How did we get here?

The West Texas Together (WTT) Community-Based Care (CBC) timeline is the story of a decade-long journey to redesign foster care in our region—and to put decision-making back into the hands of local communities.

It began with the state’s first attempt at Foster Care Redesign in 2013, when a private provider was contracted to manage foster placements across an enormous territory that included both the Permian Basin and Concho Valley. That effort ended in less than two years, revealing the unique challenges of delivering child welfare services across rural West Texas.

In the years that followed, Community-Based Care expanded across much of Texas, showing promise in regions with stronger provider networks and denser populations. Meanwhile, Region 9—the area spanning the Permian Basin and Concho Valley—remained under the traditional DFPS system. Multiple procurement attempts to secure a local “Single Source Continuum Contractor” failed, including a 2022 bid cycle that drew no applicants.

The turning point came when local leaders, service providers, judges, educators, and families formed West Texas Together. This coalition recognized that no outside agency could succeed here without deep local buy-in, tailored solutions for rural communities, and a commitment to early intervention. WTT began building a shared vision, learning from CBC’s successes and failures in other regions, and developing its own plan for a better way forward.

In 2025, years of advocacy and collaboration paid off with the passage of Senate Bill 513, authorizing a Rural Community-Based Care Pilot in West Texas. For the first time, state law now recognizes that rural regions need the flexibility to design child welfare systems around their own strengths, challenges, and community networks.

This timeline tells that story—from the first redesign attempt, through legislative wins, to the road ahead. It’s a record of how our community refused to be defined by past failures, choosing instead to build something better for our children, families, and future.

Sources:

• Texas DFPS Community-Based Care Overview: https://www.dfps.texas.gov/Child_Protection/Foster_Care/Community-Based_Care/default.asp

• Texas Tribune – “Foster Care Redesign Pilot Program Ends Early”: https://www.texastribune.org/2014/04/08/foster-care-redesign-pilot-program-ends-early/

• Texas Legislature Online – SB 513 Full Text: https://capitol.texas.gov/BillLookup/Text.aspx?LegSess=88R&Bill=SB513

Begin the journey - Launch of Foster Care Redesign