Hundreds of children served by DePelchin programs interacted with student athletes and got to watch two of the most storied programs in college football compete during December’s TaxACT Texas Bowl.

DePelchin has been the Texas Bowl’s official charitable beneficiary since 2006, and during that time the game has donated more than $2 million in funding to DePelchin, as well as millions of dollars in promotional support and publicity.

Each year, children who are involved with DePelchin through foster care, adoption, and other programs get to visit with the teams in the days leading up to the game. This year, children and families got to meet players from the Texas A&M Aggies and the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Texas Bowl also donated tickets for DePelchin families to attend for free when the Aggies and Cowboys played on December 27. Oklahoma State won the game 31-23.

The partnership between DePelchin and the Texas Bowl goes well beyond the annual game. The Bowl also raises funds for DePelchin through its annual Gridiron Legends golf tournament. Each year, the golf tournament introduces new supporters to the services DePelchin provides — as well as the ongoing need for those services.

DePelchin is grateful for the partnership of the TaxACT Texas Bowl and its participating football teams, as well as all who help make the bowl experience memorable for children and families in our programs.

An outpouring of support from DePelchin donors and volunteers allowed us to fulfill holiday wishes for more than 1,400 children in our programs this year.

DePelchin supporters made the gifts possible through our annual Holiday Project, which collects gifts for children engaged with DePelchin programs in Houston, Austin, Lubbock and San Antonio. The tradition brightens the holidays for children while also making the season more manageable for the families who care for them.

Supporters of the Holiday Project chose children’s wish lists from our website and went shopping for their requested gifts. Some businesses and other employers held donation drives to collect gifts. Others made financial contributions to help our staff make sure that all wishes were fulfilled.

We are especially grateful for the groups and individuals who helped sort and prepare donations for pickup. Finally, we appreciate the DePelchin case managers who work closely with families throughout the year and helped to identify the needs and wishes of each child and ensured the gifts were delivered to families in time to celebrate the holidays.

DePelchin families have celebrated the holidays in other ways as well! In early December, Santa and some of his elves arrived at Hobby Airport in Houston on a Southwest airplane with goodies and gifts for DePelchin children. The kids took a tour of Santa’s plane, posed for photos with Santa, and received a bag full of gifts. Sarah Pepper of Mix 96.5, LyondellBassell Industries, Southwest Airlines and the Houston Airport System all helped make the day magical and memorable.

Thanks to so many volunteers and supporters, DePelchin children and youth are making some lasting and cherished memories during this holiday season. We are profoundly grateful for all who stepped up — during the holidays and throughout the year ­— to deliver joy to these kids and their families.

By Jesse Booher

Children and families around the world are celebrating November as National Adoption Month. Those of us who work with children each day are grateful for these families, and during this special month, we recognize the need to continue finding the loving families that all children deserve.

The need is certainly there. In Texas over the past year, nearly 4200 children left foster care to adoptive homes. As recently as September of 2023, over 7500 children in foster care had adoption as their primary goal for leaving foster care. The need is especially high for older children and for those who are part of sibling groups. Meanwhile, some families have perhaps considered adoption but don’t know where to start.

Before many families adopt in Texas, they start as foster families, meaning they provide temporary care for children whom the state has removed from their birth families due to abuse or neglect. Nonprofit organizations train and prepare prospective foster families and then work with the state to place children in the foster families that will best meet the needs of those children. The process of becoming a foster family can take three to six months, starting with an orientation session. From there, families fill out an application and participate in trauma-informed training sessions and a home study.

Foster parents can be single or coupled, including same-sex couples, and they may or may not already have children. The parent must be at least 21 years old, be in good physical health, pass a criminal background check and be able to financially provide for a child.

Those who decide to provide foster care are not alone. When working with child-placing organizations such as DePelchin, they receive trainings, counseling, in-home visits and other forms of support. The state also provides financial assistance.

Foster parents know that the care they provide may be temporary, because the goal is always to reunite children with their birth families or close family friends when possible. However, in instances in which parental rights are terminated, a foster family can choose to pursue adoption. The same organizations that place a child in a foster family often provides guidance and assistance throughout the process of adoption.

Throughout November and beyond, many families celebrate their adoption day. For all involved, it will be among the happiest days of their lives. Meanwhile, here in the Houston area and throughout Texas, other children continue to need safe and loving homes.

If you or someone you know is interested in learning more about the foster-to-adopt process, we invite you to reach out to us at DePelchin Children’s Center or a similar nonprofit organization that places children into care. We can tell you more about the guidance and support available to families who welcome a child into their homes and lives.

Jesse Booher is Senior Vice President and COO of DePelchin Children’s Center. To learn more about foster care and adoption through DePelchin, please email gettingstarted@depelchin.org.

DePelchin and other organizations gathered November 2 to launch Help Me Grow Gulf Coast, aimed at providing comprehensive support and resources for families with young children in the Gulf Coast region.

This collaborative initiative brings together community organizations, healthcare providers, early learning programs, and family support services to ensure every child has the best possible start in life.

Help Me Grow Gulf Coast is a partnership involving First3Years, United Way of Greater Houston, and DePelchin. It is part of the nationally recognized Help Me Grow system, which operates in numerous communities across the United States to organize resources, facilitate collaboration among service providers, and provide tailored support to families.

Key components of Help Me Grow Gulf Coast include:

1. Developmental Screenings: Help Me Grow Gulf Coast will offer easy access to developmental and autism screenings for young children. These screenings are essential for early detection of developmental delays, allowing for timely intervention.
2. Family Support and Navigation: Trained navigators will work closely with families to connect them to the right resources, services, and supports based on their family’s unique needs. This personalized approach aims to reduce barriers to accessing essential services.
3. Community Engagement: Help Me Grow Gulf Coast will collaborate with local organizations, healthcare providers, and educators to spread awareness about the importance of early childhood development and the available resources. Community engagement events and workshops will provide valuable information to parents and caregivers.
4. Data Collection and Analysis: The program will collect anonymous data to identify trends, gaps in services, and areas for improvement. This data-driven approach ensures that the program remains effective and responsive to the community’s needs.

“Parents want to be the experts on their child’s development, so they know how to foster their growth and help them thrive,” said Megan Green, DePelchin’s Director of Prevention and Early Intervention Services.  “Through the Help Me Grow call line, families can ask questions, participate in development screening, and be linked to services that will support them as a family. Our goal is to lift the burden of waitlists in the Gulf Coast community by linking families to personalized services for their children. Providers have the availability to serve, and families will get access to the service they need most. It’s a win-win for our communities.”

For more information about Help Me Grow Gulf Coast, please visit parentinghelp.org or contact Norma Rojas at nrojas@depelchin.org or 713-906-2108.

DePelchin has opened two residential programs for older children and teenagers — a critical population that can often be difficult to place in foster care.

The two new programs will be at DePelchin’s Today’s Harbor Campus in LaPorte, Texas. DePelchin has been preparing to open the programs since last year, when it assumed the assets of Today’s Harbor for Children, a longtime child-serving organization serving at-risk children and youth.

The Pregnant and Parenting Teen Program is a special and safe place for pregnant and parenting foster youth who are between 12 and 18 years old. Our highly trained and professional staff will guide our teen mothers through building relationships with their babies with the goal of ensuring health, stability, and safety for both the mother and her child(ren).

The Transitional Living Program provides a safe place for at-risk youth who are between 14 and 18 years old and aging out of foster care. The program is designed to assist youth who cannot reunify with their birth families, and who have decided that adoption is not an option for them. Our goal is to work with these young adults to prepare them for independence. Through this program, residents develop the coping methods, internal control, and social skills needed to function independently now and in the future.

With around-the-clock staff support, residents of DePelchin’s Today’s Harbor Campus will receive education, skills training, mental health services, and guidance in independent living.

“There is a major need for high-quality services for older youth in foster care,” said Jenifer Jarriel, DePelchin President and CEO. “These new programs represent a direct response to that need. We are grateful to the supporters who have made this expansion of our services possible, the staff who have worked diligently to prepare the Today’s Harbor campus, and the LaPorte community that has welcomed us so warmly.”

A new $3 million grant from the Valour Foundation will allow DePelchin Children’s Center to significantly expand access to counseling services for children and adults in the Greater Houston area.

The grant, which will be distributed over three years, will further DePelchin’s goal of providing more counseling services in schools, community centers and other Houston locations, with a focus on reaching under-resourced populations, serving at least 1,000 individuals who would otherwise be unable to access help for mental health challenges.

The Valour Foundation grant will support DePelchin’s three-pronged approach to reaching under-resourced children and families suffering with untreated mental health conditions:

• School-based counseling. DePelchin will expand its program embedding professional counselors in schools that have high proportions of under-resourced students. Since 2012, DePelchin has provided mental health clinicians to elementary, middle and high schools throughout Harris County. DePelchin currently has clinicians placed in 18 schools. The Valour Foundation grant will allow the program to expand to several new schools, serving a projected 120 additional students each calendar year.

• Office-based and virtual counseling. DePelchin will place more professional counselors in communities with high levels of unmet need, while also making counselors more widely available through virtual appointments. The Valour Foundation grant will fund new clinical staff, which will allow DePelchin to serve 200 new families in the first year and 230 families in years two and three of the project.

• Crisis counseling and triage. The demand for DePelchin’s no-cost, high-quality counseling services is high. Oftentimes this means that families must wait before being connected to needed services. With support from the Valour Foundation, DePelchin will implement a call-in assessment center that will expand their capacity to quickly connect families with needed services. With more available counselors, DePelchin hopes to offer same day or next day appointments.  Callers will be directed toward the most appropriate DePelchin program for their needs, or DePelchin may connect them with another organization. This expansion is expected to result in a 50% reduction in wait times from receipt of a referral to the first contact made with a clinician.

“In Greater Houston, DePelchin’s name is synonymous with high-quality mental health services, especially for children who have experienced the trauma of abuse or neglect, and for families whose mental health issues threaten their ability to stay together,” said DePelchin President and CEO Jenifer Jarriel. “Our vision is that of a world in which every child is safe and healthy, and this generous investment from the Valour Foundation will help us realize that vision by working with children and families who are under-resourced in regard to addressing mental health.”

The funding comes at a moment of tremendous need. Nationally, Texas ranks last in access to mental health services. As recently as 2021, more than 50% of Texas’ children diagnosed with mental illness received no treatment, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Beth Yudofksy, Director at The Valour Foundation, said “We are delighted to grant $3 million to DePelchin Children’s Center, empowering them to significantly expand access to counselling services for children and adults in the Greater Houston area. This three-year commitment aligns with our mission to enhance the mental wellness of individuals and communities, and support under-resourced populations in their pursuit of mental health services. Together, we aim to impact the lives of at least 1,000 individuals who would otherwise struggle to access the help they need. Our investment will support DePelchin’s comprehensive approach, spanning school-based counselling, office-based and virtual counselling, and crisis counselling and triage, all designed to reduce wait times and provide essential care. We are honored to partner with DePelchin Children’s Center in this vital endeavour.’’

Further, in November 2022, the Kinder Institute at Rice University published a comprehensive needs assessment of Houston ISD’s students, parents, and teachers to determine what types of services and supports should be prioritized to help students succeed. The authors’ top recommendation was to improve access to mental health services. School staff ranked mental health supports as the #1 priority for their campuses. Parents listed cost and knowledge about where to find services as primary barriers to accessing help.

One way to ensure that children are in safe and loving homes is to meet their mental health needs and those of their family members. With the start of National Emotional Wellness Month on October 1, we want to highlight the many ways that our programs support emotional wellness in children and families.

In fact, emotional wellness is a common thread throughout our work. For example, when we work with children in foster care, we work to make sure that they are receiving the counseling they need. We also provide counseling and parenting guidance for parents in our prevention programs, which aim to keep families safe and healthy so that foster care does not become necessary. At our Family Resource Center, we point families toward a variety of services that can help them, including mental health services. Finally, we provide school-based counseling at 18 campuses in four school districts in order to help the educators at those schools meet students’ needs.

All told, in 2022, DePelchin provided 19,000 hours of counseling and therapy services. 

Fortunately, we are building on these services. DePelchin recently announced a $5.9 million gift from Project Shine, Inc., a nonprofit organization supported by Houston philanthropists Lara and Bill Perkins. Some of that funding will allow us to decrease wait times for families who are served by DePelchin’s counseling programs. We will enhance its intake, assessment, and crisis response teams, while also hiring more clinical staff to increase the number of families who can access services. 

The gift from Project Shine will also help enhance the quality and scope of our residential programs, which serve youth including those who cannot safely reside in a foster home, those who are pregnant or parenting, and those who are about to age out of foster care.  

While we offer a wide variety of programs at DePelchin, they all work to support the mental well-being of children and families. We are grateful to the supporters who make it possible for us to address emotional wellness in children and families.

DePelchin Children’s Center, with generous support from two Houston donors, is launching a pilot program focused on preventing repeated instances of child abuse and neglect.

DePelchin’s three-year Together and SAFE pilot will team DePelchin staff with Child Protective Services investigators in Harris County. Investigators are tasked with responding to reports of child abuse and neglect but are often limited in the ongoing support they can provide.

In investigations where the risk for ongoing child abuse and neglect is high, DePelchin’s Together and SAFE team will partner with local investigative units to provide support to families immediately before, and for several months after, an investigation is closed. The services that DePelchin and its community partners will offer include trauma-focused mental health services, family-based therapy, fatherhood engagement, parenting education classes, basic needs, financial literacy, and referrals to additional services as needed. All services provided by DePelchin will be free of charge.

“Families in which child maltreatment has occurred are at the highest risk for repeated harm, which places them at the highest priority for intervention and help,” said DePelchin President and CEO Jenifer Jarriel. “Many families in this situation lack access to the resources they need to improve their mental health, decrease their stress, and learn effective parenting techniques. DePelchin is excited about partnering with CPS investigations to provide these services and reduce the risk of future child maltreatment.” 

The pilot is supported by an $860,000 grant from Project Shine, Inc., which is backed by Houston philanthropists Lara and Bill Perkins, as well as a $750,000 grant from The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston.  

“Our aim is to reduce the risk for ongoing child maltreatment and address family needs so that we positively impact the well-being of our community as a whole,” Jarriel said. “We are grateful to Lara and Bill Perkins, The Brown Foundation, and other supporters for making this work possible. And we cannot say enough about the enthusiasm and support from CPS leadership for engaging in this innovative partnership.”

“We’re excited for this partnership and eager to work with DePelchin to get families the support they need,” said Monica Sanders, the Regional Director overseeing CPS investigations. “Oftentimes we know families need more support than we can offer. Having DePelchin staff embedded within our units will help ensure a seamless transition from an investigation into services and support.”

A full-time DePelchin staff member will work arm-in-arm within selected investigative units to serve as the primary case manager for eligible families. The DePelchin staff member will accompany investigators to closing visits for cases and will immediately initiate services for families agreeing to participate. 

DePelchin has dedicated one case manager and two full time clinicians to addressing the individualized challenges of Together and SAFE families. Clinicians will use tools and strategies consistent with the successful evidence-based practices that DePelchin uses in other programs, while individualizing and supplementing services to best meet each family’s needs.

DePelchin and CPS will pilot and evaluate the Together and SAFE project over three years, with the possibility of expanding the program statewide after the pilot is complete and if it proves to be effective.

DePelchin Children’s Center will expand the reach and impact of its services for children and families with a $5.9 million gift from Project Shine, Inc., a nonprofit organization supported by Houston philanthropists Lara and Bill Perkins.

The gift, to be distributed over two years, is one of the most significant in the 131-year history of DePelchin, which works to support and sustain children and the families who care for them.

“In partnership with DePelchin Children’s Center, we seamlessly blend heartfelt compassion with data-driven outcomes,” Lara and Bill Perkins said. “By aligning our charitable efforts with tangible results, we guarantee that our donation catalyzes enduring improvements in the lives of children.”

The gift from Project Shine will impact five focus areas:

• Decreasing the time families wait to receive DePelchin’s free counseling programs. DePelchin will enhance its intake, assessment, and crisis response teams. DePelchin also will be hiring more clinical staff to increase the number of families who can access services.

• Establishing an innovative and unique partnership with the Harris County Child Protective Investigation team. DePelchin’s “Together and Safe” team will partner with local investigative units in cases where there is a high risk to children to provide ongoing support to families experiencing child maltreatment immediately before, and for several months after, an investigation is closed. Additionally, the team will be tracking long-term outcomes to measure efficacy and scalability.

• Investing in outreach and training support that is necessary to increase the number of families who can serve foster youth who are older, have higher clinical needs, are part of large sibling groups, or are living with relatives.

• Enhancing the quality and scope of DePelchin’s residential programs that serve youth who cannot safely reside in a foster home or with relatives, youth in foster care who are pregnant and/or parenting, older youth in foster care who are preparing to “age out,” and young adults who recently “aged out” of foster care and are learning to live independently.

• Expanding the work of DePelchin’s Data, Analytics, and Program Evaluation team. Lara and Bill’s generous gift also includes the funds necessary to advance DePelchin’s use of data to drive strategic decision-making, assess the impact of the above focus areas, and explore the utilization of advanced analytics and machine learning to improve service delivery and program evaluation.

“The overarching principle of every program we provide is to create safe, loving homes as well as opportunities for children and families to heal, grow and thrive,” said DePelchin President and CEO Jenifer Jarriel. “This incredible gift will enable us to reach more families with existing services while also creating new ways for us to serve vulnerable populations. We are profoundly grateful for the generosity of Project Shine and Lara and Bill Perkins.”

Texas children who are removed from their parents are increasingly finding temporary care with members of their extended families, such as grandparents, aunts, or uncles. These relatives often care for children who are difficult to place with traditional foster families, either because of their age or their unique needs.

Care provided by extended family members and close family friends is known as kinship care, and September is National Kinship Care Month. Across Texas, kinship caregivers fill an invaluable role in the lives of children and youth. When children are removed from their homes, Child Protective Services (CPS) seeks first to place them with a relative. In 2021, 45% of Texas children taken into CPS custody were placed with kin. Placement with a relative can allow children to remain connected to their families, cultures, schools, and communities. It also increases the likelihood that they will achieve “permanency” – adoption or a reliable relationship with the same family – before reaching adulthood.

DePelchin supports kinship caregivers in multiple ways. For example, if kinship caregivers are interested in becoming licensed foster families, DePelchin can help them through that process to ensure they receive the benefits that other foster parents receive — from support services from a case manager to the daily reimbursement rate to Medicaid health care for the children.

Kendra Burton, a mother of five who works full time as a nurse practitioner, became a foster parent through kinship care.

“When life presented this opportunity to offer my family more love, we connected with DePelchin,” Ms. Burton said. “They have been a great asset and liaison for our family.

Kinship care is one of the most rewarding things I have ever done in my life. To him that much is given, much is expected. This was our plan and I’m thankful and grateful to the organizations that assisted to make this process as seamless as possible.”

Most kinship caregivers do not seek to become licensed foster parents. While other foster parents are required to become licensed through the state, kin caregivers are not. They may not want to go through the lengthy application process, the more intensive monitoring by social workers, the 40 hours of training and many of the other requirements of becoming licensed. In addition, some families providing informal kinship care would appreciate the option to enter into more formalized foster care services and could benefit from the additional financial assistance. However, they do not qualify for those services.

DePelchin supports these caregivers through a program known as Big Hearts Raising Kids. Through this program, DePelchin staff help families find assistance with basic needs, provide guidance and coaching on parenting strategies, and connect kin caregivers with other families and DePelchin support staff.

“Our kinship caregivers often come to us needing support, guidance, and education, and we are here to help,” said Jody Chandler, DePelchin’s Program Manager for Prevention. “We are also here to show them the many strengths that they already have and the power of their decision to try.”

DePelchin is grateful for the families who provide kinship care and for the supporters who allow us to serve them.

Please click here to learn more about our kinship programs.

You may also support our kinship programs and other DePelchin services by making a donation.