Transcript Slide 1

Created by:
V. Danette Cummings, Taylor County CWB
TCCWB
Regional Child
Welfare Board
Advisory Council
Local County
Board
Local County
Board
Regional Child
Welfare Board
Advisory Council
Local County
Board
Local County
Board
Local County
Board
 The mission of TCCWB is to support a statewide
network of volunteers concerned with the welfare of
children, especially those who are abused and
neglected.
 The vision of TCCWB is to lead a cohesive network of
child welfare boards supporting services to vulnerable
children and families and promoting prevention of
child abuse and neglect so that all children live in a
loving, nurturing, and safe environment.
Officers and members advocate for children through:
 encouraging legislation to provide services to abused
and neglected children and to prevent child abuse;
 working with child protective services (CPS) staff on
programs that meet children’s needs;
 networking with other agencies and organizations to
provide the best care for abused and neglected
children; and
 working to prevent abuse and neglect through public
awareness and joint cooperation.
Duties of TCCWB delegates:
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Attending TCCWB meetings & committee meetings
Serving & actively participating in at least one committee
Reviewing and preparing prior to meetings
Submitting County/Regional Report Form
Relaying information to Regional Council (CWAC)
Educating CWAC & CWBs on available resources
Assist in formulating and evaluating TCCWB goals &
objectives
 Notifying TCCWB of changes in contact information
 Informing TCCWB of regional events for posting on
website
 Submitting documentation of expenses after meeting
Regional Child Welfare Board
Advisory Council
The mission of the regional council is to advocate for the
welfare of children and to assist local boards in achieving
their goals. Regional councils provide training and
information on regional and statewide issues. Presentations
may include information from the Texas Council of Child
Welfare Boards; information about current CPS initiatives
and CPS policies/ procedures; legislative issues related to
Child Protective Services and local regional issues impacting
services to families and children.
The regional councils operate according to each region’s needs
and wishes. In most instances, each local board elects one or
two delegates as their representative to the regional council.
Each regional council elects two to three members to represent
their council at the Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards.
For specifics, refer to the TCCWB bylaws.
Duties of regional delegates are:
 Reporting local CWB activities and concerns to the
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Regional Council
Relaying information obtained at Regional Council
meetings back to CWB
Educating oneself and the CWB on child abuse/neglect
and resources available for prevention, intervention,
and treatment
Regularly attending Regional Council meetings
Actively participating in the Regional Council’s
committees and activities
Local Child Welfare Boards
 The Texas Family Code, §264.005, provides for the
appointment of county residents to a child welfare
board (CWB) by the county commissioners court.
The CWB is an entity of DFPS for the purposes of
providing coordinated state and local public welfare
services for children and their families, and
coordinating the use of federal, state, and local funds
for those services. Since CWB members are appointed
by the commissioners court, CWB's are also an
extension of that entity.
Local CWB Organizational
Requirements:
An active and effective CWB possesses a clear sense of purpose
and a strong organizational framework. Members are wellinformed and able to commit the time required for CWB
meetings and activities. Each CWB should have:
 Mission statement
 Annual goal setting meeting
 Bylaws approved by the commissioners court
 Annual budget
 Current roster of members
 Job descriptions for officers, members, and committees
 Timely orientation for new members
 Post meeting agenda 72 hours prior to each CWB meeting
Responsibilities of CWB members:
 Attending all board meetings and assigned committee meetings;
 Reviewing the agenda and supporting materials prior to board and committee
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meetings;
Serving on committees or task forces and offering to take on special
assignments;
Staying informed about the board’s mission, policies, and services, and about
the CPS program, staff , and child abuse and neglect issues;
Informing the community about the child welfare program;
Helping to develop, recommend, and present the annual budget to the
commissioners court;
Enhancing processes and decisions in support of child welfare services and
opportunities for CPS staff recognition;
Adhering to annual background checks, conflict of interest and
confidentiality policies;
Assisting with building an informed and supportive constituency;
Recruiting, training, and developing new CWB members;
Serving as a liaison to other resources for abused and neglected children in
the community; and
Facilitating the solution of child welfare-related problems in the community
State Requirement of Child
Welfare Board Members
•Members are expected to know and comply
with the requirements of the Open Meetings
Act, Government Code 551.
State law requires members, as appointed
officials, to receive training on the Open
Meetings Act and the Public Information Act
within 90 days from the date of the
appointment.
Must print a copy of course completion
certificate and file a copy with the county clerk.
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Selecting Board Members
 Ability to listen, analyze, think creatively and work one-on-one
with people and in a group setting.
 Willing to learn more about the board, prepare for and attend
board and committee meetings, ask questions, take
responsibility and follow through on assignments, contribute
generous personal and financial resources depending on
circumstances, open doors in the community and evaluate
oneself as a board member.
 Open to developing skills, such as cultivating and soliciting
funds, recruiting additional board members and other
volunteers and reading financial statements.
 Possess honesty, sensitivity to and tolerance of differing views,
a friendly, responsive and patient approach, communitybuilding skills, a sense of values and a sense of humor,
personal integrity and concern for the board's development.
Keeping Board Members Invested
 Conduct CWB business in a professional, organized & timely
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manner.
Prepare new board members with an orientation by staff &
existing board members. New board members should be given
collateral materials about the organization’s current & recent
activities, as well as any information that will be useful in their
position.
Thank & recognize board members to sustain job satisfaction
for volunteer board members.
Lead by example through good attendance & active
participation in board meetings. This can be an effective way
to deal with inactive board members.
Conduct exit interviews for board members who leave to learn
more about their board experience.
Provide information/feedback on how CWB
decisions/activities are helping children.
Promoting Leadership in CWBs
 Recruit people who have a passion for your mission.
 Connect members with the organization’s work through direct
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experience, conversations with program staff and compelling stories
that illustrate the importance of the organization’s work.
State expectations of board members up front during the
recruitment process.
Make time to talk together as a board about the culture that you
want to create or perpetuate on the board, and how you can work
together most productively.
Let potential board members know about the culture of the board
up front.
Create rituals to celebrate achievements, recognize people who have
made a contribution, and mark new moments in the organization’s
history.
Address Regional and State level board activities/meetings. Have
brief reports on activities of regional and state boards. Have
members attend regional and state meetings when possible.
Partnering Agencies
Giving Texas Children Promise and
Texas Council of Child Welfare Boards
have been partnering agencies since
GTCP began.
Many local CWBs also serve as the local board for GTCP.
Some communities have separate boards but work
together to be supportive in the common mission of
serving abused and neglected children of Texas.
RAINBOW ROOMS:
A Place for Hope and a New Start
The Rainbow Room is an emergency resource center available to CPS
caseworkers to help them meet the critical needs of abused and neglected
children. Rainbow Rooms stock new items that go directly to children entering
foster or relative care and children in their own homes who live below the
poverty line.
Building Working Relationships
with CPS
 Make certain a CPS staff/liaison attends CWB
meeting (Liaison to bring monthly report re: #
children in foster care, kinship care, investigations).
 Coordinate and attend special activities with CPS
staff, i.e. Adoption Days, Heart Gallery, Go Blue Day,
etc.
 Gain a working knowledge of CPS policy and the
Family Code that governs policy.
 Understand CPS “language”
CPS Lingo
Hello, I’m Cathy Smith, the CVS worker for Johnny
Hurtmealot. CPS has PMC of Johnny, a 10 yo male
whose MO and PP were found RTB for PHAB and
SXAB. As the FP, we need you to attend an ARD
meeting as the SP for the child who recently had an
FIE where he was said to qualify as SI, OHI, and SLD.
They will need to review his IEP's and request an FBA
so they can develop a BIP.
CVS – Conservatorship
SP-Surrogate Parent
CPS – Child Protective Services
ARD-Admission, Review & Dismissal
PMC-Permanent Managing
FIE-Full & Individual Initial Evaluation
Conservatorship
SI-Sensory Integration
MO- Mother
OHI-Other Health Impairment
PP – Parent’s paramour
SLD-Specific Learning Disability
RTB- Reason to Believe
IEP-Individual Education Program
PHAB-Physical Abuse
(Plan)
SXAB-Sexual Abuse
FBA-Functional Behavior Assessment
FP-Foster Parent
BIP-Behavior Intervention Plan
Community Awareness
Community Awareness events center around making
the community aware of issues surrounding child
abuse/neglect. CAEs are also good opportunities
to educate the community about CWBs and to
recruit for new members.
 April – National Child Abuse Prevention Month
 Go Blue Day in April
 May – National Foster Care Month
 Heart Gallery
 November – National Adoption Day
Child Abuse Prevention
 Support families and provide parents with the skills
and resources they need.
 Support providers who are serving families by
providing tools and resources.
 Create communities that have supportive services in
place and a shared goal of safety and stability for
families.
 Publicize information on reporting laws and how to
report suspected child abuse/neglect.
Fundraising Ideas
 Promote TCCWB license plates!!!
 Think outside the box!!!
 Illusionist or magic show
 Purse Auction (online or show)
 Bunko tournament
 No Go Gala
 Men’s Style Show
 Find fundraising ideas that relate to your mission or
find ways to relate it to the mission (Go Blue
promotional items, t-shirts, etc.).
 Look to technology.
IMPORTANT RESOURCES:
 TCCWB Resource Manual and Operations Manual
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on TCCWB website http://www.tccwb.org
OAG Open Meetings training
https://www.oag.state.tx.us/open/index.shtml
Texas Adoption website
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/Application/TARE/Home.
aspx/Default
It’s Up To You – Child Abuse Awareness website
http://www.dfps.state.tx.us/itsuptoyou/default.asp
National Foster Care website
http://www.fostercaremonth.org
Questions And Answers
How can TCCWB support your local
board?
Contact:
TCCWB Executive Director,
Shannon Ireland, at
[email protected] or 512-484-8598