For Immediate Release
Houston
Kidsave is pleased to announce that Tabitha Charlton, Director of the Houston Weekend Miracles program, has been appointed to the inaugural Partners for Children and Families Committee (PCFC) by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Charlton is one of only two representatives from Houston, Texas and will serve alongside fourteen other child welfare professionals.
According to Texas DFPS, this committee was selected for their “demonstrated commitment to children and families and diverse background and expertise in the child protection system.” Additionally, DFPS commented that the members “represent all facets of the child protection system,” including “providers, former foster youth, legal system representation, and advocacy organizations.”
Charlton herself has lived experience within the foster care system. Before joining Kidsave, she actively worked on behalf of youth in foster care as a lawyer, serving as a member of the Texas State Bar’s Child Abuse and Neglect Committee and chairing a subcommittee to identify a mentoring program for older youth in care that would help them find permanency.
“I am honored to serve on this inaugural Partners for Children and Families Committee,” said Charlton. “I look forward to working with my peers to help innovate, improve, and strengthen the Texas child protection system. I believe that, with my lived experience within the child welfare system as a child and my experience as an attorney and a foster parent as an adult, I will bring valuable input to this Committee.”
The purpose of the Partners for Children and Families Committee is to partner with DFPS to improve and strengthen the Texas child protection system, including evolution of the Community-Based Care model. According to the Texas DFPS website, the Community-Based Care model is a new, more individualized initiative focused on meeting “children’s and their families’ unique and individual needs” and “tapping into the strengths and resources of each community.” This model emphasizes keeping kids in their local communities and “connected to their schools, friends, and families as much as possible.”
Keeping kids connected to their local community is a cornerstone of the Kidsave model. Our Weekend Miracles program connects older kids in foster care with caring adults in their local communities for mentoring, hosting, and adoption. What makes the Weekend Miracles program unique is how the kids and families get to know each other. Kidsave hosts monthly Connection Events where kids and families can spend time together bonding over a meal and a shared activity in a safe, neutral environment, allowing them to develop a relationship naturally over time. The kids are given a voice and a choice each step of the way, giving them the power to decide who they spend time with and get to know.
Under Charlton’s leadership, Houston’s Weekend Miracles launched in 2020 and has served nearly 100 children to date. In 2023, Weekend Miracles Houston served 61 youth in foster care, 49 of whom remained active throughout the year. Over half of the active youth were connected to weekend hosts, adoptive matches, legal guardians or Nonrelated Extended Family Members. Houston Weekend Miracles held 14 in‐person connection events in 2023. The children served by Houston Weekend Miracles in 2023 came from over 19 counties across Texas, spanning eight DFPS regions.
Learn more about the Houston Weekend Miracles program at our webpage, or contact Ashlee Evans, Assistant Manager of Houston Weekend Miracles at ashlee@kidsave.org.
