Report of the Governor's Committee to Promote Adoption Page: 19
40 p.View a full description of this report.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
Outline for
Action
General Principles
All children should be able to expect their basic needs
for safety, security, and stability to be met.
Because successful families are the most efficient and
effective means of meeting children's needs, children
should be placed in a permanent family as quickly as
possible.
Communities must ensure that society, in all its
multiple functions, establishes and maintains
encouragement and support for well functioning
families.
Goal
Assure that timely, successful adoption is an option
for children when necessary.
I. Objective: Minimize
trauma to the child.
Strategies:
1. Limit the amount of change for each child.
2. Minimize stigma to the child.
3. Ensure sensitivity to the child throughout the process.
4. Develop a system that will increase timeliness and
success of adoptions.
Recommendations:
1. For children in PRS conservatorship, require
concurrent planning with clearly defined
responsibilities and deadlines for the birth parents andeither termination of parental rights or reunification
with the family within 12 months of removal.
2. Require PRS to begin the search for prospective
adoptive parents when it has decided to petition the
court for termination of parental rights.
3. Limit the number of placements for each child.
When the foster parents are willing to adopt they
should be considered first, as long as it is in the best
interest of the child.
. Consider long term placement issues when initially
placing a child into a foster home.
Encourage foster parents to be dually licensed as adop-
tive parents, when appropriate, without putting pressure
on those who want to be only one or the other.
4. Limit the number of caseworkers for each child.
. Create incentives to retain caseworkers and avoid
turnover.
. Require more specialized staff training on adoption
and monitor to ensure it is done.
5. Arrange for non-traditional support for the child.
Volunteer friend/mentor/advocate programs to remain
in contact with the child regardless of placement, as
appropriate.
. Opportunities to interact with kids who have "made it."
Ensure that transitional planning includes involve-
ment of the child and to ensure that the child has an
understanding of the transition to the extent of his/her
abilities.
. Sponsor a "kids summit" focused on changes needed
that will get input of foster and adoptive children.
6. Establish policy, accountability, and monitoring to
assure consistency between regions. Design incentives
and remove disincentives for family participation in the
adoption program.
Set time frames for: (1) initial screening of adoptive
families and response; and (2) conduct home study
within four months of application approval. Document
the results in writing within 30 days of completion.
* Evaluate management level staff on their effective-
ness in moving children to permanency in expeditious
time frames.
. Develop a comprehensive assessment service center19
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This report can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Report.
Texas. Governor's Committee to Promote Adoption. Report of the Governor's Committee to Promote Adoption, report, September 1996; Austin, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth1204048/m1/19/: accessed July 17, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.