Consultation

The Colorado Disparities Resource Center (CDRC) has consulted with several individuals, projects and organizations to inform and enhance its work.

The CDRC has engaged consultants from the Child Welfare Research Center at the School of Social Welfare at the University of California, Berkeley, which has developed a resource for California’s Department of Social Services showing county-level service disparities across the state. This resource has served as a model for the CDRC’s data page. In addition, we are currently consulting with the National Quality Improvement Center on Differential Response in Child Protective Services to help inform our work with Colorado’s five differential response pilot counties: Arapahoe, Fremont, Garfield, Jefferson and Larimer.

The CDRC has also consulted with Joyce James (LMSW-AP), the associate deputy executive commissioner for the Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, to aid in developing the functions and processes needed to support the efforts of this project. Ms. James began her professional career as a CPS caseworker in 1980 and has established an impressive 30-year history in the field of child welfare. She has been a strong advocate for children, youth and families, and is an influential voice in raising and increasing public awareness about disproportionality in child welfare and other child- and family-serving systems. Ms. James is considered a national expert on disproportionality and has provided consultant services to many states and national organizations across the country. She is a recognized speaker on disproportionality and other child welfare practice models that promote permanency. Ms. James has been a keynote speaker for state and national conferences, almost always drawing a standing ovation from her audiences. She has also co-authored several articles related to addressing disproportionality.

Ms. James is skilled in mobilizing and organizing community support and cross-systems collaborations. She created the vision and led the development of Project H.O.P.E. (Helping Our People Excel), the first community engagement model for the Texas CPS program. This model was modified and expanded to the state level when Ms. James became the Texas Child Welfare director in 2004, and is currently in existence in every Texas CPS region. Ms. James served as the Texas Child Welfare director from 2004-2009, providing leadership and direction for the state-administered system’s 254 counties and approximately 9,000 staff. She also provided leadership for the implementation of Senate Bills 6 and 758, resulting in unprecedented resources in the form of an additional 3,500 staff. Ms. James’ testimony during the 79th legislative session was instrumental in the creation of legislation that required Texas to address disproportionality in its CPS program. Ms. James is credited with being a catalyst for other significant and nationally recognized improvements in the Texas CPS program, including a reduction in disproportionality for African American and Native American children, and overall improved outcomes for all children, youth and families.

Ms. James has served as the deputy commissioner for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, working on the day-to-day operations of the agency’s Child and Adult Protective Services programs and the Residential and Child Care Licensing programs. She provided leadership for the Center for Learning and Organizational Effectiveness for approximately 11,000 employees, and led the way for the introduction and ongoing development and implementation of training focused on addressing disproportionality through leadership development and anti-racist practice.

The Center for Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities at the Texas Health and Human Services Commission was created in September 2010 out of recognition of the strong and effective leadership Ms. James has provided in the area of disproportionality, and a desire to expand her leadership in this work to all systems that operate under the umbrella of the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Ms. James has received numerous awards for her leadership, advocacy and service to children, youth and families, specifically for her efforts to address disproportionality in child welfare in Texas.