We Stand for Child Wellbeing 

For nearly 150 years, Upbring has done one thing relentlessly: stand by kids who’ve been through unimaginable challenges.

When children need safety, healing and a shot at a real future, we show up. Not just with words—but with purpose and action.

We don’t just care. We deliver. Our track record of compassion, integrity and results makes us the go-to partner for Texas and federal agencies, as well as peer organizations. Together, we don’t just talk about wellbeing for children—we demand it.

Think Upbring is just about social services or education? Think bigger. We have boots on the ground in over 80 locations, driving real change for more than 14,000 Texas children every year. Here’s how we’re making it happen.

Programs That Transform Children’s Lives 

Foster In Texas: Upbring foster parents provide loving, nurturing homes to children who have been removed from their homes due to abuse or neglect. Foster care not only provides safety and stability—it improves children’s wellbeing until they can be reunited with their birth family, adopted by forever families (also known as foster-to-adoption) or transition into adulthood when they age out of the system at 18.

We are one of the few agencies in Texas licensed to provide foster care services to children with Primary Medical Needs (PMN), whose life-threatening health conditions require highly specialized care. We go well beyond the usual requirements, helping PMN foster parents navigate medication regimens; medical equipment like feeding tubes; physical, speech and occupational therapy; doctors’ visits and more to provide the very best care these children deserve.

BeREAL: Entering adulthood can be extra-challenging for young adults who age out of foster care without a strong support system and with few resources to lean on. Since 2014 our BeREAL supervised independent living program helps youth successfully transition from foster care to self-sufficiency and independence by providing support, education planning and mentorship. Our recent research project, the Texas Youth Permanency Study, underscored how authentic caregiver relationships can be the key to helping these youth thrive in adulthood.

Head Start and Early Head Start Preschools: The federally funded Head Start program was launched in 1965 to help break the cycle of poverty and positively impact education. For a decade, Upbring has been one of 1,600 agencies nationwide that deliver Head Start and Early Head Start preschool programs to more than 1 million American children from low-income families. In these supportive environments, children from 6 weeks to 5 years old develop a lifelong love of learning while their families receive wraparound support services.

Trinity Charter Schools: For more than 20 years, this robust program has provided educational services within residential treatment facilities throughout Texas, as well as online through the Reclaim Academy. Recognizing that school stability is a critical protective factor for youth in foster care, Trinity Charter Schools is committed to providing a continuous, high-quality education experience that transcends placement changes. For students in state care—many of whom have faced multiple school transitions—our programs offer not just academic instruction but also a sense of community and sustained relationships with educators. Through both in-person and virtual learning opportunities, we help students stay on track toward earning their high school diploma, ensuring they have the stability and support needed to open doors to their future.

Residential Treatment Center: Since 1993 Upbring has operated New Life Children’s Center, where girls ages 11 to 17 can find healing through in-depth clinical therapy, personal development activities and spiritual care. Girls continue their education path while in care and sometimes leave with a diploma or professional certification. As they emerge from their toughest moments, New Life provides structure, safety and the promise of a fresh start.

Caring for Unaccompanied Children: With a grant from the U.S. Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), Upbring operates home-like  shelters and foster homes for children who have crossed the Southern border without a parent or guardian. These children—who span all ages, including pregnant teenagers and young mothers with infants and toddlers—have escaped unthinkable circumstances in their home country. We give them a safe place to land until we can reunite them with a family member or sponsor. While in our care, children receive support, including spiritual care, food, clothing, shelter, case management, education and medical care.

The Upbring Difference: Innovation & Advocacy

What further sets Upbring apart is our steadfast commitment to innovation and evolution. While the child welfare industry often lags behind in this area, we choose to push forward, bringing bold ideas and real solutions to the forefront of our direct care programs. In fact, we recently developed and launched VectorPoint^TM, a patent-pending service delivery approach that enhances caregivers’ ability to improve child wellbeing.

Children can’t wait—we’re building the future of child wellbeing now and investing more than $1 million annually to keep our innovation initiative alive.

Outside of innovation and evolution, we use our voice where it matters most, advocating for the children and families we serve at the state and federal level. Because we all know, change starts at the top. Learn more about our advocacy work and priorities.

Child wellbeing isn’t a privilege. It’s a right.

Child wellbeing is a right, but children cannot achieve it alone. They rely on their families, communities and leaders to show up for them. That’s where Upbring comes in. 

When a child is forced to leave the only home they’ve ever known, when they need stability in a world that feels so unexpected, when they need someone to believe in their future—Upbring is there. No exceptions. No conditions.  

No matter who they are or where they come from—we stay by their side, for as long as it takes. And we’re not going anywhere anytime soon.  

 We’re Upbring. We’re not here to tweak the system—we’re here to transform it. We’re rewriting the future of child wellbeing in Texas and beyond, to break the cycle of abuse and neglect for good.  

This isn’t just about one generation. It’s about every generation to come. Join us at Upbring.org/Get-Involved.