In May 2023, the CASA of Travis County Board of Directors adopted a new strategic plan, which includes newly articulated goals and strategies that build on the progress CASA has made in the past nearly 40 years. One pillar of the new strategic plan is “safe homes for children while in care and beyond, prioritizing family connections and/or safe & stable relationships with supportive adults.”
CASA’s primary role in child welfare cases is assessing the safety of children in their placements. Assessing safety is more than just assessing physical safety, though. Rather, assessing safety also includes felt safety, connection to family, safe relationships, and access to resources. CASA evaluates each of these safety elements and uses information to provide appropriate advocacy in every case.
There are three strategic goals in the Safe Homes pillar: 1) define the elements of a “safe home” while in the State’s care and beyond, and measure the effectiveness of our child safety work; 2) conduct family finding and engagement on every case; and 3) expand Bridge to Permanency direct assistance to placements and family resource specialist support to all kinship placements, and measure the effectiveness of this support.
CASA’s primary role in child welfare cases is assessing the safety of children in their placements. Assessing safety is more than just assessing physical safety, though. Rather, assessing safety also includes felt safety, connection to family, safe relationships, and access to resources. CASA evaluates each of these safety elements and uses information to provide appropriate advocacy in every case.
CASA’s initiatives related to safe homes have evolved over the past several years to include more nuanced programming based on the needs of the children for whom we advocate and their families. Our Early Family Engagement and Family Finding programs have located and engaged family members in select cases for more than a decade, and we are working now to include family engagement activities across all cases. We have just received our third accreditation from Praesidium, Inc., for our high-quality child safety policies, procedures, and training. Over the last seven years, CASA has initiated child safety incident reports and developed a Quality and Safety Team to conduct high-risk case staffings and visit and assess congregate care facilities where children for whom we advocate are placed. We now embark on an in-depth analysis of these efforts, leading with data. Our newest programmatic additions include Bridge to Permanency, which provides direct financial assistance to family and kinship placements so that they do not fall apart due to financial constraints, and a Resource Specialist who provides family/kinship placements, including parents, assistance with finding and accessing community resources for long-term support and stability of the family/placement.
What comes next? In 2024, we began an effort to conduct family finding and engagement activities on every case, training and encouraging staff and volunteers on ways to engage family members. In January, 59% of cases had logged a family engagement activity, which puts us well on our way to having family finding and engagement on all cases.
What comes next? In 2024, we began an effort to conduct family finding and engagement activities on every case, training and encouraging staff and volunteers on ways to engage family members. In January, 59% of cases had logged a family engagement activity, which puts us well on our way to having family finding and engagement on all cases.
In addition, we started measuring the effectiveness of Bridge to Permanency and the Resource Specialist position so that we can identify gaps that need to be filled. As examples of the benefits of these resources: 81% of children whose family or kinship placements were assisted with Bridge to Permanency were either still in the same placement 90 days later or their cases had closed, allowing them to exit the foster care system altogether.
We know that the child welfare system is neither the best nor safest place for children; the State makes an inadequate parent. Our Safe Homes efforts are designed to help CASA do our part to assure that the children for whom we advocate are safe in their placements and in their permanent homes.
We know that the child welfare system is neither the best nor safest place for children; the State makes an inadequate parent. Our Safe Homes efforts are designed to help CASA do our part to assure that the children for whom we advocate are safe in their placements and in their permanent homes.
