SAN ANTONIO — Starting February 1, The Children's Center's Family Tapestry Program took the reins for foster care transitions in Bexar County. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services chose The Children's Shelter to receive contracted funding to provide trauma-informed care services to kids and families.
The Family Tapestry was formed in August to restructure the way The Children's Center delivers services to help kids transition and heal. One new component of the process involves offering youth waiting for foster placement an inviting center to stay in until a home is ready.
"Instead of that child going with a caseworker, either back to the DFPS office or be in the backseat of a car, and have to sit in a parking lot to put information in the system, those children recently removed will go to the Family Tapestry placement program and we'll look for a place for them," said Children's Shelter CEO Annette Rodriguez.
All staff at the center have trauma-informed training, so they're ready to create the type of environment that will help kids to heal and thrive.
"You've just been removed from your home because of abuse abandonment or neglect and, regardless of how bad the situation's been, that's still your family and all you know, and you're being removed from a place where you don't know anyone and don't know what's going to happen to you," Rodriguez said.
On just the first day of community based care, the Family Tapestry program took in at least 12 kids in need of placement. Optimally, they would like to place kids within Bexar County, which means they will need more families to volunteer to foster or, at the very least, to provide respite care.
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