In Texas, state policy anticipates that installing video cameras in special education classrooms will decrease student abuse inflicted by teachers. Lawmakers assume that collecting video footage will prevent teachers from engaging in malicious actions and prosecute those who choose to harm children. At the request of a parent, Section 29.022 of…

We can expect climate change to alter the frequency, magnitude, timing, and location of many natural hazards. For example, heat waves are likely to become more frequent, and heavy downpours and flooding more common and more intense. Hurricanes will likely grow more dangerous, rising sea levels will mean more coastal flooding, and more-frequent and…

Described in this process evaluation are the first-year efforts to provide a specialized staff within the Bexar County District Attorney's Office, San Antonio, Texas, to perform advocacy functions for abused and neglected children involved in cases going through the criminal justice system. The report discusses how well the staff met the three…

This annual report describes the Interagency Child Abuse Network (ICAN) Project, a joint venture of the Texas Department of Human Services and the Alamo Area Council of Governments in Bexar County. The goal of the ICAN Project was to establish a network of agencies in the county that could develop a team approach to handling child abuse cases. The…

Reported are findings of an impact evaluation of the Family-Centered Home-Based Intervention Project for Protective Services Clients, a joint venture of the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) Region 11 (Houston) and the DePelchin Children's Center. The project demonstrated a model of intensive intervention with families who had been referred…

The Houston KIDS COUNT data book examines the status of children in Houston and Harris County and identifies trends in their general welfare. These data provide a portrait of Harris County's children that can be used for developing sound and effective local policy. The report is divided into the following sections: (1) Children in Families; (2)…

Because increased need for child protective services exceeded the Texas Department of Human Services' capacity for timely response, a 2-year Case Decision Project was implemented with the aim of applying automation to parts of the case investigation process. The project produced a Case Investigation Decision Support System with two sections: a…

This evaluation report describes programs funded by the Texas Department of Human Resources to develop and implement child abuse and neglect services. Yearly evaluation reports and other related information are included for each of the seven programs funded. In addition to this basic information, the evaluation of the Special Investigative…

This process evaluation of the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Project describes the efforts of the project director and 10 regional liaisons to develop a statewide philosophy on prevention and an operational plan for directing resources in Texas toward primary and secondary prevention of child abuse and neglect. A survey was used to gather…

Conducted by the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS), Project Amistad (Friendship) originally set out to recruit and train Black and Hispanic volunteers to conduct lay therapy sessions with Black and Hispanic families in which abuse and neglect of children had occurred. Start-up was significantly delayed due to personnel changes; as a result,…

This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's federally-funded Title I support of facilities for neglected youth and facilities for delinquent youth during 2003-2004.

An evaluation was made of the Multidisciplinary Institute for Child Sexual Abuse Intervention and Treatment, a project established mainly to develop a curriculum for interdisciplinary child sexual abuse training, change attitudes and increase knowledge and skills of trainees, and promote a team approach toward training and case management among…

This two-year project demonstrated a model for preventing the removal of children from their homes, with the aim of reducing both the number of children entering foster care and the number of families recycled through the child protective services system. The project was a joint effort by the Texas Department of Human Services (DHS) Region 11…

Drawing from past research on women's motives for intimate partner violence (IPV) perpetration, correlates of women's perpetration, and correlates of nonviolent conflict, we created a scale containing 125 possible motives, representing 14 broad domains (e.g., self-defense, retaliation). Participants were an ethnically diverse sample of women who…

The report provides a comprehensive review of child abuse and neglect concerns in Texas and offers a variety of recommendations. Data on the extent of the problem indicate that the need for treatment services has outstripped available resources. The direct and indirect costs of untreated child abuse are estimated. The joint study committee…