Did you know...
- Nearly one in 10 children in the United States lives in Texas. Of those children, about one third are under the age of six - the most vulnerable population for abuse and neglect.
- DFPS, works with law enforcement, the medical community, service providers and the local communities to reduce child abuse and neglect fatalities, near fatalities and serious injuries.
What is the Office of Child Safety?
In September 2014, Commissioner John Specia formed the Office of Child Safety to address and reduce child abuse. The Office of Child Safety's responsibilities are:
- To independently analyze individual child abuse and neglect fatalities, near fatalities and serious injuries as well as look for patterns and any issues in the system.
- To review state and national trends regarding child fatalities, near fatalities, and serious injuries as well as prevention programs that can be used by DFPS programs, other state agencies and local communities.
Office of Child Safety's goal is to help carry out prevention and intervention programs which address and reduce fatal and serious child abuse. To this end, the Office of Child Safety specifically works on:
- Producing consistent, transparent, and timely review of child fatalities and serious injuries conducted by independent experts outside any specific program.
- Assessing root causes of child fatalities to provide guidance on the most effective prevention changes as well as improvements in child welfare practices.
- Involving many sectors and non-traditional partners to help with the prevention and intervention efforts.
- Working closely with the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) and others to share data and information.
- Developing program recommendations to bring together local agencies, private sector, non-profits, and government programs to reduce child abuse and neglect fatalities.