Trac -Transition Resource Action Center

Mission Connect young people ages 16–24 who are transitioning out of foster or juvenile care and their unhoused peers in North Texas with the support they need to reach self-sufficiency, through individualized support, planning, and access to housing and community services. Background and History In the early over 40 community partners came together to address the fact that youth in foster or juvenile care were being released from care unprepared, with significant barriers to transitioning to independent living, and with no safety net. TRAC, the Transition Resource Action Center, emerged from this process, envisioned as a one-stop-shop resource center designed to meet these young people’s needs. Evy Kay Washburne facilitated this process, and TRAC opened its doors in March 2003, with Evy Kay as its founding director. Today she serves as TRAC’s board chair. Founded in 2003, TRAC operated under the umbrella of CitySquare (originally Central Dallas Ministries). In 2023, TRAC began its separation to become an independent organization and has built new executive leadership and administrative infrastructure to support its mission. TRAC is the state designated transition center for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Region 3, which covers 19 different counties in the DFW area. “Transition centers provide a central clearinghouse of one-stop services to serve the diverse needs of older foster youth, homeless youth, or other at-risk youth… Transition centers are independently funded and operated and supported by partnerships between DFPS and their providers, and the Texas Workforce Commission.” TRAC annually provides about 1,200 young people with life skills training, crisis intervention, transition planning, housing assistance (temporary, transitional, and permanent), workforce support, education assistance, physical and mental health services, and drop-in centers.