ProGov21 Policy Library

Recognizing the important role that extended family can play in improving outcomes for children who are in state custody due to abuse or neglect, Texas approved funding for the Collaborative Family Engagement (CFE) pilot project. The CFE project is a collaboration between the Texas...

Over the last decade, rates of child maltreatment have rapidly increased among military families. In response, the Prevention and Early Intervention Division of the Texas Department of Family Protective Services launched the Military Families and Veterans Prevention Program (MVP)...

Besides its educational and developmental benefits for children, pre-K also results in short-term and long-term savings for schools. Thanks to pre-K, Texas spent $127 million less on special education programs and nearly $15 million less because fewer kids were retained in the 2013-2014...

This infographic compares child support payments with more traditional forms of family support. Though it is not traditionally thought of as a social program, this infographic demonstrates that child support payments provide more support each month than SNAP, WIC, or the EITC....

Despite their shared goals, Child Protective Services (CPS) and domestic violence centers have different service philosophies and procedures that can come into conflict. Project S.A.F.E. was created in 2015 to test innovative strategies for cross-system collaboration; including joint...

Father involvement describes a supportive relationship with high-quality interactions between a father and child. This brief highlights the importance of helping fathers maintain a healthy relationship with their children by describing the links between father involvement and positive...

It is increasingly important to understand the characteristics of parents who enter the U.S. child support system, and the characteristics of those who comply with their orders. A deeper understanding of parents' characteristics and challenges helps to explain system entry and order...

This report presents findings from the Child Support for College (CS4C) pilot program, a public-private collaboration to promote college attendance and financial literacy among those in the Texas child support system. In particular, the program encourages college savings by providing...

Almost half of U.S. households do not save. This brief presents evaluation findings from a pilot program designed to help low- and middle-wage workers achieve greater financial stability through an employer-based automatic savings program. The program offers employees the opportunity...

The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services' minimum ratio standards for licensed child-care centers establish the maximum number of children allowed per caregiver in a child care setting based on children's ages. This report analyzes ratio data collected during annual...

In 2015 OpportunityTexas launched Dollars for College, a program that introduced an in-school Children's Savings Accounts (CSAs) for College program to Texas schools. CSAs for College are long-term savings accounts set up for young children and often paired with financial education....