The Public Policy and Law Center has been off to a busy start in 2011 with the commencement of the 82nd Texas Legislative Session! For our first major event of the year, over forty child advocates from throughout the state gathered at the Capitol on February 17th for CHILDREN AT RISK’s Children’s Advocacy Day. The day began with a rally on the steps of the Capitol followed by meetings with legislators in which attendees were able to share their priorities and also learn what the initiatives this session mean for the children in our state.
State and national mental health organizations came together on February 23rd to attend CHILDREN AT RISK’s press conference in Dallas to celebrate the release of and hear key findings from our latest publication, Texas Juvenile Mental Health Courts: An Evaluation and Blueprint for the Future. The publication provides an extensive evaluation on the Juvenile Mental Health Courts in Texas and will serve as an important resource this legislative session by providing clear data to support the maintenance of funding for these courts and other vital mental health services for children. Immediately following the press conference, community mental health leaders gathered at the Communities Foundation of Texas for CHILDREN AT RISK’s Juvenile Mental Health Policy Roundtable to discuss the state of mental health services for children in North Texas. If you would like to receive a copy of this publication please sign up for the luncheon in Houston on March 23rd (register here) or e-mail trivera@childrenatrisk.org.
Human trafficking is a CHILDREN AT RISK priority, and we are collaborating with Shared Hope International during the first week of March to release their Protected Innocence Report Card, which provides an in-depth analysis of each state’s legislative framework on areas of law critical to protecting and responding to domestic minor sex trafficking. Along with other anti-trafficking leaders, CHILDREN AT RISK will stand with Shared Hope International to release Texas’ Report Card at press conferences that will be held in San Antonio, Austin, and Houston.
CHILDREN AT RISK would like to applaud the Dallas Women’s Foundation for coordinating the efforts between the North Texas Trafficking Task Force and vice units from state and local police departments to identify suspicious criminal activity indicative of human trafficking during Super Bowl 2011. Numerous arrests were made by the units, four of which involved children under the age of 18.
Lack of access to affordable and nutritious foods is an issue faced by many children and families across Texas. On February 21st, CHILDREN AT RISK met with members of The Food Trust, a Philadelphia-based nonprofit organization, to address this very important issue. CHILDREN AT RISK is working with The Food Trust, the Houston Food Bank, and several other key community stakeholders to find ways to provide greater access to fresh foods to communities, known as food deserts, that have few to no supermarkets available.
Please continue to visit our website for updates on our current initiatives, new research and legislative progress!