Austin Child Guidance Center is proud to announce that the 2nd Annual Phyllis Richards Austin Icon for Children Award will be presented to the Honorable Judge Darlene Byrne on September 27th, 2013 at the Austin Originals Benefit Concert and Live Taping of Grupo Fantasma at KRLU Studio 6A.  

Judge Darlene Byrne of the 126th District Court of Travis County fights every day to protect abused and neglected children. Finding her passion and calling in children involved in Child Protective Services in 2007, Judge Byrne became the lead CPS judge. Since 2007 she has held over 8,500 CPS hearings and, in any given year, she has been the one person in the county ultimately responsible for the safety of over 1,100 CPS children under court jurisdiction.

In every CPS hearing she holds, Judge Byrne sacrifices a piece of herself. She doesn't remain removed from the emotions before her; instead, she gets down in the trenches so to speak, with emotional costs to herself, connecting with the children and parents before her, working every tool at her disposal to bring safety and healing. Although emotionally and physically exhausted at the end of the day, she is back the next morning, ready to go, ready again to fight the good fight. Her work involving childhood trauma and promotion of local trauma informed systems of care will create systemic change for childhood crime victims and trauma survivors.

This passion, commitment and energy that Judge Byrne has brought locally, she also shares nationally. For five years she has served on the Board of Trustees for the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ); for the past year she has held the office of Secretary. In three years, she will be President of the NCJFCJ. One project of the NCJFCJ is to partner with courts across the country to establish Model Courts for the development of best practices and the improvement of outcomes for children in child welfare systems. In 2008, Judge Byrne spearheaded the creation for the Travis County Model Court for Children and Families, helping stakeholders in CPS and court systems to look beyond their own agencies' interests, breaking down silos that had been institutionalized over years, resulting in collaborations to pursue initiatives and outcomes that improve the quality of life for abused children and broken families.

Excerpted from the nomination of Judge Byrne by Judge John Hathaway

We appreciate Judge Darlene Byrne's profound work within our community, as she carries on Dr. Phyllis Richards' legacy of exemplifying excellence in improving future outcomes for children. We thank her for "being the change she wants to see in the world."