Roundtable Discussions & Special Reports

Roundtable discussions are designed to address key, urgent issues affecting the Texas child welfare system through a half-day program that is facilitated by a subject-matter legal expert. The topics vary year to year and the number of roundtables hosted each year also varies according to the interest of stakeholders and issues demanding attention. 

Roundtable Discussions

• Caregiver Notice Roundtable Report
• Current Issues in Children's Mental Health Round Table Report
• Education of Children & Youth Placed in Residential Treatment Roundtable Report
• Family Visitation in Child Protective Services Roundtable Report
• Mediation in Child Protection Cases Round Table Report
• Normalcy for Children and Youth in Foster Care Roundtable Report
• Notice and Engagement Round Table
• Parental Child Safety Placements Roundtable Report
• Psychotropic Medication and Foster Care in Texas Roundtable Report
• Restraints in Juvenile Court Discussion Final Report
• The 2012-2013 CPS Budget and Its Effect on Services to Families
• Tribal/State Collaborative Round Table Report
• Youth Presence in Court Proceedings Round Table Report

Reports

The Children’s Commission is sometimes charged by members of the executive, legislative, or judicial branches to study important topics related to child welfare law, policy, or practice. The following documents reflect recent examples of Commission-led reports.

• 2018 Study of Legal Representation in Child Protective Services Cases
• Building a Network of Trauma Informed Courts in Texas: In collaboration with the Children’s Commission, the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS) published Building a Network of Trauma Informed Courts in Texas which highlights the work and the resources created by the Trauma-Informed Courts Pilot Project.
• Dual Status Task Force Final Report
• Hearing Observation Project Report: In 2014, the Children’s Commission conducted a Hearing Quality Observation Project, an observation and data collection study involving 164 child welfare hearings held across Texas to establish a baseline about the quality of court hearings in child welfare cases.
• Pre-Petition Legal Representation Survey Report
• Protect Our Kids Commission Report
• Senate Bill 1575 (87th Regular Session) Report to the Legislature
• Senate Bill 1578 Forensic Assessment Center Network Report as Required by the 87th Texas Legislature
• Task Force on Court-Appointed Legal Representation Final Report
• The Texas Blueprint: Transforming Education Outcomes For Children & Youth In Foster Care
• The Texas Blueprint Implementation Task Force Final Report