Are you aware of the current crisis in the Texas foster care system? May is National Foster Care Month, a time to recognize the importance of communities working together to provide safe environments for children and families. Across the state, there are so many children in foster care who are placed far away from their families and communities, some in a distant part of Texas, and some even out of state.
Johnny, a child in the Texas foster care system, was recently relocated to a facility out of state. Click on the video below to hear Johnny’s story.
During this crisis, CASA of Tarrant County is doing our best to fill the gaps by consistently showing up as caring adults (through our volunteers), expanding the reach of our advocacy and connecting with the most vulnerable children—children like Johnny. We are happy to report that most children in Tarrant County had a CASA volunteer in 2021. With Of the estimated 1,771 children in need of a CASA in 2021, CASA served 69% of them by providing advocates to 1,167 children. Because of your generosity, children who had a CASA volunteer were more likely to find a permanent home than children without a CASA, right here in Tarrant County.
For the children who left foster care, not only were they more likely to find a permanent home if they had a CASA, they also spent less time in foster care. In 2021, Tarrant County children with a CASA volunteer on average spent 22 months in foster care compared to an average 27 months for Tarrant County children without a CASA volunteer. This saves children five months of uncertainty and instability and saves taxpayers over $2,444,000 in daily foster care reimbursements alone.
When a child is away from her home and missing her family, her room, her teacher, her siblings, her pet, and her caregivers, she doesn’t think about taxes. Five months, twenty weeks, or 150 days is a long time for a three-year-old child who is waiting in uncertainty, not knowing who her permanent family will be. With your support, CASA adds urgency to every child’s case and collaboratively engages child welfare staff and family members to find permanent homes for every child served. You, too, can be a part of the solution to this crisis. Donate now and help CASA go the distance for children in foster care!