What we do at Texans Care for Children is advance the policy changes that improve kids' lives. While there may be a number of ways to try that, how we approach it--and how we have long done so because it brings remarkable results--is by leading that change through active coalitions.
We bring together the Texans who know most about what children need and how to produce those results through policy. We forge connections between those people and fellow Texans, support shared learning, and amplify voices across the state on behalf of kids.
We hold events in venues that are free and open, in dozens of forums throughout the year and all sorts of formats--summits, meetings, webinars, and policy calls--to benefit our communities and the children who live in them. This has been our model, because not only do we believe there is a need, we have witnessed its effectiveness and how it brings real, lasting policy changes, so families can lead better lives.
The woman behind a lot of that work for us over the years has been Jodie Smith. Now our truly versatile, highly competent, amazingly dedicated policy director is entering law school in a few weeks after five years of ably serving Texans Care. To say she will be dearly missed is an understatement. Working closely with Jodie has been nothing short of an exceptional experience.
Nonetheless, I am delighted for her opportunities to impact policy through new spheres and also excited for another opportunity that arose: revisiting the staffing structure at Texans Care. Our new structure invests each policy expert on our team with greater depth in a particular issue area. This is the capacity in which our outstanding Mental Health Policy Associate Josette Saxton has served for several years now.
Those of you who work closely with Texans Care by now have met our policy powerhouse--including three women who joined us last year, each of them highly educated, experienced and competent. They facilitate and lead our work in various policy areas with a depth of focus we are delighted to be able to offer. I've asked each of our new staff to share a little about themselves here:
Josette Saxton - Mental Health Policy Associate
Ashley Harris - Child Welfare Policy Associate
Since childhood, I've always been driven to help those who did not have same love and support that I was provided and had a strong desire to pursue social work as a profession. Earning my bachelor's degree in Political Science from Texas State University, I understood that the problems facing many under-served children and families could not only be solved by direct service-delivery to clients, but the larger systems and public policies impacting the individual have to change. After college, I worked for Child Protective Services as a caseworker for over 4 years and work tirelessly to support the needs of youth aging out of foster care. Joining Texans Care for Children in January 2011 as an intern, I knew this organization had influenced many policy changes that supported Child Protective Services staff and those served by the agency. I was delighted to become a staff member as the Child Welfare Policy Associate and receive my master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Texas at Austin in May 2011. |  |
Lauren Dimitry - Health Policy Coordinator
My first day at Texans Care one of my new coworkers asked me how I came to be interested in children's health issues, including child obesity. I had recently finished my graduate degree at the LBJ school and it was surprising to me how hard that question was to answer. Was it my previous experiences as a case manager working with survivors of domestic violence, or working with companies to develop more sustainable business practices? Was it my professors along the way, my love of health and fitness, or was it was that both of my parents are nurses and health care just fit? In the process of stumbling through an answer I realized it was probably all those things, and even influences I have long forgotten, that led me to where I am today. Wherever my passion for children's health and nutrition policy comes from, it's rooted in the deep belief that nothing changes, if nothing changes. At Texans Care for Children it only took one meeting to see this was an organization all about changing children's lives for the better--which is how I found my home as a Health Policy Coordinator. | 
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Lauren Rose - Juvenile Justice and Mental Health Policy Fellow
I started my career working on political campaigns, but after years of Election Days and one session as a legislative staffer, I learned that my passion was rooted in policy, not politics. Knowing that I wanted my policy career focused on improving the lives of Texans, I focused my studies on a range of policies but with a Texas slant at the LBJ School of Public Affairs. Two classes in particular--one on the criminal justice system and one on "Investing in the Next Generation”--really piqued my interests. While the criminal justice class focused on the adult justice system, the two or three weeks looking at the Juvenile Justice system left me wanting more. With my long-held belief that today's children are our future and my new-found interest in improving the juvenile justice system and preventing involvement in the system, my position at Texans Care as a Mental Health policy fellow focusing on the overlap of juvenile justice and mental health and leading the organization's juvenile justice work seemed a perfect fit. After almost a year in the position, I now know it is. |  |
