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The Latest Breaking News from DFPS

After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workers

The legislation came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing she had a history of sexual misconduct with children at a state juvenile facility. Coworkers also concealed evidence of the abuse, which further put the foster girls at harm.

The Texas Tribune

Texas bill barring anonymous reporting of child abuse heads to Gov. Greg Abbott

House Bill 63 is an attempt to reduce the amount of vindictive or false child abuse reports made to the state, but child advocates say it will deter valid reports, too.

The Texas Tribune

Texas House approves bill to improve background checks on child-welfare workers

The action came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing her history of misconduct.

The Texas Tribune

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Texas' Foster Care System Is Grossly Mismanaged

"These things are just so inexcusable," a judge said. "It's hard to understand."

Reason

Federal judge says Texas’ use of psychotropic drugs puts foster kids at serious risk

Residential facilities did not refill medications in a timely manner, failed to follow psychiatric orders and, in several instances, violated state guidelines, court monitors documented after site inspections. The lawyer representing the foster kids said it could be “the tip of the iceberg.”

The Texas Tribune

In abrupt retirement letter, an investigations director decries Texas’ “untenable” child welfare agency

Sharon Fonvielle-Baughman said Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leadership has failed to support the special investigators division, a unit created in 2005 to handle the most high-risk cases.

The Texas Tribune

Caseworkers hampered by ’90s-era foster care software that the state hasn’t replaced

Caseworkers and foster care providers often get incomplete and inaccurate information about foster kids in their care because of the state child welfare agency’s archaic technology system.

The Texas Tribune

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Texas AG Ken Paxton pushes court to reconsider injunction halting investigations into affirming care

In the state’s final brief to appeal a September injunction that halted the investigation into Texas parents of transgender children, Paxton argued that individual families must provide evidence of harm from the actions of the Department of Family and Protective Services.

The Texas Tribune

Texas’ foster care system is plagued with problems. Here’s how lawmakers want to fix it.

Texas legislators are considering increasing the Department of Family and Protective Services’ budget, giving extended relatives more money to care for kids and notifying the subjects of child abuse investigations of their rights.

The Texas Tribune

Lawyers representing children in federal foster care lawsuit rebuked for hiring lobbyists

Texas lawmakers and a federal judge say attorneys in the case against the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services should not hire lobbyists using funds won in court.

The Texas Tribune

Texas should tell parents their rights when it investigates child abuse claims, lawmaker proposes

Most reports of child abuse or neglect turn out to be unfounded. But while under investigation, parents with little understanding of their rights or the process often make decisions that could impact the fate of their families.

The Texas Tribune

New family and child welfare commissioner foreshadows change as agency plans to outsource case management

Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth told lawmakers Friday the agency will require a different set of skills from its employees as it changes how foster children’s cases are managed.

The Texas Tribune

How a 12-year-old federal lawsuit turned a judge into Texas’ foster care czar

As Judge Janis Jack continues to threaten contempt-of-court fines in a federal lawsuit against the state’s foster care system, advocates say the case has moved the needle on reform — but it has come with a hefty price tag.

The Texas Tribune

Federal judge again threatens contempt-of-court fines for Texas’ slow progress on foster care reforms

The judge warned the state could be held in contempt of court for not following through with three mandates: youths not knowing their rights, not adequately responding to abuse allegations and still having too many children without placement.

The Texas Tribune

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The Texas Tribune

New Texas foster care report shows both improvements and continued deficiencies

In a fifth report tracking the state’s efforts to remedy its embattled foster care system, federal monitors documented persistent risks to Texas children ahead of next week’s court hearing.

The Texas Tribune

After alleged sexual assault of two children living in state care, another foster shelter closes

Two girls in the care of Child Protective Services were allegedly sexually assaulted in October after sneaking out of a facility run by the state agency. Advocates say it’s a symptom of the Texas foster care systems’ problems.

The Texas Tribune

Photos: “We don’t feel safe here.” A transgender teen and their family flee Texas.

Texas policies targeting access to health care for transgender youth forced one family to leave the state.

The Texas Tribune

In after-hours notice, Gov. Greg Abbott announces another leadership change for the Department of Family and Protective Services

Former DFPS commissioner Anne Heiligenstein was tapped by Abbott in June to serve as the agency’s executive deputy commissioner. Last month, she was out. Now she’s back.

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The Texas Tribune

Two Texas Family and Protective Services leaders exiting beleaguered agency

The department is terminating the contract of Executive Deputy Commissioner Anne Heiligenstein, who was supposed to work until next June, amid a staffing crisis. The chief of staff for the agency’s top leader has also left.

The Texas Tribune

Texas should place more foster kids with families rather than in residential treatment, report finds

Residential treatment centers are meant to be a last resort for children in the state’s care, reserved for those with histories of severe trauma caused by neglect or abuse.

The Texas Tribune

Texas’ child welfare agency blocked from investigating many more parents of trans teens

Friday’s injunction applies to all members of PFLAG, an LGBTQ advocacy group with more than 600 members in Texas.

Reason

Despite State Injunctions, Parents Say Texas Is Still Investigating Trans Kids for Potential 'Abuse'

When it comes to gender identity issues, some conservatives make a mockery of liberty and parental rights.

Tribune News Service

Trans teen was ‘fearful’ when Texas worker showed up at school to question him, mom says

DALLAS — An employee from the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services showed up at a 13-year-old transgender boy’s middle school to interview him as part of an investigation into his family over the use of gender-affirming medical treatments, according to newly filed court documents.

Tribune News Service

Investigating parents of transgender youth has agency on ‘brink of collapse,’ staff warns

AUSTIN, Texas — Continuing to investigate the parents of transgender youth could put Texas’ child protection agency over the brink of collapse, a group of its staffers said in a new court filing.

The Texas Tribune

Texas’ child welfare agency told staffers to keep quiet about gender-affirming care investigations, documents show

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications.

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