subsequent flooding. Many youth… Read more »

  On August 28, the TNOYS Executive Director sent the following email to TNOYS members and stakeholders regarding Hurricane Harvey: To TNOYS members and our partners in the communities affected by Hurricane Harvey and the resulting floods: Thank you for working hard to keep your youth safe and serve Texans who have been displaced. Our thoughts… Read more »

The El Paso Center for Children (EPCC) offers a wide variety of programs – everything from a foster care placement program, to an emergency shelter for homeless and runaway youth, to a counseling program for youth and their families that aims to prevent crises before they occur.  These many varying programs didn’t emerge over the… Read more »

  Last week, TNOYS hosted our 34th Annual Conference on Service to Youth and Families, with programming focused on the theme of “Many Voices, One Song.” As they have for many years, service workers, clinicians, administrators, and others came together in Houston to gain valuable information and learn together about the best way to ensure… Read more »

From the beginning, the 85th Texas Legislative Session proved to be an important one for the state’s child welfare system, kicking off in January with strengthening Child Protective Services (CPS) flagged by the governor as one of just four emergency items. In addition to that issue, TNOYS had a full legislative agenda focused on six… Read more »

In May, TNOYS began an exciting new chapter as we officially established operations in Houston with the hiring of Dr. Valerie Zanders, our new Director of Policy, Research, and Evaluation there. We’re excited to have a stronger presence in Houston, which is such an important center for youth services in Texas, and to introduce our… Read more »

  By Kara Robbins, Intern with TNOYS member organization Upbring & MSW candidate at the University of Texas at Austin Zoe was a 19-year-old single mom who felt completely overwhelmed by the demands of providing a loving, safe, and stable home life for her 5-year-old son. The most frustrating challenge was finding a job that… Read more »

When explaining the work of Boys Town Texas, the organization’s Executive Director Janie Cook refers to a description she once heard from a colleague: “She said that we teach adults how to raise children,” Cook recalls. “We’re about children but most of the work we do is with adults because children don’t grow up in… Read more »