SJRC Texas Opens Del Rio Office to Expand Foster Care, Family Services

Val Verde County families navigating the foster care system no longer need to coordinate with case managers based in New Braunfels. SJRC Texas established its first physical presence in Del Rio with a ribbon-cutting ceremony April 1 at the Antonio "Tony" Faz County Annex, formalizing the Belong Community-Based Care program's on-the-ground hub in the county.

Community-Based Care is the model Texas legislators mandated in 2017, shifting foster care management away from the state's Department of Family and Protective Services and into the hands of regional nonprofit contractors. SJRC Texas holds the state contract for Region 8b, a 27-county territory spanning the South Central and Hill Country that has included Val Verde County since the contract took effect in April 2021. Until now, the organization operated without a dedicated local office, leaving families reliant on staff who traveled to Del Rio from Belong's New Braunfels base.

The Del Rio office provides the full Belong service spectrum: placements for children removed from their homes, case management throughout a child's time in care, kinship support to help grandparents and other relatives become licensed caregivers, reunification services for parents working toward bringing children home, and adoption support for children for whom return is not possible. SJRC's model follows a priority sequence, returning children to biological parents when safe, then to extended family, before pursuing unrelated foster or adoptive placement.

Val Verde County Commissioner Juan Carlos Vázquez attended the inauguration alongside SJRC Texas leadership and community partners, a signal that county government intends to coordinate referrals and outreach with Belong going forward. The office's placement inside the Faz County Annex, already a government resource point for residents, gives the program a familiar and accessible address.

Local organizers described the opening as "a new beginning for children and families in Val Verde County," language that reflects Belong's core approach: keeping children connected to their communities and existing support networks whenever possible, rather than defaulting to placements far from home.

Families in Val Verde County already involved with DFPS are connected to Belong automatically through the CBC referral process. Those seeking information about foster parenting, kinship licensing, or family support services can contact SJRC Texas Belong at belong@sjrctexas.org. General family resource referrals for the Del Rio area are also available through 211 or by calling 877-541-7905.

SJRC Texas, a nonprofit with more than 41 years in Texas child welfare, has served over 72,000 children since its founding. The Del Rio office marks the organization's first community-anchored footprint inside Val Verde County, converting a service territory that has existed on paper since 2021 into one with local staff, a county address, and a front door families can walk through.