Child Protective Services Reintegration Project (CRP)

The CPS Reintegration Project (CRP) provides home- and community-based services to a small number of youth who are involved in the CPS system and have mental health challenges. The goal of the Project is to reduce the number of youth involved in the Child Welfare System by helping families safely manage the mental health issues of the youth after discharge from a residential treatment center (RTC) or a therapeutic foster home.

CRP utilizes the Wraparound Process, which means that the youth and family take the lead in setting goals and deciding how to meet them. Each youth/family is assigned to a Care Coordinator (CC), who helps the family communicate their strengths and needs and facilitates access to community resources.

• CRP Flyer
• CRP Trifold brochure

• Help parents/caregivers and youth to communicate their family’s strengths and needs
• Support parents/caregivers to realistically plan for challenges they may experience when the youth comes home after residential treatment
• Help parents/caregivers understand and interact with mental health, educational, health, child welfare, and other systems
• Mentoring, individual & family therapy, supportive recreational and enrichment activities, respite care, camps, parenting support, crisis support, and other non-traditional services to youth and their families
• Help parents/caregivers connect with other caregivers for sharing and support
• Assist parents/caregivers to build up kin and community supports

The CPS Reintegration Project is a program within Travis County Health and Human Services Division Office of Children Services.

CRP offices are located in the Palm Square building, at 100 N. IH-35 in Austin.

* The CPS Reintegration Project is not part of Child Protective Services. CRP is a Travis County program that works with Child Protective Services.

Virginia Aguiluz Chavando
(512) 854-5904
[email protected]
*Bilingual English/Spanish*

Shannon Van Zandt
(512) 854-5877
[email protected]

• CRP Referral Form

The CPS worker and their supervisor identify a youth who will be discharged within the next 90-120 days from RTC or therapeutic foster home. CPS and the treatment team have determined that the youth has made enough progress so that returning to the community is appropriate, as long as intensive services could be in place to support the youth & family. CPS identifies a potential caregiver, such as a birth parent, relative, or close family friend.

*All referrals to CRP must be submitted by CPS workers.

CPS meets with the CRP Project Supervisors and Care Coordinators (CC) to discuss whether the youth would be appropriate for the program.CRP Care Coordinators go out to the home of the potential caregiver to explain the project, answer questions, and see what the caregiver’s thoughts are about having the youth live in their home sometime soon. The CC makes regular contact with the caregiver to help them decide whether they would like to participate in CRP.

*Participation in the CPS Reintegration Project (CRP) is voluntary. Once a referral is submitted by the CPS worker and accepted by CRP for screening, each family must make their own informed decision about whether or not they want to participate in the CPS Reintegration Project.

The Care Coordinators (CC) works with the caregiver, CPS, the child's placement, school, and other important entities to develop a Family Team and create a Wraparound Plan for the identified youth. The Team works together to think of creative ways to meet the family’s needs so that the youth can remain in the home permanently/successfully.

The youth comes to live with the caregiver. Service Providers/the Family Team meets weekly and works together to make sure that the youth/family’s needs are addressed in all areas (safety, physical & mental health, social, educational, spiritual, etc.).

The Family Team continues to meet on a monthly basis to closely monitor the return and monitoring.

The Family Team works together to provide consistent and appropriate supports in order to make sure the youth can be successful at home. As the youth makes improvements and the family grows in their ability to meet their own needs,services arranged to support the reunification will be gradually reduced. When the youth has met the goals on the Wraparound Plan, they will graduate from services and continue to participate in community-based supports developed during their engagement with CRP.

The Wraparound Process is a team approach that works with the family as a whole, considering the needs of each family member. Wraparound is a way to improve the lives of children and families who have complex needs. With Wraparound, all the different people and systems involved with the child and family work together as a Child & Family Team to come up with a plan that fits the family. The team plans for and implements services and supports to address each child’s physical, emotional, social, educational, and family needs at home, school, and in the community.

People’s strengths pull them through life’s difficult and challenging moments, not their problems or diagnoses.

Instead of using the same plan for everyone, we make a unique plan for each family. We are flexible and creative. We can change the plan as the family’s needs change

We help to make sure each person, service, and system the family is involved with all work together to “wrap” themselves around the family, creating a network of support. We call that network a System of Care. We see each family as the center of their unique support network.

• CRP Caregiver Guide
• CRP Youth Guide
• 10 Principles of the Wraparound Process
• CRP Trifold Brochure