The Austin Disproportionality and Disparity Advisory Council was officially convened on October 2, 2006 to begin the work in the Austin, Texas Region (Region 7) of the Texas Department of Family & Protective Services’ Child Protective Services system. The purpose of was to provide policy recommendations to Child Protective Services through a racial equity lens and help create equitable outcomes for all populations served.

In 2011, this committee supported the creation of the Center for the Elimination of Disproportionality and Disparities (CEDD) through the passage of Senate Bill 501.  The bill established the Center also the Texas State Office of Minority Health to assume a leadership role in working with the state and federal agencies, universities, private groups, communities, foundations, and offices of minority health to decrease or eliminate health and health access disparities among racial, multicultural, disadvantaged, ethnic, and regional populations.  The bill calls for a comprehensive approach and allows Texas to maximize resources and produce equitable results through the development of recommendations for strategies that contributes to disproportionality and disparities or the over or underrepresentation of particular groups within a system.

Vision

Achieving equity for vulnerable populations in the Greater Austin and surrounding areas through advocacy, education, collaboration and systemic transformation.

Mission

Austin Disproportionality and Disparity Advisory Council (ADDAC) exists to educate families and the community at large about disproportionality and disparities across systems in order to collaborate, make recommendations and ultimately transform these systems to decrease or eliminate disparities among racial, multicultural, disadvantaged, ethnic, groups in Austin and surrounding counties.

Our approach to addressing disproportionality:

• There must be community involvement, which includes residents, businesses and other stakeholders, to build consistency of understanding about the issue of disproportionality; to determine strategies for impacting the issue; and for deciding on transparent efforts.
• There must be a continuous quality improvement approach.

The ADDAC  regular scheduled meetings are the 3^rd Thursday of each month.  Locations are determined by the Leadership Board.  The agenda is set by the Chair with recommendations from the membership.