"Mechanisms of Injury in Childhood": A New DVD Resource for Child Abuse Professionals  

The University of Texas Health Science Center (UTHSC) San Antonio has released, "Mechanisms of Injury in Childhood," a DVD intended to improve the investigation, prosecution and judicial management of suspected cases of child physical abuse.  This DVD utilizes sophisticated and detailed medical illustrations and animation as well as radiographs to demonstrate the location, characteristic, and biomechanics of injuries in young children that involve internal structures (fractures, head injuries, abdominal injuries).  This DVD provides a realistic demonstration of injury mechanisms that go well beyond the capabilities of typical two-dimensional illustrations. 

The goal for users of the DVD is an improved knowledge of injuries and findings in abuse cases, an understanding of the actual physical mechanisms of the injuries, and increased confidence in the assessment and investigation of cases of suspected child abuse. 250 copies of the DVD have been produced and distributed throughout the state.  UTHSC has established a web-link of the program within Child Protective Services's (CPS), Children's Advocacy Centers of Texas's, and Texas Center for the Judiciary's respective intranets.  CPS personnel, multidisciplinary team members, and judges are able to access the program at any location with internet capabilities.  Additionally, the program will soon be available to Apple iphone and Android phone users. This ease of accessibility will make the program directly available to users in the field as the information is needed.

Travis County Pilots New Transition Court

The Travis County courts recently piloted a new transition court project aptly named SYNC2, Successful Youth Needing Community and Connection. Led by Travis County Associate Judge John Hathaway, the SYNC2 is designed to increase the number of older youth transitioning to safe and stable permanency; thus, reducing the number of youth leaving foster care who become homeless or incarcerated. At its core, SYNC2 is a youth-centered, family-focused initiative, offering an environment in which the youth feels empowered with an emphasis on connecting youth to family members and other supportive adults committed to providing healthy, long-term adult relationships with the youth.

SYNC2 utilizes a problem-solving court model to elevate the youth voice in court and make the child protective system more responsive to the wants and needs expressed by youth. The format consists of frequent, informal, "permanency meetings" instead of official hearings held in the courtroom. Along with the youth and Judge Hathaway, a core team, including representatives from CASA of Travis County, CPS, and the juvenile justice system, attends every meeting. Each hearing lasts about 45-60 minutes and results in an agreement among participants to complete specific tasks prior to the next hearing. Hearings are held every two months, as opposed to the statutorily required six months and the four month period Travis County uses for other Permanent Managing Conservatorship cases.

SYNC2 is a collaborative effort of the Travis County Courts, CASA of Travis County, Child Protective Services, Office of Child Representation, Office of Juvenile Probation, District Attorney's office, Arrow Project and Settlement Home. SYNC2 launched in August 2010 with eight youth participating. Judge Hathaway will present on SYNC2 at this year's CPS Judicial Conference, July 6-8 in Austin.

Upcoming Events: Advanced Child Abuse Investigation  

The Advanced Child Abuse Investigation training was implemented to improve law enforcement's response to child abuse and neglect, specifically child sexual abuse and exploitation cases. The training provides an overview on how to effectively respond to abuse, neglect, and exploitation with instruction on the benefits of using a multidisciplinary team approach.  Students attending and successfully completing this training will receive 24 hours of TCLEOSE credit (Course # 53264).  This class does not satisfy the TCLEOSE Intermediate Child Abuse (Course # 2105).

For more information about the Advanced Child Abuse Investigation or to register online, click here.

February 1, 2011 was CASA Day at the State Capitol.  Nearly 300 CASA volunteers, staff and board members gathered to urge Texas legislators to make abused and neglected children a top priority in the state's budget decisions.  While the Senate Finance Committee was hearing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) budget and considering an 18% cut to Child Protective Services (CPS), almost 200 CASA advocates signed a letter urging the committee to grant DFPS's funding requests for CPS.  During the day, CASA representatives visited each of the 181 legislative offices and provided information about the significant need for additional resources for both CASA and CPS throughout the state due to a projected growth in the number of children requiring CPS services in the next few years.  While CASA has been extremely successful with its volunteer recruitment efforts, with 6,619 volunteers currently advocating for children throughout Texas, the total number of children in CPS custody is predicted to more than double by 2014.

2012 CJA Grant Program 

The Texas Children's Justice Act (CJA) is pleased to announce its 2012 Grant Program. CJA's mission is to improve the investigation, prosecution, and judicial handling of cases of child abuse and neglect, including child sexual abuse and exploitation, in a manner that limits additional trauma to the child victim and the victim's family. Meeting this challenge requires focused, multidisciplinary collaboration among the participants in the child protection system throughout the state of Texas.

One of the principal methods of achieving our mission is through our annual grant process. In April and May of 2010, the CJA Task Force engaged in a process to refine its previous recommendations and determine how to direct CJA resources over the next two years. The 2012 recommendations and associated outcomes are a result of that process and are intended to inform the use of CJA funding. 

Along with the Task Force recommendations, CJA has determined four types of project categories eligible for funding:

• Model/Demonstration Projects
• Venture Grants
• Other Project Grants
• General Operating Support

CJA is now accepting letters of intent (LOIs) under these four categories and pertaining to our specified recommendations. The deadline for submitting a LOI is Friday, April 22nd. If the LOI is accepted, CJA will invite the organization to submit a full application. Only those organizations proposing projects that best support the Task Force recommendations and contribute to the reform of state child protection systems will be invited to submit a full application.

For instructions on completing the letter of intent, click here.

Upcoming Events