Foster Care Enters New Era as 4Kids4Families Opens Texarkana Office

Why that matters?

Child Protective Services (CPS) used to manage foster care in Bowie, Cass, and 21 other East Texas counties. Today, 4Kids4Families handles all foster care cases, including permanency, adoptions, reunifications, and everything in between, as well as managing contracts with placement agencies. 4Kids4Families ensures children in foster care are placed in safe, supportive homes close to their communities while supporting families along the way.

The event brought together community leaders, local partners, and staff to mark an important milestone in expanding foster care and family services across East Texas.

Located at 5522 Christus Drive, the new office will serve as a regional hub for foster care caseworkers and family support services in Texarkana as part Texas DFPS Region 4, including. The space features dedicated visitation rooms designed to support biological families as they work through their service plans and maintain meaningful connections with their children.

“We’re grateful for the warm welcome from the Texarkana community,” said Belen Casillas, Community Relations Director for 4Kids for Families. “This new office represents collaboration, hope, and the ongoing work to strengthen families and create lasting permanency for children in foster care.”

Representatives from the Texarkana Chamber of Commerce, CASA, and other community organizations attended the event to show their support for the organization’s mission of helping kids and strengthening families through community-based care.

About 4Kids4Families:

4Kids4Families, a division of Arrow Child & Family Ministries, serves as the Single Source Continuum Contractor (SSCC) for the Piney Woods region of Texas under Tex. Family Code Sec. 264.161. As the SSCC for Region 4, 4Kids4Families is responsible for delivering comprehensive foster care services and supporting relative and kinship caregivers, assuming the statutory duties previously managed by the state. Our mission is to ensure that children and families receive the care and services they need, while legal representation remains with County and District Attorneys, as outlined in Sec. 264.163 of the Family Code. Arrow Child & Family Ministries has proudly served children and families in this region for over 25 years.

For more information, please visit 4Kids4Families.org.

Care to Share?

Stay Connected

Receive updates, stories of hope,
and program needs right in your inbox!

Reportable Incidents Include:

  • Death of a child
  • Child is in a life-threatening situation
  • A significant change in a child’s medical condition
  • Psychiatric hospitalization
  • A child who is missing from care and placed on the Amber Alert system returns to care
  • Natural disasters where children are displaced
  • Suicide attempts
  • Injuries requiring medical treatment including psychiatric hospitalization
  • Runaway incidents
  • A caregiver/staff member or child contracts a communicable disease
  • Commission of a Crime, including those committed by youth or crimes occur at a home or facility in which youth are placed
  • Allegations of abuse, neglect or abusive treatment
  • A child’s abuse, neglect, or exploitation.
  • Allegation and/or confirmed child-on-child physical and/or sexual abuse.