OUR MISSION

Former First Lady Laura Bush &

GTCP Co-founder Emy Lou Baldridge

A non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, the mission of Greater Texas Community Partners is to meet the critical needs of abused and neglected children through state and local collaborations.

By building partnerships with community volunteers, and state and local governments, GTCP increases community awareness of child abuse and helps children grow up to be healthy, productive adults.

Who We Are | What We Do | Rainbow Rooms |

Adopt a Case Worker | Purchasing Partnerships |

Texas Child Abuse Statistics | How it Makes a Difference

Who We Are

We are advocates dedicated to helping Child Protective Services caseworkers in their work of protecting children from abuse and neglect. By assisting communities large and small establish and operate programs that help caseworkers help children, Greater Texas Community Partners reaches out to all abused and neglected children of Texas through the communities in which they live.

In 1989, a group of concerned citizens created Community Partners of Dallas to assist Child Protective Services caseworkers in meeting the needs of abused and neglected children. The program was replicated throughout Texas and Greater Texas Community Partners was born.

Prior to the establishment of Community Partners, caseworkers relied on their own personal resources or spent hours of precious time searching for resources to meet the needs of the children they served. State budgets do not contain enough funds to provide these children with basic needs such as clothes, baby formula, school supplies, and toiletries. Greater Texas Community Partners meets those needs through resource rooms stocked with essential items.

Now Greater Texas Community Partners has 146 Community Partner sites and over 232 "adopted" caseworkers. In 2008, over 60,000 children were served through this collaboration.

What We Do

We support our Community Partner sites in providing for the needs of children in Child Protective Services care by:

Establishing statewide programs benefiting children
Providing guidance for program development
Training volunteers and board members
Assisting with fundraising strategies
Developing individual, business and corporate partnerships, through the Purchasing Partnerships Program, enabling local Partners to purchase needed items at reduced rates

Rainbow Rooms

The Rainbow Room is an emergency resource center available to Child Protective Services caseworkers. Stocked with all new items, Rainbow Rooms provide clothing, shoes, underwear, baby formula, school supplies and hygiene items to children entering foster or relative care and children in their own homes who live below the poverty line.

To support your Rainbow Room, you can:

• Conduct a community drive to collect diapers, formula, or other critically needed items

• Volunteer to help shop or stock items

• Support your local Rainbow Room through a cash donation or through the virtual Rainbow Room drive. Participating in the Virtual Rainbow Room drive enables you to help your Rainbow Room provide the most critically needed items to their children without ever leaving your home! You just shop through the internet on a specially designed site that lists the top ten needs of the room in your area.

Click here to find out more about the Virtual Rainbow Room Drive for your area.

Adopt-a-Caseworker Program

The Adopt a Caseworker program connects caseworkers with individuals, churches, businesses, and organizations in an effort to meet specific needs of children. Adopting groups reduces the financial burden for caseworkers and offers moral support. When a caseworker cannot meet a specific need through available resources, the caseworker contacts their group for help. Groups provide such items as birthday presents, prom dresses, household goods, and groceries.

To find a program in your area, click here.

Purchasing Partnerships Program

The mission of the Purchasing Partnerships Program is to enable local sites to stretch their dollars to serve as many children as possible by providing criticially needed items at discounted prices.

Throughout the state, Community Partner groups have identified the most critically needed items for removed children. These items include school supplies, duffel bags, lice treatment, car seats, port-a-cribs, baby formula, and beds. Based on this input, we developed corporate partnerships with manufacturers of these items and leveraged the bulk purchasing power to obtain the lowest possible price for each item. Grants have been secured to provide the initial shipment of some items to local sites at no cost.

Texas Child Abuse Statistics

In 2009, Texas had:

283,922 child abuse and/or neglect reports
100,762 confirmed cases of child abuse and/or neglect
12,107 children removed from their homes
25.1% of removed children were under 3 years of age
7,673 children were placed with family in kinship care
12,908 children were placed in foster care
Youth who "aged out" of the foster care system--turned 18 while in care--had an average of 9.1 placements before leaving CPS
Only 536 youth were adopted

How It Makes a Difference

Angela, age 5, Sara, age 3, Bobby, age 2, and Laura, age 1, were found left alone in their apartment, hungry, filthy and covered in lice. The CPS caseworker is able to determine that the mother has a drug problem and won’t be able to care for the children, but the grandmother, Rosie, loves the children and is able to provide a safe home. There is one problem, however. It has been years since Rosie cared for young children, and she has none of the things she needs to adequately meet their needs. And the state of Texas provides no financial support for relatives who care for children. After a trip to the Rainbow Room, this problem is easily solved. The caseworker is able to deliver the children to their grandmothers’ home, along with car seats, a baby crib, baby formula, and clothes and hygiene items for each child. With these items as a start, Rosie now feels confident that she can care for the children, and ensure they have a safe loving home.

Emily, the mother of 4 children ages 10, 8, 7 and 6, is a previous victim of domestic violence who is now striving to provide a safe home for her children. It isn’t easy, and money is tight, but most of the time things are okay. One morning, she wakes up to discover that it is the first really cold day of the year, and that it’s time to get out the winter coats for her children. She is horrified to discover that they have holes in them where they have been eaten by rats. It is raining outside, and her car is broken, so she sends her children off to school with no coats, in the rain, and feels like a horrible mother. After calling her CPS caseworker, though, the problem is solved. At the Rainbow Room, the caseworker is able to get new winter coats for all 4 children, and they are delivered to Emily by the end of the day.

Alice, age 6 months, and Ellen, age 18 months, are removed from their home due to serious neglect. They are underweight, unclean and developmentally delayed. It is clear that their 18 year old mother is unable to provide them the kind of home they need. But their grandmother, Susan, steps forward and is willing to provide a safe and loving home for the children, so that they don’t have to stay in foster care. But Susan has limited income, and the state does not provide financial support for relatives who take in children. And it has been a long time since Susan has cared for young children, so she doesn’t have any of the things you need to be able to provide for two babies. So she is very worried about whether she can take the children. The caseworker, however, is able to easily allay her fears by explaining to her that she will get help from the Rainbow Room. When the children are placed with Susan, they will get clothes, a crib, car seats, baby safety items, hygiene items and formula. Because of this Susan readily accepts placement of her grandchildren, knowing that she will have support and won’t be doing this all alone.


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HOME ABOUT US VIDEOS NEWSLETTERS NOMINATION FORMS CONTACT US PARTNER LOGIN RESOURCES HOW YOU CAN HELP TO REPORT CHILD ABUSE CALL 911 or 1-800-252-5400 Sign up for email announcements! Email: First Name: Last Name:	OUR MISSION Former First Lady Laura Bush & GTCP Co-founder Emy Lou Baldridge A non-profit, volunteer-driven organization, the mission of Greater Texas Community Partners is to meet the critical needs of abused and neglected children through state and local collaborations. By building partnerships with community volunteers, and state and local governments, GTCP increases community awareness of child abuse and helps children grow up to be healthy, productive adults. Who We Are \| What We Do \| Rainbow Rooms \| Adopt a Case Worker \| Purchasing Partnerships \| Texas Child Abuse Statistics \| How it Makes a Difference Who We Are We are advocates dedicated to helping Child Protective Services caseworkers in their work of protecting children from abuse and neglect. By assisting communities large and small establish and operate programs that help caseworkers help children, Greater Texas Community Partners reaches out to all abused and neglected children of Texas through the communities in which they live. In 1989, a group of concerned citizens created Community Partners of Dallas to assist Child Protective Services caseworkers in meeting the needs of abused and neglected children. The program was replicated throughout Texas and Greater Texas Community Partners was born. Prior to the establishment of Community Partners, caseworkers relied on their own personal resources or spent hours of precious time searching for resources to meet the needs of the children they served. State budgets do not contain enough funds to provide these children with basic needs such as clothes, baby formula, school supplies, and toiletries. Greater Texas Community Partners meets those needs through resource rooms stocked with essential items. Now Greater Texas Community Partners has 146 Community Partner sites and over 232 "adopted" caseworkers. In 2008, over 60,000 children were served through this collaboration. What We Do We support our Community Partner sites in providing for the needs of children in Child Protective Services care by: Establishing statewide programs benefiting children Providing guidance for program development Training volunteers and board members Assisting with fundraising strategies Developing individual, business and corporate partnerships, through the Purchasing Partnerships Program, enabling local Partners to purchase needed items at reduced rates Rainbow Rooms The Rainbow Room is an emergency resource center available to Child Protective Services caseworkers. Stocked with all new items, Rainbow Rooms provide clothing, shoes, underwear, baby formula, school supplies and hygiene items to children entering foster or relative care and children in their own homes who live below the poverty line. To support your Rainbow Room, you can: • Conduct a community drive to collect diapers, formula, or other critically needed items • Volunteer to help shop or stock items • Support your local Rainbow Room through a cash donation or through the virtual Rainbow Room drive. Participating in the Virtual Rainbow Room drive enables you to help your Rainbow Room provide the most critically needed items to their children without ever leaving your home! You just shop through the internet on a specially designed site that lists the top ten needs of the room in your area. Click here to find out more about the Virtual Rainbow Room Drive for your area. Adopt-a-Caseworker Program The Adopt a Caseworker program connects caseworkers with individuals, churches, businesses, and organizations in an effort to meet specific needs of children. Adopting groups reduces the financial burden for caseworkers and offers moral support. When a caseworker cannot meet a specific need through available resources, the caseworker contacts their group for help. Groups provide such items as birthday presents, prom dresses, household goods, and groceries. To find a program in your area, click here. Purchasing Partnerships Program The mission of the Purchasing Partnerships Program is to enable local sites to stretch their dollars to serve as many children as possible by providing criticially needed items at discounted prices. Throughout the state, Community Partner groups have identified the most critically needed items for removed children. These items include school supplies, duffel bags, lice treatment, car seats, port-a-cribs, baby formula, and beds. Based on this input, we developed corporate partnerships with manufacturers of these items and leveraged the bulk purchasing power to obtain the lowest possible price for each item. Grants have been secured to provide the initial shipment of some items to local sites at no cost. Texas Child Abuse Statistics In 2009, Texas had: 283,922 child abuse and/or neglect reports 100,762 confirmed cases of child abuse and/or neglect 12,107 children removed from their homes 25.1% of removed children were under 3 years of age 7,673 children were placed with family in kinship care 12,908 children were placed in foster care Youth who "aged out" of the foster care system--turned 18 while in care--had an average of 9.1 placements before leaving CPS Only 536 youth were adopted How It Makes a Difference Angela, age 5, Sara, age 3, Bobby, age 2, and Laura, age 1, were found left alone in their apartment, hungry, filthy and covered in lice. The CPS caseworker is able to determine that the mother has a drug problem and won’t be able to care for the children, but the grandmother, Rosie, loves the children and is able to provide a safe home. There is one problem, however. It has been years since Rosie cared for young children, and she has none of the things she needs to adequately meet their needs. And the state of Texas provides no financial support for relatives who care for children. After a trip to the Rainbow Room, this problem is easily solved. The caseworker is able to deliver the children to their grandmothers’ home, along with car seats, a baby crib, baby formula, and clothes and hygiene items for each child. With these items as a start, Rosie now feels confident that she can care for the children, and ensure they have a safe loving home. Emily, the mother of 4 children ages 10, 8, 7 and 6, is a previous victim of domestic violence who is now striving to provide a safe home for her children. It isn’t easy, and money is tight, but most of the time things are okay. One morning, she wakes up to discover that it is the first really cold day of the year, and that it’s time to get out the winter coats for her children. She is horrified to discover that they have holes in them where they have been eaten by rats. It is raining outside, and her car is broken, so she sends her children off to school with no coats, in the rain, and feels like a horrible mother. After calling her CPS caseworker, though, the problem is solved. At the Rainbow Room, the caseworker is able to get new winter coats for all 4 children, and they are delivered to Emily by the end of the day. Alice, age 6 months, and Ellen, age 18 months, are removed from their home due to serious neglect. They are underweight, unclean and developmentally delayed. It is clear that their 18 year old mother is unable to provide them the kind of home they need. But their grandmother, Susan, steps forward and is willing to provide a safe and loving home for the children, so that they don’t have to stay in foster care. But Susan has limited income, and the state does not provide financial support for relatives who take in children. And it has been a long time since Susan has cared for young children, so she doesn’t have any of the things you need to be able to provide for two babies. So she is very worried about whether she can take the children. The caseworker, however, is able to easily allay her fears by explaining to her that she will get help from the Rainbow Room. When the children are placed with Susan, they will get clothes, a crib, car seats, baby safety items, hygiene items and formula. Because of this Susan readily accepts placement of her grandchildren, knowing that she will have support and won’t be doing this all alone.
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