Michael Guinn is a man of many titles, some of which include social worker, youth poetry promoter, and youth empowerment specialist. He is also a housing coach for youth aging out of foster care. More than one in five youth become homeless after aging out of the foster care system at the age of eighteen—Michael… Read more »

Navigate Life Texas is a website by and for parents of children with a variety of disabilities and special health-care needs in and beyond Texas. From what we’ve seen and heard from parents and professionals, no existing resource is as comprehensive, supportive, or empowering as this site. It really fills an unmet need in a… Read more »

Covenant House is a valued partner collaborating with a number of other organizations in Houston to conduct outreach and survey homeless youth. In Houston, when youth feel they have nowhere to turn, they can go to Covenant House Texas. The organization offers refuge for homeless and runaway youth through their crisis shelter, transitional living program,… Read more »

“When I was eighteen-years-old, I was living under a bridge.” No youth should ever have to say these words. Unfortunately, the stats reveal that a startling number of youth in the U.S. experience homelessness: In 2014, 194,302 children and youth were reported homeless last year on a given night in the U.S. More than one… Read more »

In early November, TNOYS organized and hosted a training to help providers and advocates better understand the rights of homeless youth. Approximately 40 people from state agencies, school districts, and youth services providers attended the half-day workshop, “Understanding Youth Rights: Helping providers navigate laws and policies affecting unaccompanied homeless youth.” Attorneys and program directors who… Read more »

TNOYS is excited to share new resources with everyone in our network as part of our cutting-edge work for the Youth Count Texas! initiative. In October, we launched a toolkit to communities across Texas to help them prepare for their youth counts. Today, we are sharing it with our whole network — we think that… Read more »

No one knows just how many youth are homeless in Texas or in the United States. In 2014, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated that there were nearly 200,000 children and youth experiencing homelessness on a given night. The U.S. Department of Justice estimated an even more staggering number in 2002 —… Read more »

Creating a Culture of Care was a statewide initiative to help licensed residential treatment centers (RTCs) in Texas reduce the use of seclusion and restraint while creating stronger programs for youth and staff. RTCs typically serve youth with serious mental health and behavioral challenges as well as histories of abuse and neglect. Restraint and seclusion… Read more »

By: April Ferrino, Senior Policy and Evaluation Specialist Where will a youth who is aging out of foster care system land? Too many don’t have a safety net (e.g. housing, employment, education plans, or access to medical care) and may become homeless. This outcome is not unique to the US, as shown in the article below about… Read more »

Announcement from the Department of Family and Protective Services: The next area to benefit from Foster Care Redesign will be DFPS Region 2, which includes 30 counties in Northwest Texas. DFPS will release a Request for Proposals no earlier than December 2015. Foster Care Redesign changes the way that Texas provides and pays for foster… Read more »