The start of February marks the beginning of Black History Month, a time to honor and recognize the accomplishments and history of Black Americans. As we continue into this month and consider history, we must ask ourselves how all of us can contribute to racial equality, and work to address disproportionalities and disparities that negatively impact Black communities.

CASA volunteers advocate to ensure the best interests and well-being for a child or sibling group once they enter foster care. Each volunteer is specially appointed by a judge to advocate for a child, helping them during their time in foster care by ensuring they are kept safe and their unique needs are met.

CASA volunteers advocate within the Texas foster care system, and we recognize that the system itself reflects inequities in our society. Two current problems within the Texas foster care system are racial disproportionality and disparity. Disproportionality means a particular race or cultural group is over-represented in a system, and disparity refers to the differences in outcomes and conditions for some groups of people compared to other groups because of unequal treatment or services.

While Black children account for around 12% of the Texas child population, they make up 23% of the Texas foster care population. Black children are more likely to be reported to Child Protective Services (CPS) than Anglo children and more likely to be removed from home. After a removal has occurred, disparities within the system begin to emerge. After removal, a Black child is less likely to be reunified with their family of origin. If reunification has been ruled out and a Black child is available for adoption, they are less likely to be adopted within 12 months.

There is a clear difference with how many kids are entering the system when you look at the numbers by racial group, and it is not because there is more abuse in one community than in another. If we want to improve outcomes and reduce unnecessary removals of children from their homes, we need to do everything we can to address the issue—not just as CASA volunteers, but as neighbors and community members.

CASA provides training covering disproportionality in order to equip CASA volunteers with the knowledge to spot and combat occurrences and patterns that contribute to inequity. They work to promote diversity and inclusiveness in their volunteer recruitment so the children they serve have a volunteer who understands them completely—not just emotionally, but culturally. They actively seek more volunteers from communities of color who will reflect the demographics of the populations they serve.

The state of Texas, CASA, and other child welfare stakeholders must come together and work diligently to make our foster care system work fairly for all.

We are committed to growing and advancing as an organization. Our volunteers continue to receive training on disproportionality and cultural competency, and our organization is always looking for ways to improve how we serve the most vulnerable children and families in our community.

We do not limit celebrations of Black history to February, or limit our concern and action about issues like disproportionality and disparity to one month. Black history is an essential part of American history and issues facing the Black community are issues facing us, and our neighbors, friends and family every day.

Executive Director

CASA of Central Texas

Use this link to join us at any of the times above!

For more information on training courses, contact Brandi Raschke at 512-392-3578, 830-626-2272, or by email.

We are proud to share that CASA of Central Texas Board Member, Frank Pereira, was awarded a Volunteer Incentive Award by his employer Broadway Bank. Through his service of more than 100 hours annually with CASA, Frank has earned a $100 donation to CASA from his company.

"I don’t want the children to feel neglected or abandoned. I don’t know what that feels like but when I think about it on a much deeper profound level it troubles me. Most of these innocent children have no idea what’s taking place and are truly helpless. They have no where else to go or who they can trust, no one else to lean on or count on. As a Board member, and the part that really keeps all of us up at night are the other 50% of the children in the court systems that don’t have CASA’s to look after them."

Contact Eloise Hudson if you are interested in having CASA share with your group.

Still meeting virtually? Not a problem! CASA can also join your video conference meeting, too!

Elizabeth Pena has been a Case Supervisor with CASA of Central Texas since 2019. She is highlighting the importance of CPS Permanency Conferences (PCs) in advocating for the best interests of children.

The permanency plan is typically family reunification but, alternatively, could be adoption with relatives, adoption with a new family, or another stable arrangement where the children will be safe. What CASA brings to the table at PCs is a primary focus on the children’s needs. In their roles, trained CASA volunteers gather critical information about the children to ensure that their needs are being met and we speak to the child’s caregivers, teachers, and support system.

PCs play an even more important role during the pandemic because we can no longer go to the CPS office to review a case file and read over assessments and evaluations. With discussion and knowledge gathered through the PCs, we are better prepared for upcoming court hearings because updates on parents’ accomplishments, roadblocks, and possible solutions are provided at the PC.

By supporting CASA through Champions fore Charity, donors make a 107% difference! As a no-cost fundraising program, Champions fore Charity will give 100% of funds raised back to CASA plus a 7% match. This is practically unheard of!

If you’re not familiar, Champions fore Charity provides local charities the opportunity to generate contributions through the annual Valero Texas Open. Their fundraising goal increases every year and because of the support of donors like you, they have been able to achieve it! With your help, not only will Champions fore Charity reach their $7M goal but we will provide even more children in foster care with a trained CASA volunteer.

While the Valero Texas Open doesn’t take place until March 29 to April 4, 2021, online giving is open now! Become a champion by giving today!

Depending on the needs, the treatment plan can address aggression replacement, autism, PTSD, substance use, basic life skills for young adulthood, and illness management and recovery for depression or bipolar disorder. While clients must reside in Texas, CK Behavioral Health is able to provide telehealth anywhere in the state. To learn more and to submit a referral form, visit www.ckbh.org.