Every child deserves to feel safe, seen, and supported. At CK Family Services (CKFS), our mission is rooted in ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children—especially those facing the risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation. As we recognize Child Abuse Prevention Month this April, we’re reminded that prevention is not just a moment—it’s a movement. And CKFS is honored to be on the front lines of that movement every single day.
Providing Safe Homes, Offering Hope
As a licensed Child Placing Agency, CKFS acts swiftly to surround vulnerable children with care and stability. Our foster families and dedicated staff are among the first responders when children face situations that jeopardize their safety. We work closely with Child Protective Services to ensure these children are placed into nurturing homes that support their healing and growth.
But our support doesn’t stop there. Through CK Behavioral Health (CKBH), we offer therapeutic services that address trauma and help children begin the process of recovery. Assessments by medical professionals, therapists, and experienced caregivers allow us to tailor care to each child’s needs. Our homes are not only safe spaces—they’re places of restoration.
Prevention Through Empowerment: The Texas Families First Program
Prevention is the heart of long-term change. That’s why we are proud to be a provider for Texas Families First (TFF)—an innovative pilot program of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. TFF is a transformative initiative that enhances the focus of child welfare to family preservation. Rather than removing children from their homes, the program works to stabilize families by offering wrap-around care and skill-building services.
TFF serves families with active Family-Based Safety Services (FBSS) cases who are at high risk of removal and works to mitigate risk factors—such as substance use or limited support systems—while helping families build protective factors that promote stability and resilience. Through in-home visits, parenting education, and emotional support, our team at CK Behavioral Health helps families address these root causes and create safe, nurturing environments.
TFF is currently offered in select counties within the Our Community. Our Kids (OCOK) catchment area—Tarrant, Somervell, Palo Pinto, Erath, and Johnson—with hopes of expanding in the future. One of the most unique aspects of this initiative is that services are assigned to the family as a whole—not just the child.
CKFS provides monthly monitoring, holds regular Child and Family Team Meetings (CFTM), and employs an evidence-based, relational approach that includes Motivational Interviewing and Wrap-Around Care. These tools offer early intervention, personalized resources, and practical strategies to build resilience, strengthen communication, and restore connection within families. “We play on each person’s strength to ensure the success of the family,” says Lynn Palmares, Program Manager for Special Projects and Resource Development. “We celebrate the wins.”
As the largest provider in this initiative, CKFS has helped develop curriculum and offer vital support to families facing issues like housing instability, substance use, and the risk of family separation.
Preventing Crisis: Resilient Families Services
In addition to TFF, CKFS offers Resilient Families Services (RFS)—a unique, no-cost program designed to help parents and caregivers of children with severe behavioral challenges, typically stemming from serious mental illness.
This program is preventive in nature and specifically supports families who are not currently involved in the foster care system. Many of the parents we serve through RFS have tried everything they know and are overwhelmed, exhausted, and afraid of what’s next. Some are even contemplating relinquishing their parental rights—a decision that no caregiver ever makes lightly.
That’s where Resilient Families steps in.
Made possible through a generous grant from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission, RFS equips parents with therapeutic tools, personalized coaching, and emotional support that can make the difference between crisis and stability. Participation is entirely voluntary and designed to affirm, not judge, caregivers who are doing their best in extraordinarily difficult circumstances.
By strengthening the family unit before it fractures, Resilient Families helps caregivers reclaim hope and rebuild trust with their children.
Together, We Are Stronger
At CK Family Services, we believe that protecting children means supporting families. Whether through foster care, therapeutic services, or prevention programs like Texas Families First and Resilient Families, our work is centered on creating lasting change and breaking generational cycles of trauma.
This April, we invite you to join us in raising awareness, advocating for vulnerable children, and supporting the programs that make families stronger. Because when we stand together—families, professionals, and communities—we can be a powerful force for healing, hope, and safety.
Want to learn more or get involved?
Visit www.ckfamilyservices.org or follow us on social media to discover how you can be a part of this life-changing work.
