TERRELL, Texas (KBTX) – State officials gathered on Thursday, August 20, to cut the ribbon on the new Terrell Center for Youth, a specialized $35 million residential psychiatric treatment facility designed to serve Texas’ most vulnerable foster children.
Created by House Bill 109 and sponsored by State Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham), the newly renovated 30-bed facility—located on the campus of Terrell State Hospital east of Dallas—targets adolescents ages 13 to 17 under Child Protective Services (CPS) custody. These are “high-acuity” youth struggling with complex mental health issues, substance use, and trauma from physical abuse or human trafficking.
The facility increases access to intensive behavioral health treatment for foster care youth with the highest levels of need, providing care in a safe, structured setting.(Texas Health and Human Services Commission)
Historically, these teenagers have been the hardest to place because standard foster homes and licensed residential facilities are unable or unwilling to take them.
“This facility and the people who work here are the bridge for hope, restoration, and a new tomorrow for children who have been harmed, abused, trafficked, and rejected,” Senator Kolkhorst said. “Here, they will be able to receive the treatment and care to build toward a better future.”
The authorizing legislation, House Bill 109, represents a major bipartisan milestone. The bill was authored by State Representative Toni Rose, a Dallas Democrat, and carried through the Senate by Kolkhorst, a Brenham Republican.
Despite partisan divides often making headlines in Texas politics, Kolkhorst noted that protection of the state’s most vulnerable children remains a unifying force.
“The media often reports about the, in Texas, maybe the 30 bills that we really split lines on Republican or Democrat,” Kolkhorst said in an interview. “But by and large, we are all working very hard for these children… This bipartisan effort shows why Texas is special.”
The Texas Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), along with state senators and state representatives, cut the ribbon on the newly created Terrell Youth Center in Terrell, Texas, on Thursday, Aug. 20.(KBTX)
The ribbon-cutting comes at a historic turning point for the Texas foster care system. In July 2021, the state’s “Children Without Placement” (CWOP) metric—representing children in state custody for whom DFPS cannot find suitable, licensed housing—reached an all-time high of 417 children. Lacking options, caseworkers resorted to using temporary hotels and CPS offices as makeshift residences.
Following a series of emergency meetings convened by Kolkhorst with state agency heads and legislative leaders, the state successfully brought that number down. Last month, Texas officially recorded zero children without a placement.
“This has been a long time in the making and failing to meet the needs of these fragile children was unacceptable,” Kolkhorst said. “This bipartisan effort shows why Texas is special. It has taken years to attack the crisis but today we stand before you and can say that as of the end of July, we have zero children without a placement. This is monumental.”
The Center was created by HB 109 in the last legislative session, authored by State Representative Toni Rose (D-Dallas) and sponsored in the Texas Senate by Senator Lois W. Kolkhorst (R-Brenham). Funding for the $35-plus million renovation was secured by Kolkhorst in SB 1, the General Appropriations Act. (KBTX)
Kolkhorst recalled the highly positive atmosphere among the newly hired personnel at the center, expressing immense hope for the facility’s future.
“Every staffer that I walked around and shook their hand or gave them a hug, they are super encouraged and they know that they’re going to make a difference,” Kolkhorst said in the interview. “Brighter days are ahead of us and I’m excited.”
At the ceremony, Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) Commissioner Audrey O’Neill highlighted the extreme instability some foster children face, pointing to a teenager named “Hayden” who had been moved to 50 different placements in just five years.
“Terrell Center for Youth gives us that option, so these young people can heal and then transition to a less restrictive placement where they can truly thrive,” Commissioner O’Neill said.
Operated by the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), the center will not serve as a permanent confinement facility. Instead, it acts as a clinical treatment bridge. Residents will receive specialized, trauma-informed therapies while attending local Terrell ISD schools to maintain normal routines, with the ultimate goal of transitioning them back to loving families or local community kinship placements.
While the state-funded facility marks a major step forward, Kolkhorst emphasized that government intervention is only part of the solution.
“Communities can help children,” Kolkhorst said, urging Texans to get involved. “If you feel so called, become a foster parent, go through the training, help others that are foster parents, give them friendship support and church support… Brighter days are ahead of us.”
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