Texas Child Protection Law Bench Book

August 2015 edition

B. The Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities

Texas Health and Human Services Commission and DFPS have been addressing disproportionality at the statewide level since 2005. In 2011, the Texas Health and Human Services created the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities to eliminate the disproportionate number of African American children in Texas foster care, including:

•   Developing and delivering cultural competency training to service delivery staff;

•   Increasing targeted recruitment efforts of foster and adoptive families who can meet the needs of children who are waiting for permanent homes;

•   Targeting recruitment efforts to ensure diversity among CPS staff; and

•   Developing collaborative partnerships with community groups, agencies, faith-based organizations and other community organizations to provide culturally competent services to children and families of every race and ethnicity.