Child wellbeing should be a priority at all levels of American government, especially when it comes to children who face abuse, neglect or are otherwise at risk. By a 6-to-1 margin, voters say the federal government should spend more on the health, safety and wellbeing of our children, according to a 2022 nationwide poll.
However, this mindset assumes policymakers already know enough to solve the problems facing the child welfare system. It oversimplifies the policymaking process and mischaracterizes the role of our elected leaders.
State and federal legislators care deeply about children—and yes, they have the power to make laws. But it takes all of us to continually inform and educate lawmakers and advocate for meaningful change. Here’s why:
First off, each policymaker brings their unique experience and perspective to the role of governing. They tend to be passionate, charismatic leaders with singular areas of expertise. But very few members of the legislative branch are subject matter experts in child wellbeing. They can’t know everything about the intricacies of the child welfare system, which intersects with education, juvenile justice, mental health, health care and countless other systems.
A lack of capacity, insufficient outcomes, children without placement and insufficient data are just a few of the challenges currently disrupting the Texas child welfare system. Even people with relevant direct experience—for example, one current member of the legislature is a former foster youth, another is an attorney ad litem who represents children’s interests, and others are current and former foster parents—may only understand these challenges through a single lens. As policymakers must fully understand a problem before they can begin to fix it, we must educate every single one of them about child wellbeing.
Second, innovation in any field requires diverse, holistic perspectives. Without sufficient context and fresh thinking, lawmakers are more likely to pursue quick fixes instead of systemic change—what we call nibbling around the edges of the problem. Every time a tragedy makes headlines, constituents demand immediate action from the elected officials they trust. In many cases, policymakers will ride the wave of public outcry and implement solutions that turn out to be short-term. These new laws and policies, while absolutely well-intentioned, won’t work on a faulty or outdated foundation. Over the decades, we fear that is what the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has become: a giant rubber band ball of incremental improvements.
Third and perhaps most crucially, we must elevate the voices of children and youth in care who all too often go unheard in this process due to lack of education, representation and opportunity. We must capture their firsthand perspectives via research, testimonials and other media, as Upbring did with the recent Texas Youth Permanency Study. Listening to how children are doing, and what they need to thrive, is critical for developing solutions that bolster their wellbeing.
For more than 140 years, organizations like Upbring, have been committed to showing up for the children and families in our care in these very ways. Most stakeholders agree that innovation is needed within the child welfare space, but few have dedicated financial and other resources toward pursuing. We must do more than keep children safe, offering wraparound care that leaves kids better than when they came into foster care.
As advocates, we must bring a deep, well-rounded perspective each time we visit legislative offices and testify at the Texas State Capitol. We’re able to fill in gaps of knowledge, share how prior decisions have impacted our communities, and underscore how the next proposed bill will help or hinder our work. In the 88th legislative session alone, we advocated for holistic system change, including streamlined regulations for residential childcare, technology improvements, expanded access to high-quality virtual education for at-risk youth, and more. We also offer evidence-based policy ideas that question the status quo, and we work to build consensus around the proposals that have the greatest potential to effect meaningful change in our state.
This is the role of advocacy. Policymakers need to hear from all of us to enact powerful legislation for our children and future generations.
No one—not Upbring, not DFPS, not any one member of the legislature—can change the child welfare system by themselves. Systemic change is very much a long game, and it is far from easy. A perfect system does not exist and is even harder to define. But that should never stop us from trying.
We encourage fellow Texans to join our mission by volunteering, donating and writing letters to your representatives on the issues that matter to you. If you are a parent, if you work with children, if you were once at risk yourself or if you simply want to uplift Texas children and families—you can become an advocate.
We will continue advancing child wellbeing together because there is no worthier cause.
Amy Bruno is Vice President of Advocacy and Murray Chanow is Senior Vice President of Public Affairs at Upbring, a nonprofit child wellbeing organization based in Austin, Texas.
