TACFS helped represent Texas as one of 16 states invited to the annual in-person Race & Tribal Equity Convening in Nashville last week hosted by Casey Family Programs. This year’s convening focused on narrowing the front door to care for Black, African American, and Indigenous children.

Casey has long led the charge nationally to create spaces that focus on the reduction of Black and Indigenous children entering care. TACFS is honored to work as part of the Texas team to grapple with the most recent disproportionality data, racism, and the changes we are making locally.

This collaborative gathers stakeholders both from Texas and from around the nation to discuss and create tangible ways of eliminating disproportionality. The state teams explore and achieve consensus on root causes that contribute to these disparities and think through practical solutions that would cause lasting system impacts.

Texas Team: Anne Heiligenstein (Casey Family Programs), Tanya Rollins (Equity and Inclusion Consultant), Paula Bibbs Samuels (LPC Provider/Parent Partner), Chelsy Alexander (TACFS), (Mosley Hobson (Texas DFPS), Jamie Bernstein (Children’s Commission), and Robbie Callis (Casey Family Programs).

TACFS is hugely thankful to Casey Family Programs and their entire team for investing in this space and Casey’s Senior Consultant for Texas, Anne Heiligenstein for her leadership.