County: It may take the ‘Village’ to offset surge of CPS caseload
The Hays County Child Protective Board is looking for more space to store items for children in Child Protective Services custody — and might have it at the Village of San Marcos.
At its Tuesday meeting, the Hays County Commissioners Court authorized the board to submit an application to the Village for space for its Rainbow Room, where supplies are stored and distributed. Currently, the board’s Rainbow Room consists of two small rooms in the county Child Protective Services offices. With the increase in the number of children served — from 32,948 in 2010 to 53,169 in 2017, according to the board — the current Rainbow Room has proven inadequate. The board has had to rent storage space for items that children need, making access to the items difficult in an emergency. Even with the extra storage space, the Child Protective Board has had to decline donations.
The board’s plan is to build a freestanding building on a half-acre plot adjacent to the Village. The plan includes a 2,600-square-foot building with areas for storage, meetings and offices, along with a washer and dryer, bathroom with shower, and a room for children to rest and play.
“Just briefly, we would like permission to apply to the Village for a future Rainbow Room,” Karen Brown, a member of the Child Protective Board, told the commissioners.
The Village is a 29-acre site at Reimer Avenue and Hunter Road and is designed to offer one-stop community services. The development is also home to the Christian Federation of Police Officers-Police Athletic League Sports (CFPO-PALS) Youth Sports Complex. The second phase will entail the construction of the already designed Village Main building, which will house Community Action Inc., Early Childhood Intervention-Homespun, the Family Justice Center, and Women, Infants and Children. Phase three of The Village will be the construction of a new Hays County Food Bank.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Lon Shell said. “Let’s get that application ready.”
“I really want to thank y’all for what you do,” said Precinct 1 Commissioner Debbie Gonzales Ingalsbe. “I think this is a crucial step. If we’re having to turn away donations and items that are so important to so many children and families … we should be concerned. I really appreciate what y’all are doing and what y’all have done.”
“Thank you very much for being supportive of these children,” Brown responded. “They are in great need.”
In other business Tuesday, commissioners voted to approve a professional services contract with Hannah Rifkin for production services related to the Hays County Historical Commission’s 2015 Memorial Day Flood documentary and heard a recommendation to keep the countywide burn ban in place despite recent rains.
