Essay On Foster Care In Texas - 820 Words

To: State Representative Alma Allen (D-Harris County) State Representative Carol Alvarado (D-Harris County) From: Preetha Swamy, LMSW Date: September 25th, 2017 Subject: Disastrous Impacts of Current State Policies on Foster Care Youth in Texas The foster care system in Texas is broken and policies like SB-4 and HB-3859 continue to fracture the system even more. The high volume of children entering into the system and the substantial number of caseloads for social workers are exacerbated by the current policies. It is our job as policymakers and policy analysts to address this issue so that ALL the children of the Lone Star state have a better future. Throughout this memo, I will highlight the current condition of the foster care†¦show more content†¦Detrimental Policies for Children: SB-4 HB 3859 SB-4 SB-4 will increase the number of children who will enter foster care. Enacted on May 7th, 2017, Governor Greg Abbott signed this legislation. Under this bill, local officials must comply with federal immigration authorities or they will be fined. The reason why this legislation negatively impacts children is because local officials can ask their parents about their citizenship status. If they deem them illegal, they can be deported. The caveat is that, if the child is born in the United States and the parents are questioned when the child is in school or elsewhere, the child can end up in foster care. This is a simplistic example, but it does show how the children of immigrants can enter into the system. However, on August 30th, 2017, the Federal District court issued a temporary halt on this law. HB-3859 Yet, despite this small judicial victory, Governor Abbott signed HB 3859. This bill gives child welfare agencies that are faith-based more autonomy with the services that they provide. For example, an agency can â€Å"refuse to contract with other organizations that dont share their religious beliefs.† As gender identity is a hot-button issue in the state, this give these child welfare agencies to use taxpayers dollars to discriminate against foster youth and prospective parents. The legislation allows for welfare agencies to â€Å"refuseShow MoreRelatedInterest Groups in Texas Essay1457 Words   |  6 PagesIn this essay I will compare and contrast the different legislative agendas of various interest groups involved with the Texas Government. An interest group (also called an advocacy group, lobbying group, pressure group, or special interest) is a collection of members that are determined to encourage or prevent changes in public policy without trying to be elected. 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