Foster Care Overhaul Would More Than Triple the State’s Returns
Texas began a strategic plan to reform the foster care system in 2014, but the overhaul is still in the early stages of rollout. The plan has been moving forward without much fanfare, at a time when Child Protective Services is taking a lot of heat for some high-profile tragedies.
The biggest change is a shift away from investigation efforts – the CPS worker who comes knocking on the door asking questions – to a public heath approach aimed at strengthening families and reducing the number of serious injuries and fatalities.
The plan puts a heavy emphasis on the staggering cost of child abuse and the need to be smarter about resources – to use big data as never before. The man behind the numbers is Waco-based Ray Perryman, CEO of an economic and financial analysis firm. He’s been looking at the argument for the overhaul from an economic standpoint.
In a new report, Perryman says that for every dollar the state puts into the plan to overhaul the foster care system, it would see a return of $3.44. The study was paid for by Our Community Our Kids, which contracts with CPS to provide care in the Fort Worth area through the second phase of the foster care overhaul plan. (The first phase failed due to funding concerns.)
Read more: http://www.texasstandard.org/stories/foster-care-overhaul-would-more-than-triple-the-states-returns/
