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New
Website and New Materials
On
Jan. 3, 2017, the CRCG Program launched a new, user-friendly website for everyone. Some highlights on the site are a "For
Families" page, a search by city or county feature, webinar sign-up, access
to webinars and newsletters, and downloadable tools, such as the "One Page Series," the
"Starting/Reviving a CRCG Checklist" and the "Referral
Eligibility Chart." If you haven't
already done so, please check out the new website! You can access it here: https://crcg.hhs.texas.gov.
The State CRCG Office is also
updating all materials to comply with Title II of the American with
Disabilities Act (ADA). The website
content is screen reader accessible. All
attachments on the website will meet ADA compliance by June 2017.
  Screenshots from the new website, which features a search by city or county function and a "For Families" page.
Local CRCG Spotlight: Uvalde County CRCG Revival
Uvalde County is reviving their local CRCG. The State CRCG Office visited Uvalde County
for their kick off meeting, which was attended by multiple agencies including Texas
Workforce Commission, the Local Mental Health Authority, Department of Family
and Protective Services, the local Independent School District, the 38th
District Court, and other local partners. During the meeting, the group discussed the
population their CRCG would serve, how they would divide administrative tasks,
and where and when they would meet. The group also elected a chair and
co-chair. The State CRCG Office looks
forward to hearing about the work that this CRCG does!
If your CRCG is in need of support, please contact the State
CRCG Office by email at: CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us.
Bridge
Call Announcement - NEW UPDATES
The
State CRCG Office offers the monthly bridge call for CRCG members to receive
peer-to-peer support, share ideas, discuss challenges, and network.
Our
next bridge call is scheduled on Tuesday, April 11, 2017, from 2 p.m. - 3 p.m.
Central Time. We hope you can join us for a collaborative discussion.
Upcoming
Bridge Call Schedule
-
Tuesday, April 11, 2017, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time
- Tuesday, May 9, 2017, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time
- Tuesday, June 13, 2017, 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. Central Time
To
participate in any of the upcoming calls, use the conference call information
below:
- Dial in
information: (877) 820-7831
- Access
code: 952056
CRCG Webinar Series
The
State CRCG Office offers a webinar training series for local CRCG leaders,
members, and other interested people to highlight state agency partners and
provide training on key statewide initiatives and programs that help serve
individuals involved with CRCGs. Each
webinar focuses on a topic relevant to local CRCGs.
Upcoming Webinar Schedule
Changing
of the Interns
Sarah Fiorenza is now a
Regional Partnership Specialist with Region 7 working with the Community Partner
Program at HHSC. The State CRCG Office
would like to sincerely thank Sarah for her contributions to the CRCG program
and we wish her the best in her new position!
We welcome our new
interns, Cassie Ellis, Aaron Hawley, and Tatjana Hocke-Mirzashvili. Cassie
graduated in 2016 with a master's degree in education from The City College of
New York. She also holds a bachelor's
degree in gender studies from New York University. Aaron graduated in 2016 with a master's degree
in sociology from Texas A&M University - Kingsville and holds a bachelor's
degree in political science from Texas A&M University - Kingsville. Tatjana
holds a doctorate degree in communication and information from the University
of Tennessee, Knoxville, as well as a master's degree in communication studies/public relations from the University of Houston.
January
Webinar
On
Jan. 12th the State CRCG Office presented the CRCG "State of
Affairs" Webinar. Emily Sasser-Bray
presented 2016 accomplishments and 2017 goals. Over the next year, the State CRCG Office, the
CRCG State Workgroup and local CRCG leadership, will work to update the
Memorandum of Understanding, revise the CRCG program model, create a new data
collection system for local CRCGs, and increase family engagement within local
CRCGs. Guest speaker, Josette Saxton,
Director of Mental Health Policy at Texans Care for Children, provided an
overview of the work of local CRCGs from 2012 -2015. Guest speaker, Tammy Miller, Advisory
Committee Liaison and Outreach Specialist with the Early Childhood Intervention
program, led a demonstration of the new website. If you would like to view a recording of the
January webinar, click here.
New
Data Collection System Coming Soon!
The
State CRCG Office recently partnered with the HHSC IT Department to create a
new, user-friendly data collection system for local CRCGs. The State CRCG Office relies on local CRCG
reporting to write a biennial report to the Texas Legislature. The new data collection system will collect
meeting and staffing information on a monthly basis. Local CRCGs will be able to pull reports on
their work. Stay tuned for a launch
date!
CRCG
Leader Contact Information
Please
keep your CRCG leader contact information up-to-date. To update your leader contact information,
click "Update Contact Info" on the top right-hand side of our website.
Accurate contact information is critical to make referrals. The "Find a Local CRCG" search
function on our website is updated monthly.
Behavioral Health Services Section, Adult Mental
Health (AMH) Program Services Unit Announces its 2nd Annual AMH Awareness Poetry Contest
Behavioral
Health Services Section, AMH Program Services Unit is
proud to announce the 2nd Annual AMH Awareness Poetry
Contest and the 1st Annual AMH Art and Media Contest. The theme of this
year’s contest is “The Reality: When the Best Meets the Worst." Adults (18 and over) are invited to submit their work. Entries should
focus on mental health and what it looks like or feels like to the individual
impacted. The goal of the contest is to spread awareness and address
barriers related to mental illness. By focusing on individuals' unique
experiences, we hope this contest will help to de-mystify mental illness and
reduce stigma.
You can
find a link to the contest via www.mentalhealthtx.org.
Contest rules and entry form can also be found through that link.
RESOURCES:
Permanency Planning One Pager Now Available
The
State CRCG Office published the bilingual Permanency
Planning One Pager on the website. Review
it for valuable information on long-term planning for individuals with
intellectual disabilities and the role of local CRCGs in the permanency
planning process. The Permanency
Planning One Pager is part of the State CRCG Office's "One Pager
Series," one page documents about resources accessed through local CRCGs.
New
CRCG Family Survey
The
State CRCG Office is excited to announce a new survey for the people CRCGs
serve. The survey is available here.
The survey takes between five and seven
minutes to finish. The link is also
available on the new CRCG website on the "For Families" page. All information collected is anonymous. If you have any questions about the survey,
please contact the State CRCG Office at CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us. A Spanish version will be available shortly.
Sample
Forms for Referrals and Individual Service Plans Now Available!
In
response to popular demand, the State CRCG Office created sample forms for
Referrals and Individual Service Plans. The State CRCG Office offers training
on these forms. Contact your local CRCG chair or email the State CRCG Office at
CRCG@hhsc.state.tx.us for your copy or training.
UPCOMING CONFERENCES:
Texas Injury
Prevention Conference, May 4 - 5, Austin, TX
The Texas Department of State Health Services, Title
V Maternal & Child Health, will host the 2017 Texas Injury Prevention
Conference May 4 - 5, 2017. The conference will take place at the Sheraton
Austin Hotel at the Capitol. The conference will bring together professionals
to provide training and education on the prevention of injury and death for
infants, children, and adolescents. Continuing Education Units will be
available in multiple disciplines. To reserve a room at the Sheraton Austin
Hotel at the Capitol, click here. For more information regarding the conference,
please call 1-877-451-8700.
Cross
Discipline Trauma Conference of Central Texas, May 11 - 12, Austin, TX
The Cross Discipline Trauma Conference
of Central Texas will be May 11-12 at the AT&T Executive Education
Conference Center in Austin, TX. The
Cross Discipline Trauma Conference of Central Texas is a regional training
conference on trauma and trauma-informed care. The conference brings together over 650
professionals and organizations in Central Texas that work with children and
young adults; including mental health clinicians, physicians, school
personnel, medical/nursing professionals, law enforcement, juvenile justice professionals, and occupational/physical therapists. The conference will provide expert guidance
and education on the effects of trauma, as well as evidence-based practices in recognizing
and treating trauma. Learn
more and register online here: https://www.traumatexas.com/.
Texas Parent
to Parent Statewide Conference, June 16 - 17, San Marcos, TX
The Texas Parent to Parent Statewide
Conference will be June 16 - 17 at the Embassy Suites, Spa & Conference
Center in San Marcos. The conference
educates Texas parents how to deal with the unique issues and challenges they
face on a daily basis in caring for their children. The conference offers tracks with multiple
sessions, each covering a different topic. This year’s themed tracks are advocacy
(general and legislative), autism, parenting and sibling issues including a
one-day SibShop, special education law (basic to advanced), medical issues
(including Medical Home and Medicaid Waiver Programs), behavior, mental health,
parent leadership, resources and services, self-advocacy, self-determination,
transition issues for youth and young adults with disabilities, and creating a
good life for people with disabilities. Learn
more and register online here: http://www.txp2p.org/training/conference.html.
Texas Network of Youth
Services (TNOYS)
In this section, we highlight updates from the non-profit partners of the CRCG State Workgroup.
Texas
Network of Youth Services (TNOYS) hosting its 34th annual conference
June 27-30 in Houston! Join us for lively keynote speakers,
interactive workshops, and fun networking events that will incorporate our
theme, “Many Voices, One Song.” Youth services providers are at the heart
of this event. This year, we are excited
to bring together providers, youth, parents/family members, and community child
welfare board members to showcase the importance of our collaboration.
As
part of our various advocacy efforts, TNOYS also recently hosted our Youth
in Action Capitol Day with hundreds of youth from across the
state coming to Austin to make their voices heard.
Finally,
we will be offering free training and support on trauma-informed youth
engagement to youth services programs in Houston and Central Texas (Bastrop,
Caldwell, Hays, Travis, and Williamson counties) this spring and summer. We may be able to open this up to other
counties at a low cost. Join our mailing list
to stay in the loop!
For
more information, please contact:
In this section, we
highlight updates from CRCG State Agency partners to hear about opportunities,
new resources, and policy changes.
Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC)
Early Childhood Intervention
Developmental
Red Flags
Early
Childhood Intervention (ECI) serves families with children from birth to 36 months
with developmental delays or disabilities. Here are some common indicators, or red flags,
that a baby or toddler may have a developmental delay.
- Socializing—If a baby doesn’t smile when you smile, doesn’t look at you when you talk to him/her, or doesn’t like to be held, this could indicate a developmental concern. If a toddler doesn’t seem interested in other children, doesn’t come to an adult for help, or doesn’t notice if there is a new caregiver, this is a developmental red flag.
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Exploring—If
a baby is stiff and cannot bend his/her arms and legs, the baby may need
special therapy services. If an infant
or toddler doesn’t seem interested in reaching for toys, or easily gives up
trying to get a toy, he/she may need some help learning to explore. By five months old, children should be moving
from place to place first by rolling, then by scooting, crawling, and finally,
walking and running.
-
Communicating—If a baby doesn’t make noises when distressed, or if a toddler is not able to point and use at least a few words to indicate what he/she wants, these are developmental concerns.
-
Managing emotions—If a child seems unhappy most of the time, has tantrums that last more than 20 minutes, or doesn’t calm down within a few minutes when you try to soothe him/her, there may be some developmental problems.
If a child shows any of these red flags, a child and family may qualify for ECI services. Anyone can refer to ECI for an evaluation to see if services are needed. To make a referral and locate an ECI program in your area, call the Health and Human Services Commission Office of the Ombudsman at 1-877-787-8999 or visit https://hhs.texas.gov/services/disability/early-childhood-intervention-services/how-make-a-referral-eci.
Watch our Texas ECI: Family to Family video and hear from families about their ECI experiences and how their child and the family benefited from ECI services.
For more information, please contact:
Office of Mental Health
Coordination
HHSC's
theme for 2017 Children's Mental Health (CMH) Awareness is freedom from
stigma. As part of CMH awareness activities in May 2017, the Texas System
of Care (TxSOC) is coordinating a statewide butterfly release symbolizing
flight to freedom from stigma. Communities statewide will release live or
paper wind-up butterflies in coordination with their CMH awareness
events.
2017
CMH Awareness activities in Austin, TX will feature a CMH Awareness rally,
sponsored by Senator Jane Nelson, at the Texas State Capitol on Saturday, May 6th
at 9:00 a.m., followed by a butterfly release and one-mile walk to nearby
Wooldridge Park. Family attractions at the park will include a bounce
house, a fire truck from Austin's Fire Department, music and entertainment, a
raffle and prizes, Jim-Jim's, and mental health resources.
If
your community would like assistance obtaining butterflies, or for more
information, please contact:
Aging and Disability Resource Center
The Aging and Disability
Resource Center (ADRC) Advisory Committee and the Texas Respite Advisory
Committee (TRAC) will meet April 17, 2017, in the Public Hearing Room of the
Winters Building located at 701 W. 51st St, Austin, TX 78751. The TRAC
meeting will start at 10 a.m. and the ADRC Advisory Committee meeting will
start at 1:30 p.m.
Anyone interested in
ADRCs or respite services in Texas are encouraged to attend. If a member of the public wishes to address
either committee, they must email adrc@dads.state.tx.us
by April 14, 2017, to be included on the agenda.
For more
information, please contact:
Department of State Health Services (DSHS)
The Children with
Special Health Care Needs (CSHCN) Systems Development Group, which supports
population-based services for children with special health care needs relating
to the Title V Block Grant, is now a part of the Title V Maternal and Child
Health section at the Texas Department of State Health Services. The
program partners with community-based contractors to provide support for
families with children and youth with special health care needs and
disabilities. Services may include
in-home or center-based respite, parent to parent connections, educational
trainings and workshops, support groups, community recreational activities and
more. Not all services are available in
all parts of the state. Case Management
for families is also available through DSHS regional offices.
The program continues
to lead two statewide workgroups that meet quarterly by teleconference. Below is information on how you can call in:
Wednesday, April 26th, 12:00 pm – 1:30 pm
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Call-in (muted participant):
United State: 1 (213) 929-4212
Access Code: 687-831-627
Easter Seals of
Greater Houston was selected as a grantee to develop a family tool to improve
transition outcomes for Children and Youth with Special Health Care Needs
(CYSHCN) in Texas. This tool will be a
comprehensive informational resource that will address all aspects of
transition including health care, post-secondary education, vocational training,
legal needs, financial management, employment, social and recreational
activities, independent living, and other elements and will be based on best
practices and recommendations for transition. The tool will also be based on family input
and the principles of self-determination.
In July 2016 DSHS
convened a workgroup to discuss the system of services for children and
families affected by Zika virus. The workgroup
developed a flow chart depicting the system of services for children with
Congenital Zika Syndrome. A pilot based
on the flow chart will be limited to statewide cases of severe microcephaly
(< 3rd percentile head circumference) and Congenital Zika
Syndrome. Cases captured in the Texas Birth Defects Registry beginning July 2016
and onward and meeting the diagnosis criteria above will be included in the pilot.
For more information, contact:
Department of
Family and Protective Services (DFPS)
To
express solidarity during Child Abuse Prevention Month, DFPS invites everyone
to participate in Pinwheels for Prevention at 11 a.m. April 3 at the DFPS State
Office west lawn, 701 W. 51st St., Austin, TX. DFPS invites everybody to plant a
pinwheel to symbolize hope for children. The pinwheel garden will represent the great
futures HHSC wants for every child. The garden will stay on display April 3-7. Pinwheels will be provided at the ceremony,
but feel free to bring your own.
If
your community is hosting an event in honor of Child Abuse Prevention Month,
please let us know so we can share in our newsletter and on the DFPS
website. Please email the date and summary of the event to:
Prevention and Early Intervention
(PEI) Ad Campaign Hits Texas Cities
The
Help for Parents, Hope
for Kids advertising campaign focuses on helping parents deal
with the toughest child-rearing challenges in order to reduce the likelihood of
abuse and neglect. The campaign includes seven months of online, mobile and
social media advertising, as well of four weeks of TV in all Texas media
markets during April. There will also be a smaller 13-week TV campaign on
public broadcasting stations beginning in April.
Safe Sleep a Priority for PEI
Every
year, CPS investigates about 170 child deaths involving babies who die while
sleeping with an adult (also called co-sleeping or bed sharing). DFPS created the
Room to Breathe campaign in 2010 to educate parents on the risks of
co-sleeping, as well as putting babies to bed with pillows, stuffed animals,
blankets or anything that could cause suffocation. PEI dedicated $650,000 to
the campaign to run seven consecutive months of mobile, online and social media
advertising, plus a three-week TV campaign in all Texas markets. The ads
started Feb. 6.
For
more information, please contact:
Texas
Workforce Commission (TWC)
The
Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) program moved from Department of Assistive and
Rehabilitative Services (DARS) to TWC on Sept. 1, 2016. The Vocational Rehabilitation program helps people with
disabilities prepare for, find or retain employment and helps youth and
students prepare for post-secondary opportunities. The program also helps
businesses and employers recruit, retain and accommodate employees with
disabilities. The following programs have moved to TWC:
- The Vocational Rehabilitation program for individuals
with visual impairments, including the Criss Cole Rehabilitation Center.
- The Vocational Rehabilitation program for individuals
with other disabilities.
- The Business Enterprises of Texas program.
- The Independent Living Services program for older
individuals who are blind.
The changes are
the result of legislation passed during the 84th Texas Legislative
session which places all of the state’s programs funded through the federal
Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) together under one agency.
Child
Care Services
TWC’s Child Care Services support quality child care
services and provide child care assistance for low-income families and children
involved with DFPS. More than 100,000 children per day received federally
subsidized child care through TWC in Fiscal Year 2015. Eligible families with children under the age
of 13 may receive child care financial assistance for parents to work, attend
school, or participate in training.
Texas
Rising Star (TRS) certification program promotes the availability of quality
child care services. TRS certified providers offer quality care that exceed the
State’s Minimum Child Care Licensing Standards in five categories: director and
staff qualifications; caregiver-child interactions; curriculum; nutrition and
indoor/outdoor activities; and parent education and involvement. TRS certified childcare providers exceed
minimum licensing requirements to obtain a progressively higher quality levels.
Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative
In
March 2016, Governor Greg Abbott established the Tri-Agency Workforce
Initiative and tasked the Commissioners of the Texas Education Agency (TEA),
the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB), and the Texas Workforce
Commission (TWC) to work together to develop strong links between education and
industry with the goal of helping Texas grow in economic prosperity.
The
state’s new higher education plan, 60x30TX will play a key role in linking
education and the workforce while supporting efforts to help more Texans
achieve a higher education and boost Texas in the global economy. The overarching goal of the plan is for 60
percent of 25-34 year-olds in the state to hold a certificate or degree by
2030. There will be future meetings and
projects that come out of the Tri-Agency Workforce Initiative.
For
more information, please contact:
Thank you for all your hard work! Stay tuned for future
communication!
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