For the Stories Still Waiting: A Former Foster Youth's Journey to Healing & Higher Education

Hear from Katherine H. Squires, Partnerships for Children's Heart Gallery Community Engagement Specialist, as she reflects on her journey as a former foster youth to her upcoming graduation from Baylor University. This spring, Katherine will earn a Bachelor of Arts in Professional Writing and Rhetoric. While she has found her voice through the obstacles she's faced, she reminds us that many youth in foster care are still searching for theirs—and that with the right support and love, they too can thrive.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Partnerships for Strengthening Families

Each April, during National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we reaffirm our commitment to supporting families and creating safe, nurturing environments where children can thrive. Through essential resources, community partnerships, and focus on strengthening families, Partnerships for Children’s mission centers on prevention. Learn more about our work to promote healthy families and prevent abuse.

15 Years of Teeing Off with Cover 3

The 15th Annual Cover 3 Par-Tee and Golf Tournament are back, March 30th and 31st! Hosted by Cover 3 and presented with their exciting new restaurant, Whiskey Ridge in Driftwood, this annual fundraiser promises to be one you won't want to miss. Join us as we celebrate the 15th anniversary of one of our most anticipated events of the year in partnership with Cover 3!

Reflecting on 2024: A Year of Growth and Impact at Partnerships for Children

As we look back on an incredible year, I am thrilled to share the highlights of our 2024 events and the development milestones we reached together. At Partnerships for Children (PFC), our mission is simple yet powerful: to empower and support children, youth, and families involved with Child Protective Services in Central Texas. Through your generosity and unwavering support, we've grown our impact and are positioned to do even more in 2025.

Celebrating Adoption Awareness Month 2024

The Heart Gallery of Central Texas and Partnerships for Children celebrates Adoption Awareness Month! Hear one young girl's journey through the Heart Gallery, to adoption and a Forever Family. The Heart Gallery is a community engagement initiative that uses professional portraits displayed in the community combined with weekly local news segments to raise adoption awareness for children in the care of Child Protective Services that seek relational permanency.

"Girls in A Groove" Showcase features KING Youth

Kids in A New Groove features three performances from their "Girls in A Groove" Songwriting Showcase, amplifying the voices of young women through music. Kids in A New Groove pairs young people interacting with the foster care system with dedicated one-on-one music mentors. Through music, KING youth connect with a trusted adult, all while learning and practicing music.

Twenty-One Years of The Rainbow Room

Celebrating 21 Years of the Rainbow Room through the eyes of Rainbow Room Program Manager, Stacey Thompson. The Rainbow Room, located inside the Travis County Department of Family Protective Services offices, is a resource for DFPS Caseworkers and the children and families they serve. The Rainbow Room provides basic necessities families interacting with the Child Welfare system desperately need. “The greatness of a community is most accurately measured by the compassionate actions of its members." - Coretta Scott King

Become a Partner for Youth Empowerment and Success

Youth Empowerment and Success (YES) Mentoring Program is a program of Partnerships for Children that pairs volunteer community mentors with teens currently or previously affiliated with the foster care system. Learn more about how you can become a Partner through mentorship!

Back to School: Beyond the Classroom

Partnerships for Children makes returning to the classroom exciting for over 3,000 children connected to Child Protective Services. Learn more about our Back-to-School program, and how you can make an enduring difference in a child's school year.

Partnerships Empowering Youth Through Music Mentorship

As Summer heats up, so does Partnerships for Children's music mentoring program, Kids in a New Groove! KING provides Central Texas youth involved with the child welfare system with one-on-one mentoring through free weekly, private music lessons. Hear from KING Program Coordinator, Dave Bishea, on the exciting events and program updates this Summer.

Partnerships for a Re-Imagined Child Welfare System

Partnerships for Children and Foster Community have partnered with Travis County Child Protective Services Courts on the Travis County Child Welfare Re-Imagined Pilot. Learn more about how we are working towards a culturally responsive, equitable child welfare system. Plus, the integral role foster parents play in the lives of Central Texas youth.

Inspire, Empower, Connect: Mentoring with YES and KING

Ready to make a difference and change lives for the better? Join our YES and KING mentorship programs at Partnerships for Children and experience the power of mentorship firsthand! Empower young individuals in Central Texas by providing support, guidance, and encouragement. Whether you're passionate about music or simply eager to lend a helping hand, our mentorship programs offer diverse opportunities to give back to the community.

Overview of the 88th Legislative Session

The Texas Legislature recently concluded the 88th Regular Session, and some of the new laws they put in place will have an impact on the children, youth, and families Partnerships for Children serves.

Strengthening Communities

Foster Community is utilizing a grassroots community engagement strategy, a centralized website, and collaborative recruitment materials to support children and their families in the child welfare system or at risk of involvement in the system.

National Child Abuse Prevention Month

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month. This month we recognize the importance of families and communities working together to prevent child abuse and neglect and invite you to learn how you can help support child abuse prevention efforts in your community.

19 ways to get involved with PFC

We’re proud to have been able to help so many families and children over the past 19 years and we plan to continue our commitment to them in the years to come. We could not do our important work without the financial support of our community and the thousands of volunteer hours we receive each year for our programs, and we’ve got something for everyone! This month, we’re celebrating our 19th anniversary by sharing 19 ways you can get involved at PFC!

Learn the Power of Self-love as you are Forever Loved

I was placed in foster care at the age of 4. My childhood was unorthodox, to say the least, and life wasn’t easy growing up in foster care. Fortunately, I was adopted by my current parents at the age of 13, along with my five other foster siblings. This is my story and why I'm working to creating a safe space for the foster community.

Why We Need to Celebrate Mentorship

In light of the upcoming National Mentoring Month this January, we look at how mentorship changes young people’s lives and how we can celebrate this greatness through mentoring programs.

Announcing Ally

We’re excited to welcome Ally Smith to the PFC team! Ally has always been passionate about serving children in foster care and with her diverse background in fundraising and development, Ally brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to PFC. Ally comes with a background in direct care case management and a diverse fundraising and development background, including working at a local RTC and teaching cooking classes to children in foster care. When Ally is not teaching cooking classes or serving as a short-term respite care provider for families in Austin, she is working to engage your support on behalf of children and families connected to CPS.

November is National Adoption Month!

The Texas Center for Child and Family Studies (TACFS) and Partnerships for Children (PFC) worked together to create this comprehensive review of Texas’ adoption recruitment methods and to offer some interesting recommendations for improvement. Did you know that more than 1,200 youth aged out of foster care without a permanent home in 2020? Check out how we can do better together for children in foster care.

Teeing off with Katie Young

As we wrap up our 13th Annual Cover 3 Golf Classic, I am so proud of our Cover 3 Team, Sponsors, Volunteers, and our PFC family! This year, we broke the fundraising record, raising $135,000 for PFC!

Giving Back with Syndey Sheehan

Throughout my family’s time fostering, we learned what is needed to support children and families involved in the Texas foster care system, the trauma these children go through, and what it takes to be a family that continues to foster.

Taking the Heart Gallery Statewide

For many years, PFC has led efforts to coordinate statewide collaborations to better serve the children and youth waiting for their forever homes. Our Heart Gallery program has become the model for adoption recruitment and our state leadership has taken notice.

It’s National Reunification Month!

Did you know that safely reuniting children with their families is the ultimate the goal of foster care? The reunification of children placed in foster care significantly improves permanency outcomes for children and birth parents because it means that a family is healing, and children won’t have to lose the people they love the most.…

Spread the word! May is National Foster Care Month

Many folks want to support children & families who are connected to the Texas foster care system, but they may not be in a position to open their homes to a child or young adult in foster care. You might ask: Is it still possible to get involved and help?  And the answer is, Absolutely!  Here…

Creating a Home for Foster-to-Adopt

When starting to foster, your home is an important ingredient in making a child feel at home. Whether taking in children under the age of five, or a little older, you’ll want to create a personal sanctuary for them when entering a new place. Here are a few ways to make your house, their home,…

Winning Life’s Lotto with Ryan Willett, PFC Board Chair

I don’t know if I believe in love at first sight, but that’s definitely what I felt when I was first introduced to Partnerships for Children back in 2015.  As a volunteer with the Travis County Sheriff’s Office, I was chosen to serve as the charity liaison for the annual Battle of the Badges event,…

Taking the Next Step: Starting the Journey to Adoption

This month we sat down with a local Austin realtor, Kate (Kat) Stanley who has recently taken steps on her journey to foster and/or adopt. Knowing that the process can be intimidating, she sat down with Support Services Director Erin Argue on a chilly Friday over tacos and tea to get a better understanding of…

Methods Young Adults Can Use to Manage Personal Finances

In 2019, more than 20,000 foster children aged out of the foster care system. Aging out occurs when a child becomes too old to stay in the system and so they are left to navigate the real world on their own. In Texas, foster youth can elect to remain in foster care until 21. Even…

5 Ways to Get Involved: Supporting Foster Youth in Central Texas

One of the amazing things about Partnerships for Children is the array of programming we offer designed to directly serve youth and families connected to Child Protective Services throughout Central Texas. There are plenty of ways to get involved and support your local foster care community! Here are 5 ways to get involved! Getting involved with the Heart…

SaulPaul and Forever Families

Traffic to our Heart Gallery website jumped by over 400% when the very first Forever Families after the pandemic (Khristian) aired on KVUE in July of 2020. We are incredibly grateful for our ongoing partnership with KVUE for our weekly Forever Family segment hosted by Tori Larned.  These segments, sponsored by Urban Mattress, air every…

The Power of Music - Mark Lynch

Music taught me how to learn. I was fortunate to have music education in school starting in 5th grade. I picked drums because they looked the easiest. Drumming quickly became my passion though, and with the support of my family, school, and private music instructors, I found out that drumming and music are limitless. It’s…

Overview of the 87th Session

The Texas Legislature recently concluded the 87th Regular Session, and as mentioned above in reference to HB 567, some of the new laws they put in place will have an impact on the children, youth, and families Partnerships for Children serves.  As legislators entered this session, two major things influenced their priorities for reforms and…

Looking Forward

“Identify your problems, but give your power and energy to solutions.” -Tony Robbins The past two years have thrown all of us some crazy obstacles. Keeping children as close to home as possible always seems like an uphill battle, but one that Foster Community continues to climb with the help of so many others. It’s easy for us to...

NATIONAL VOLUNTEER MONTH: MAKING A DIFFERENCE IN CENTRAL TEXAS

APRIL 1, 2021  VIRGINIA POTTER We know that each of us can play a part towards making the world a better place. This National Volunteer Month, we’re recognizing the contributions of volunteers who are helping Central Texas nonprofits improve the quality of life here in our own community. Nationally, it’s estimated that volunteers contribute nearly $188 billion in estimated…

PFC Gala Take Two

When my husband Cody and I committed to being the 2019 PFC Gala chairs, we had no idea what would be in store. We have all faced so many challenges in the last year from quarantines and Zoom to snowstorms to missing family members, and while it has been tough, it always warms my heart…

Whatever it Takes

CJ wanted to be a rock star.  His song lyrics were all about pain and suffering though.  He lugged around a hard cover of a Harry Potter novel in his backpack and liked to speak in funny voices, attempt Tibetan throat singing, and eat.  It was clear, he wanted someone to listen to him. At…

Creating Forever Families

When you visit our Heart Gallery website, hopefully the photos of children smiling out to you bring a smile to your face! The children on the Heart Gallery site are looking for adoptive homes, and our website is often the start of the adoption path for many families. When people start the adoption process, they…

Katie's Journey with PFC

The 11th Annual Cover 3 Invitational Golf Classic is in the books! Doug and I had such a great day getting to see everyone supporting PFC and playing some good and maybe some not so good golf. After months of uncertainty, it was so refreshing to be able to be together, albeit, outside, using tons of hand...

The Accidental Employee

One of the things people often say to me when I’m talking with them about a program or event at PFC is “Oh, I didn’t realize you WORK for them now- when did that start?” I always understand why I get this response and laugh to myself, realizing I’ve worked for Partnerships for Children as…

The Fear of Change

Like many, I am very much a creature of habit and have always had a resistance to change. As I have gotten older, I have become more open to the idea of change. I was in a training one day and heard someone say, “The most dangerous phrase is, “We’ve always done it this way.””…

Back to School Challenges for our Kinship Families

As I sit and write this, I am happy to say I am finished with all my back to school shopping for my son.  This year he is attending a school that requires uniforms, backpacks of certain colors only, plain black shoes, a black belt, specific school supplies, the list goes on and on.  My…

The Unplanned Path

By: Laura Wells. I never thought this would be my story.  In my teens, I assumed I would meet Mr. Right-for-Me in college, fall in love, graduate, get married, have a small house somewhere with a dog (or six) and a garden.  Hubby and I would have jobs doing either something fabulous, fabulously helpful, or…

The Perfect Recipe

By: Chelsy Alexander. I have been the most creative I have ever been as a Mom during the last few months. I credit COVID-19, not my desire to be the best Mom ever. We have hit every core subject and extra-curricular activity we can think of, although none of it we have mastered, especially the…

Adoption is a Journey not a Destination

April 24th, 2015 is a day I will never forget. At the center of many stories focused on love and parenting you hear people say, “you will never forget the first moment you meet your child.” As a parent I wholeheartedly agree with this sentiment. However, the first time my husband and I met our…

YES Mentoring and the Road Less Traveled

By Erin Argue, PFC Support Services Director At the close of National Mentoring Month, I find myself reflecting on the conversations that have become such a large part of my job. Countless hours with these volunteer mentors, who, are so much more – they’re incredible humans compassion warriors, learned-to-be budgeting gurus, and good news celebrators.…