Candace Ramos, faith-based and community engagement specialist with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, told Walker County Commissioners Court on Aug. 11 that her regional team connects churches and local groups to children and families served by child protective services and foster care. Ramos said the DFPS team does not replace caseworkers but supports them by coordinating volunteers, processing volunteer background checks and helping with donations and mentoring.
Ramos said the DFPS team supports the full child-welfare continuum from investigations through foster care and adoption, and noted the office also helps adult protective services with a separate program. She described "rainbow rooms," stocked by donations and managed locally by child welfare boards, that provide emergency supplies to children who are removed from homes or families in need. She said recent donations included dry food and funds from Sam Houston State University for the Walker County rainbow room.
Ramos explained the department's role is to build partnerships, promote community awareness and strengthen volunteer and intern engagement. She described recurring faith-based initiatives such as Blue Sunday (prayers for children in care) and the "Stand With Me" summit to increase community involvement beyond monetary donations'for example, mentorship, transportation to events, or attending games for teenagers without family supports. "Sometimes people think that all we want is money. That's not the case. We may need prayers, mentorship, spending time with families and listening," she said.
Ramos said volunteers undergo FBI, criminal and CPS background checks before working with children, and that the DFPS regional newsletter (the FBC e-newsletter) connects caseworkers to local community providers. She closed by offering to be a local contact for churches and organizations interested in working with DFPS in Walker County.
The presentation was informational; commissioners did not take formal action during the presentation. Ramos answered procedural questions about how DFPS coordinates with the child welfare board and local caseworkers, and emphasized that donations are managed through the local child welfare board and the DFPS office.
The department's presentation and examples of rainbow rooms were shown as slides during the court session.