Our mission is to reduce and prevent child abuse by educating and organizing its members to communicate with government officials, public and private funders, and the public-at-large about the need for increased investments in research-based best practices of child abuse prevention programs, CPS reforms, and treatment programs for victims of abuse.

TexProtects, The Texas Association for the Protection of Children developed from the Dallas-based Child Abuse Prevention Advocacy Commission (CAPAC), a group organized in 2000 in response to the critical need for reform and funding for Dallas County’s Child Protective Services (CPS). At the time, Dallas was experiencing the highest turnover rate of caseworkers in the state (46%), resulting in poor outcomes for children, including an increase in child deaths.

Dallas Commission members soon realized that Dallas’ CPS problems were also issues statewide. Simultaneously, Prevent Child Abuse Texas (PCAT), an Austin based 501C-3 statewide-child abuse prevention education organization also identified a need to expand their focus from prevention advocacy to include CPS reform. The Chair of CAPAC, Madeline McClure, also served on the Board of PCAT as Advocacy Chair. With her local and statewide role with CAPAC and PCAT, Madeline decided to lead a focused, statewide membership organization. In April 2004, TexProtects was founded as the Advocacy Division of Prevent Child Abuse Texas.

As of 2008, TexProtects has chosen The Dallas Foundation as its fiscal sponsor. TexProtects is a component fund of The Dallas Foundation, and therefore is entitled to all the benefits from the Foundation's tax-exempt status. TexProtects is taking steps to become an independent 501(c)(3) organization.

TexProtects was created to tackle issues of CPS reform, prevention and public awareness to bring a collective, organized voice representing the needs of children at risk of abuse and survivors of child abuse and neglect.  The organization is autonomous, nonpartisan and apolitical, designed to educate decision makers, private funders and the public at large.  To date, no one single Texas organization has dedicated its focus on the main issues of protection, prevention, and healing of abused and neglected children.  Most importantly, TexProtects has identified and activated the most powerful and effective constituency to advocate for change in these issues whom had been missing from advocacy action:  survivors of child abuse and neglect.

TexProtects is the only membership-driven agency in Texas to take a holistic, detailed view of child abuse and prevention and apply it to an advocacy and education effort aimed at implementing research-based best practices.