TNOYS Testifies before Senate Finance Committee regarding Child Abuse and Delinquency Prevention Programs

Christine Gendron, Public Policy Coordinator, Texas Network of Youth Services

Testimony to the Senate Finance Committee

February 7, 2011

Good afternoon,

My name is Christine Gendron, and I am the Public Policy Coordinator for Texas Network of Youth Services. We’re a nonprofit association of organizations serving youth in at‐risk situations and their families.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify today.

Like many who spoke to you last week, I’m here to impress on you the importance of the prevention and
early intervention (PEI) programs at DFPS.

I know that you know these are crucial programs designed to prevent child abuse & neglect and juvenile
delinquency, so I am going to be brief and just hit a few key points.

First, the prevention of juvenile delinquency and the prevention of child abuse & neglect are linked. The
family and community factors that make a child at risk for delinquency are the same factors that present
risk for abuse & neglect. Last year, more than 1/3 of youth incarcerated at TYC had a documented
history of abuse or neglect. 72% came from chaotic homes. These are the worst of our state’s young
offenders, yet it’s clear that most of them are not “bad” kids, they just need stability and support. We
hope you will prioritize funding for programs that prevent both delinquency and child abuse & neglect.

Second, the STAR program is unique among PEI programs in that it is a safety net for youth and families
who have already reached a crisis point. There is no other program or service in Texas like STAR. Given
other proposed budget cuts, STAR services may become more crucial than ever; cuts to mental health
services will mean more youth and families will be in crisis; cuts to public education will mean fewer
counselors and other administrators available to help students cope.

Third, this is not about funding for a few specific programs, it’s bigger than that. It’s about sustaining an
invaluable social services infrastructure in your districts and our state. PEI services are provided by
organizations, mostly nonprofits, contracted by DFPS. They use state dollars to leverage other funds,
and tenaciously piece together budgets to provide quality services. Many are already facing serious
financial struggles. Grant revenue and donations are down, and demand for services is up. The
maintenance of PEI funding may be crucial to keeping agencies afloat. Several of you mentioned the
importance of community volunteerism and faith‐based organizations last week. These are precisely
the organizations that engage volunteers and faith communities in their work.

Last, the PEI division at DFPS represents an investment in prevention that took roughly twenty years,
and the leadership efforts of several of you on this committee, to create. It would be a real shame to
wipe out much of that investment in one budget cycle when there are alternative options available. We
know you have hard decision to make, and the decision to prioritize prevention is made even harder
when the Department’s other services are so essential. But the fact is, the Department is going to have
fires to put out until the end of time, unless we are serious about preventing child abuse & neglect
before it starts. Cutting the investment that you have already made in PEI will result in even more
caseload growth over the next 2 years, making it even harder to prioritize prevention the next time
around. For this reason, we support taking a balanced approach to the budget rather than addressing
the shortfall with cuts alone.

Thank you.