Foster Care Numbers are Dropping in Harris County — Is That Good or Bad News?

While the number of children in foster care has increased nationwide in the last five years — and the population of Harris County has increased since 2010 — the number of kids in foster care in the county over that time has dropped annually, based on the Annie E. Casey Foundation’s Kids Count data and numbers from Texas Child Protective Services. Is this a sign that Harris County’s doing something right?

We explore why Harris County’s bucking the national trend in foster care. We hear from Debra Page of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, Ashley Harris from the advocacy group Texans Care for Children, and DeJuana Jernigan from DePelchin Children’s Center.

We also hear about foster care in Texas from the point of view of an adult who aged out of the system and now advocates for kids within it. And we hear about changes in that system designed to address instances of abuse and neglect.

MORE:
Report: Texas CPS is Failing to Protect the State’s Most Vulnerable Children (Houston Matters, Jan. 20, 2015)
Foster Home Shortage in Houston (Houston Matters, Sept. 20, 2013)