Rural Community-Based Care

Rural Community-Based Care in West Texas

The San Angelo Family Network (SAFN) is proud to be part of a historic movement to redesign how child and family welfare services are delivered in rural Texas. Through the passage of Senate Bill 513, our region—DFPS Region 9, including the Concho Valley—has been given the opportunity to pilot a Rural Community-Based Care (CBC) model tailored to the unique needs of our families, geography, and communities.

For decades, rural areas like ours have faced significant challenges in the state’s traditional child welfare system:

• Families often separated by hundreds of miles due to limited placement options

• Service gaps in mental health, housing, and prevention supports

• Strained local resources competing with urban centers for workforce and funding

• Fragmented communication between providers, caregivers, and state agencies
  
  

Rural CBC changes that.
Instead of a one-size-fits-all, urban-centered approach, the Rural CBC pilot is being co-designed locally by West Texas stakeholders—including parents, kinship caregivers, youth with lived experience, service providers, courts, faith communities, and DFPS partners. Together, we’re building a system that is:

• Family-First – prioritizing prevention, early intervention, and keeping children connected to their home communities whenever safely possible

• Locally Governed – ensuring decision-making happens here, with balanced representation from both the Concho Valley and the Permian Basin

• Flexible & Innovative – adapting services to fit our rural realities, from telehealth to volunteer transportation networks

• Outcome-Driven – focusing on measurable improvements in family stability, child safety, and community wellbeing
  
  

Our Vision

We envision a thriving rural West Texas where every family is safe, supported, and empowered—and where children grow up connected to their families, schools, and communities of faith. The Rural CBC pilot is our chance to turn that vision into action.

What This Means for Families

Through Rural CBC, families will see:

• Easier access to local supports without having to enter the formal CPS system

• Stronger wraparound networks for kinship, foster, and adoptive families

• Real-time communication and resource coordination through technology-enabled tools

• Expanded prevention services through partnerships with churches, nonprofits, and schools
  
  

This is more than a program—it’s a community-owned solution built for and by the people of West Texas.