Over 3,000 children, ages 9 – 17, are waiting for adoption in Texas.
Unfortunately, the vast majority reside in restrictive, non-familial environments and do not have nurturing and lasting relationships with a consistent caregiver who can provide them with individualized care or offer them the emotional, educational, and other stable support they need.
Texas Foster Care Statistics for youth, ages 9-17
17,774 are in foster care (36% of all kids in care)
2,953 are waiting for adoption
1,200 age-out of care every year
50% have permanency goals of non-relative adoption or emancipation
95% reside in residential centers and emergency shelters
Source: DFPS Data Book
The Solution
Kidsave has launched its innovative Weekend Miracles Program in Houston. Our goal is to ensure more children in Texas grow up in families and connected to caring adults.
THREE WAYS TO GET INVOLVED TODAY:
Book a 30 minute phone call with program director Tabitha Charlton, to answer your questions on how to get involved with the program.
Use our fast and easy inquiry form to learn more about the Houston program.
WHAT IS WEEKEND MIRACLES HOUSTON?
Every child needs someone to love them for just who they are.
Kidsave developed our hosting model because too many older kids are languishing in foster care in the U.S. Our Weekend Miracles Houston program enables volunteers to host older kids who live in foster care. Our unique program empowers youth to make decisions regarding their futures and allows them to have a say in who they would like to spend time with and get to know more.
Hosts have the opportunity to get to know, mentor, and support the child, and work with Kidsave to find or become a permanent home for the child.
Kidsave moves the hardest to place kids into permanency and helps them find stable connections.
THREE SIMPLE PREMISES:
#1
Once people in the community get to know older children growing up in government care, many feel compelled to help – and some take steps to adopt or build other more permanent relationships.
#2
When kids get to know people in a non-threatening environment, they are more open to finding that special, permanent relationship that can make an important difference in their lives.
#3
When kids have a voice in who they want to be with, relationships are more likely to endure.
Testimonials
Harris County Protective Services administers the regional transition center for Youth and Young adults exiting the state foster care system. We have learned that for a successful transition all youth need connection, relationship and skills. This comes from the youth having a relationship with one family or individual that is not paid to be in their life that cares about them. The best relationships that our youth form are those that are organically created. The Weekend Miracles Program produces an environment for these organic relationships to begin and nurture over time.
While we have come a long way in Texas to ensure children in foster care return home or have a loving forever family, there are still children in the foster care system who need loving, caring and nurturing adults. Whether it’s an adoptive home, raising awareness about the needs of children and youth in the foster care system or even a mentor to listen, the need is great for an organization like Kidsave.
Texas emancipates about 1,200 kids every year who leave care, often times without meaningful connections to a caring, stable adult. Though the state provides programs and benefits to assist these kids, reality is, without a meaningful connection to someone to love and help them navigate life – many of these kids end up on the streets, incarcerated, or worse within a year of aging out. The Kidsave Texas Weekend Miracles program is a game changer. It a proven program currently working to build capacity and create a genuine, lasting path to real permanency for the older kids and sibling groups who need a life coach or adoptive home.
