The Rainbow Room
The Rainbow Room is an emergency resource room where Child Protective Services (CPS) caseworkers can obtain the essentials a child in crisis needs, including clothing, diapers, personal hygiene items, school supplies, car seats, and other necessities that make a real difference in a child’s life.
Everything in The Rainbow Room comes from our community. The room is stocked entirely through donations, grants, and new in-kind and cash gifts made possible by the people and businesses of El Paso. When you give, you put help directly into the hands of a child who needs it.
Family Group Decision Making Meetings (FGDM)
FGDM brings everyone who cares about a child to the same table. In these meetings, CPS caseworkers, parents, extended family members, and community partners come together to make important decisions about a child’s safety and well-being, from identifying stable living arrangements to connecting families with the support services they need.
The process serves children who have been temporarily or permanently removed from their parents, as well as children who can safely remain at home when the right community support is in place. Keeping children connected to their family, friends, schools, and community strengthens their overall well-being and leads to better long-term outcomes.
Co-Sleeping Reduction Initiative
Safe sleep saves lives. Nearly every day in Texas, an infant or young child dies while sleeping with a parent, another adult, or an older child.
The Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) reported 165 such deaths in fiscal year 2008, and the trend has continued to climb, with 167 deaths in 2009 and 177 in 2010. The youngest children are the most vulnerable. More than half of the infants died before they were three months old, and a third were between three and seven months old. Only 10 percent were older than six months, and the oldest child was just 22 months.
Our initiative works to reverse this trend by helping families understand the risks of co-sleeping and adopt safe sleep practices that protect their children.
Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) Program – PAL Partners
Aging out of foster care shouldn’t mean facing adulthood alone. Established in 1986, the Preparation for Adult Living (PAL) program helps older youth in substitute care prepare for their inevitable transition out of the care of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (TXDFPS).
At any given time, roughly 3,500 youth aged 16 and older are in substitute care across Texas. PAL program staff work to equip each of them with the skills and resources they need to become healthy, independent, and productive adults, and PAL Partners stands alongside them in that journey.