Who We Are  Board of Directors Partner Agencies Coalition

The knowledge that more than 1500 Texas children and young adults under the age of 22 who have developmental disabilities reside in residential facilities was the impetus for the creation of EveryChild.

EveryChild was formed in July 2000 as the result of activities of a coalition formed of individuals and organizations dedicated to the development of a system of support for families to provide alternatives to institutional placement of children with disabilities. Participants in the EveryChild Coalition included disability advocates, agency staff, legislative staff, providers of services, individuals with disabilities, and families of children with disabilities.

During 2000 members of the EveryChild Coalition visited a variety of institutions in Texas to learn more about how children with disabilities were being served. Members of the Coalition went to Michigan to learn about their system of care which enables children to be supported in alternate families rather than institutional settings when their parents are unable to care for them at home. Following that visit, Nancy Rosenau, Ph.D., an expert in permanency planning issues, came to Texas to work with the Coalition to develop the core essential elements of a program that could work in Texas.

The Coalition used what it learned to educate policy-makers on the need for more effective permanency planning and family-based alternatives and enlist stakeholders interested in change.

In December 2000, EveryChild incorporated in the state of Texas and received nonprofit designation from the Internal Revenue Service.

EveryChild, Inc. has had a number of projects through funding from grants by the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) and Texas Department of Health (TDH). In May 2002 EveryChild, Inc. was awarded a contract by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission to implement the Family-Based Alternatives for Children in Institutions Project.