When families are separated, parents and kids can both experience deep and lasting trauma. Some families are torn apart as a result of incarceration, while others are separated by state investigations. As in every other area of the system, this is particularly harmful to families of color, who are disproportionately impacted.
It’s vital for kids to have safe, healthy homes with adults who care for them. When their families are able to provide these environments and kids are able to stay with their loved ones, everyone wins.
That’s why we’re focused on helping families reunite and remain together. After successfully passing a family reunification law in 2021 and sharing resources to help more parents, we’re creating a “Know Your Rights” guide to help parents navigate the child welfare system. We’re also sharing stories from advocates whose families have experienced separation. And later in 2024, we’re planning a series of “Know Your Rights” clinics to bring more of this information directly to impacted Texans.
Family Preservation Video Series
In 2024, TCJE released a series of videos focused on family preservation and reunification. In the first video we shared, Women's Justice Director Cynthia Simons sat down with Annette Price, Executive Director of Grassroots Leadership, to share lived experience with these issues.
All three videos are available on TCJE's YouTube channel.
Learn More
- COALITION: Get to know the impacted women, advocates, service providers, and other women fighting for Texas families with the Texas Women's Justice Coalition | Click Here »
- CAMPAIGN: Check out TCJE's 2024 Amplify Austin campaign, which raised support for family preservation | Click Here »
- PLAYLIST: Watch our full family preservation playlist on Facebook | Click Here »
Quick Facts
Below are some quick facts on family separation, child welfare, and the carceral system in Texas:
1 in 3
Approximately 1 in 3 employees of Texas' Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) left in fiscal year 2022
81 %
A survey of incarcerated women found that 81% of women in Texas prisons were mothers
6x
In Travis County (Austin), Black families are 6 times more likely to be separated
7%
In 2020, 7% of all US children living in foster care were in Texas