Texas child welfare

In March, the national Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities issued its final report, “Within Our Reach: A National Strategy to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.” In my opinion, one item in this strategy is of particular note because it represents a step away from traditional (and insufficiently effective) approaches, is especially effective and entails little cost.

Between 2000 and 2010, Texas saw its youth population grow by one million. In the same time frame, the state’s youth population went from 40.5 percent Latino to 48.3 percent. Basic logic would suggest that the state’s child welfare system would undergo a similar shift in demographics, and the number of Latino children in the system and up for adoption would swell.