TXICFW believes that every child in the foster care system has a right to a safe, supportive and stable home. We also believe physical permanency and relational permanency or lifelong relationships with supportive adults are key to successfully creating the highest quality of life for foster youth. The needs of youth transitioning out of foster care are unique and can be numerous. TXICFW is dedicated to creating a system of support that mentors and advocates for the needs of transitioning foster youth. Learn more about our foster care projects:
The Texas Permanency Outcomes Project (TXPOP) develops sustainable best practices utilized by child welfare agencies across Texas to connect children to their birth families, regardless of their permanency outcome. TXPOP is a project of the Texas Institute for Child & Family Wellbeing and the Texas Center for Child and Family Studies, in collaboration with the… Read more »
The Sue Fairbanks Psychoanalytic Academy cultivates its study at the intersection of psychoanalysis and social work. The Academy is located within the Texas Institute for Child and Family Wellbeing at the University of Texas at Austin. Initially inspired by the Family Minds Project’s Lunch & Learn sessions, the Academy will be expanding its initial research… Read more »
Normal experiences in childhood are critical to the wellbeing and social development of all children. Children in foster care are no different! This workshop provides information of the importance of normalcy and what caregivers can do to ensure their children are living as normal of a life as possible. Training Objectives Participants will learn how… Read more »
This workshop provides an introduction to the concept of “Reflective Parenting” and how it is related to secure attachment and successful parenting via mentalization skills. Mentalization is the skill of being able to see yourself from the outside and your children from the inside, and is one essential component of successful parenting. Training Objectives: Participants… Read more »
A person’s definition of home and love comes from their own experiences. As professionals in the Child Welfare field, we recognize that when children enter the foster care system they are often caught between two worlds. As a child welfare practitioner, researcher or advocate, it is essential that we learn more about family experiences and… Read more »
Youth who have experienced adversity have higher rates of adolescent pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections compared to youth in general. Those in out-of-home care may miss sexual health education in schools and often have not had reliable caregivers to provide them with accurate sexual health information. Compounding the issue, many of these youth have experienced… Read more »
The Safe Babies program is designed to improve outcomes for infants and toddlers in foster care by supporting their attachment needs at the most critical time in a child’s development. First3Years, formerly Texas Association for Infant Mental Health (TAIMH), began in 1980 as a group of volunteers in the infant mental health field who were concerned about… Read more »
The Texas Youth Permanency Study will examine post-permanency experiences and long-term developmental outcomes of older youth in foster care. Permanency is a multi-dimensional concept describing who has legal responsibility for a child, who is the primary long-term caregiver for the child, where the child considers his or her home and who provides a sense of… Read more »
Join us for our Psychoanalytic Lunch & Learns! Introduction David Howe, a world-renowned researcher in attachment and foster children, has stated (2006) that the most effective and impactful way to help foster children is to “work with and through” the foster parents themselves (p.129). One of the ways to significantly impact the mental health and… Read more »
This workshop helps foster parents coach young parents so they can realize their full potential as adolescents, young adults and parents. In this workshop we will explore three core ideas: understanding the context of young parents in foster care through the lenses of child development, trauma, grief and loss, understanding ourselves and how our unique… Read more »
Visit the Spark Website by clicking here! The University of Texas Spark Program wants to empower former foster youth by providing necessary support systems to attend the university! Spark serves as a resource to help students build meaningful personal and professional relationships that are important to success. Spark is a new program located at the… Read more »
By Allie Long “My body is strong and amazing”: Embodied experiences of pregnancy and birth among young women in foster care (2019) Elizabeth Aparicio – University of Maryland, Svetlana Shpiegel – Montclair State University, Claudette Grinnell-Davis – University of Oklahoma, & Bryn King – University of Toronto This is the only known study that has… Read more »
By Allie Long Growing up in America today, sex education is a largely contentious subject. In fact, less than half of the US states require sex education in public schools. If a formal sex ed program is even provided in a school setting, there is a good chance the curriculum focuses on the negative consequences… Read more »
Guest Blog By Sadie Funk, CEO, First3Years Imagine a child looking back on their time in foster care as though it were time spent with a good friend. Imagine a baby being comforted by the smell of their parent on a blanket that was given to the foster parent at a visit earlier in the… Read more »
This training will build capacity in supervisors in their role as a key component of a service system that uses a trauma-informed perspective. Participants will learn how to draw on their knowledge, experience and expertise of the child welfare environment and the impact of trauma on clients and staff to educate and support staff doing critical work with children who… Read more »
http://archive.gosanangelo.com/news/local/foster-youth-face-challenges-in-higher-education–3e349b66-b09e-4c1d-e053-0100007f6582-396244751.html
Advocates, Legislators Call for Changes in Handling of Foster Child Abuse Cases
Adkins, T., Fonagy, P., Luyten, P., (2017) Family Minds: A short-term psychoeducational intervention increases mentalizing skills in foster parents., Poster presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research 21th Annual Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA
Faulkner, M., & Marra, L., (2017) Texas students in foster care: Results from data sharing between child welfare and education agencies Poster Presentation at the Society for Social Work and Research 21th Annual Meeting and Exposition, New Orleans, LA
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/11/13/foster-care-alumni-keep-struggling-reach-higher-ed/
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/dmn-contributors-network/2016/11/14/fix-child-protective-services-making-place-social-workers-want-work
Letter to budget writers: we need immediate raise for CPS caseworkers
Thanks to a generous grant from Sue Fairbanks, TXICFW will be conducting a Randomized Control Trial of “Family Minds” this year. Research Associate Tina Adkins developed the intervention as her Ph.D. thesis after years out in the field working with parents involved with the foster care system. We sat down with Tina to learn more… Read more »
structuring-policies-and-practices-to-support-educational-resilience-of-foster-youth BY: Monica Faulkner, PhD, LMSW; Beth Gerlach PhD, LCSW; Catherine LaBrenz. Child and Family Research Institute, The University of Texas at Austin School of Social Work Foster youth have poor educational outcomes compared to youth not in foster care due to frequent moves while in care and lack of caregiver stability. Drawing on resilience theory, this… Read more »
Gerlach, B., Faulkner, M., Marra, L. & Ryan, T. (2016). Examining educational needs and outcome of foster youth in Texas. Oral paper at the Society for Social Work and Research 20th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington DC.
Marra, L., Faulkner, M., Gerlach, B. & Schwab, J. (2016). Role of caregiver strain in child relinquishment: Supporting caregivers of children with serious emotional disturbances. Oral paper at the Society for Social Work and Research 20th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington DC.
Ryan, T., Gerlach, B., Faulkner, M. & Marra, L. (2016). Education experiences for foster youth with disabilities. Oral paper at the Society for Social Work and Research 20th Annual Meeting and Exposition, Washington DC.
Faulkner, M., Gerlach B., Marra, L., Tennant, P., (2016) preventing-the-relinquishment-of-children-with-emotional-disturbances. Poster Presentation The 20th National Conference on Child Abuse & Neglect, Washington DC
Listening & Learning from the Community: Understanding the needs of families with children who have a serious behavioral or emotional disturbance Roughly 5% of children are classified as having a serious emotional disturbance. Children with a serious emotional disturbance may require extensive and costly medical, behavioral and educational supports. For many families, appropriate resources are… Read more »
Principal Investigators: Dr. Monica Faulkner & Dr. Beth Gerlach Sponsor: Texas Education Agency (TEA) Purpose: To conduct a process evaluation, data sharing recommendations, training and technical assistance and a survey of school district foster care liaisons. The Texas Trio Project will develop a state plan and protocol for education and foster care collaborations as well… Read more »
By Joseph Barron As researchers and students at The Child and Family Research Institute, we make it a priority to understand the systems that lead to higher quality of life for foster youth who find themselves in a system that is often referred to as broken. In the spirit of the approaching Independence Day and… Read more »
By Shannon Mann-Butler & Kate McKerlie On Saturday April 23rd, CFRI partnered with the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to host the first annual Teen Conference at the University of Texas at Austin! This conference was open to any foster youth that was interested in learning more about college and what “Gone to… Read more »
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month. According to the Children’s Bureau this year’s theme is “Building Community, Building Hope.” The focus this year is to acknowledge the power of communities to address child abuse by intersecting research, policy and practice to promote family well-being and child protection from abuse and neglect. Here in Austin, Texas… Read more »
Adkins, T. (2016, February). Attachment in foster children. Presentation at Lifeline Children and Family Services Annual Academy, Austin, TX.
By Kate McKerlie Around the world children wake up Christmas morning to spend time with their friends and families exchanging gifts. The holidays are typically a special and exciting time for youth, but not all children get to experience the holiday festivities with their families. Many children, particularly those in foster care are specifically reminded… Read more »
On November 9th the 2015 Child Welfare Conference was held at Thompson Conference Center on UT’s campus. We were excited to welcome more than 150 attendees interested in exploring issues related to permanency. A wide range of nonprofit and government employees attended, including staff from American YouthWorks, Any Baby Can, Austin ISD, CASA, Cenpatico, Central… Read more »
Adkins, T. (2015, November). Creating relational permanency. Presentation at the Annual School of Social Work Child Welfare Conference by University of Texas, Austin, TX.
Bammens, A-S., Adkins, T., and Badger, J. (2015). psycho-educational-intervention-increases-reflective-functioning-in-foster-and-adoptive-parents Adoption and Fostering, 39, 38-50.
Gomex, R., Gerlach, B. & Faulkner, M. (2015, January). Visitation matters: Assessing the use of evidence based practices in child welfare visitation. Oral paper at the Society for Social Work Research Annual Meeting, New Orleans, LA.
Adkins, T., Fonagy, P. & Luyten, P. (2015, August). Short-Term psychoeducational intervention for foster parents increases parental mentalization and lowers stress. Poster presentation at the International Attachment Conference, NYC.
By Adrian Gaspar At the University of Texas at Austin there over 51,000 students. 27 are former foster youth using their tuition waivers. I am one of them. My name is Adrian Gaspar, and I am a current Master’s student at UT Austin’s School of Social Work. Tied for 7th in the nation, let’s just say… Read more »
Adkins, T. (2015, June). Secondary Traumatic Stress: Surviving and thriving while working for Child Protective Services. Presentation at staff training for Child Protective Services, Austin, TX.
By Reyna Rutan, President of Youth Leadership Council for DFPS Region 7 I entered foster care when I was in 5th grade. Right away, I changed schools. I met awesome kids and families and I began to feel more comfortable in my new environment. I soon became friends with many of the kids in my grade and… Read more »
Ashley Payne, Youth Specialist, Fostering Horns Program Jeni Brazeal, Program Coordinator, Healthy Youth Partnership The Christmas lights go up, the smell of fresh cut Christmas trees are all around, stockings are hung so Santa can fill them and cookies are made. December signals festivities, family and fun for most children. However, foster youth experience the… Read more »
This training was developed to increase knowledge & skills that enable caseworkers to have developmentally-appropriate conversations with children about permanency, with the goal of enhancing children’s sense of well-being & safety. TXICFW developed this training in 2014 for The Texas Department of Family & Protective Services.
This curriculum is designed to support those providing direct serves to children in placement due to abuse and neglect. It can successfully support the development of those supervising parent/child visits, private and public foster care development workers, private and public child welfare case managers and caseworker. This training may also be helpful in educating those supporting a… Read more »
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/article/Child-abuse-photos-raise-questions-of-reporting-5770051.php
Texas CPS ‘had involvement’ with Colton Turner
http://tpr.org/post/source-how-get-foster-youth-through-college#stream/0
Schwab, J., Faulkner, M., Landuyt, M., Fong, R., Scott, J., Gerlach, B. & Ryan, T. (2014). Texas foster care redesign: Initial insights into foster care reform. Texas Department of Family and Protective Services & Casey Family Programs. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Child and Family Research Institute.
Faulkner, M., (2011, January). Teen Pregnancy Among Foster Youth. Paper presentation at the Society for Social Work Research Annual Meeting, Tampa, FL.
Faulkner, M. & Gerlach, B. (2014, September). SB 44 Needs Assessment: Examining the relinquishment of children with serious emotional disturbances. Oral paper presented at the Texas Children’s Mental Health Forum, Austin, TX.
Faulkner, M., Gerlach, B., Marra, L., Gomez, R. & Schwab, J. (2014). SB 44 Needs Assessment: Examining the relinquishment of children with serious emotional disturbances. Austin, TX: The University of Texas at Austin, Child and Family Research Institute.
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/opinion/cps-child-deaths-your-fault-too/LywpclOvbZj2Zw3PnJ54uK/
Berger Cardoso, J., Dettlaff, A., Finno-Velasquez, M., Scott, J. & Faulkner, M. (2014). Citizenship and immigration status among Latinos involved in the child welfare system: Characteristics, risk and maltreatment. Child and Youth Services Review, 44, 189-200.
Scott, J., Faulkner, M., Berger Cardoso & Burstain, J. (2014). Kinship care and undocumented Latino children in the Texas foster care system: Navigating the child welfare- immigration crossroads. Child Welfare, 93 (4), 53-69.
Faulkner, M. & Madden, E. (2012). Openness and post adoption birth family contact: A comparison of non-relative foster and private adoptions. Adoption Quarterly, 15(1), 35-56.
Schwab, J., Faulkner, M., Madden, E., Scarborough, M. & Gillispie, K. (2010). Efficacy of Purchased Services in Improving Child Welfare Outcomes prepared for the Department of Family and Protective Services. Austin, TX: Center for Social Work Research, The University of Texas at Austin.
Faulkner, M. & Borah, E.V. (2008). Influence of workplace features on child welfare service quality. Professional Development: The International Journal of Continuing Social Work Education, 11 (3), 36-49.