Judge says Texas officials need to speed up foster care reforms
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack says she will give state officials until May to make progress on her orders to overhaul the state's foster care system, or face hefty fines. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Years after a judge ordered fixes, Texas’ child welfare system continues to expose children to harm, federal monitors say
Two independent experts appointed to scrutinize the system described “a disjointed and dangerous child protection system ... where harm to children is at times overlooked, ignored or forgotten.” Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services offices in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019.]()
Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune -
Analysis: In Texas government, the buck stops ... somewhere
Texas state government is run by top leaders who promised to model their operations on business. They didn't say it would be an error-prone business. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott along with Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dennis Bonnen, hold the first meeting of the Texas Safety Commission at the Texas Capitol August 22, 2019.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Federal judge hammers Texas officials over failures to improve foster care system
An exasperated U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack found the state in contempt of court for failing to comply with some of her earlier orders in the wide-ranging lawsuit filed on behalf of Texas foster children. Full Story
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Texas child welfare chief Hank Whitman announces retirement
He championed staff pay raises in the three years he spent at the helm of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. Full Story
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![Commissioner of the Department of Family and Protective Services, Hank Whitman during a March 22, 2018 Senate Committee on Health and Human services]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Medicaid, opioids and abortion: Health care issues to expect this Texas legislative session
Amid uncertainty about the federal health law, state legislators will tackle a variety of issues during the session, from abortion to mental health to opioids to funding for Medicaid. Full Story
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Analysis: To the relief of Texas lawmakers, voters just aren’t into state budgets
Most of what the state government does is spelled out in the budget Texas lawmakers write every two years. Lucky for them, most voters don't pay close attention to what's in that big stack of numbers. Full Story
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![Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar announces his office has picked a private vendor to run the Texas Bullion Depository, which will be designed to store gold for both the state and private citizens, at the Capitol on June 14, 2017.]()
Credit: Marjorie Kamys Cotera for The Texas Tribune -
Texas workers caring for elderly feel “treated like a stepchild” as caseload increases, pay stays the same
Staffers are leaving Adult Protective Services because of increased workloads, lack of attention from the Legislature and a significant pay gap between them and their Child Protective Services counterparts. Full Story
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![Charla Gilliam, APS In-Home Specialist, calls her client as she's on the way to for an in-home checkup on June 20, 2018.]()
Credit: Pu Ying Huang for The Texas Tribune -
For girls in the Texas foster care system, teen pregnancy is 5 times more likely
A new report says current and former Texas foster youth face greater pregnancy risks and calls on the state to provide health care and education to at-risk teens. Full Story
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Report: Drugs or alcohol factor into half of Texas child abuse and neglect deaths
The number of Texas children dying from abuse and neglect decreased by 22.5 percent in fiscal year 2017, according to a state report, but drug and alcohol use among caregivers is still leading to deaths from trauma, accidental smothering while sleeping and auto accidents, among other causes. Full Story
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Federal judge says Texas still needs oversight to fix its "broken" foster care system
In a 116-page order, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack said Texas has dragged its heels on foster care reform and continues to need oversight as it tries to find fixes. Full Story
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Child welfare, health insurance and abortion dominate Texas news in 2017
Texas tackled a child welfare crisis, sought to address the opioid epidemic and looked at how to help more people in the state access mental health care. Here’s a look at this year's top Texas health and human services stories. Full Story
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New law aims to help elderly Texans fooled by scammers
A new Texas law gives financial institutions greater authority to stop transactions that they suspect are aimed at defrauding elderly or disabled clients. Full Story
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![Julie Krawczyk, Director of the Elder Financial Safety Center, at the organization's Dallas office on July 17, 2017.]()
Credit: Laura Buckman for The Texas Tribune -
Hey, Texplainer: What did the Texas Legislature do to improve child welfare?
During the five-month session, lawmakers expressed determination to change how abused and neglected children are cared for. Full Story
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![Gov. Greg Abbott signs several bills reforming Child Protective Services in a ceremony with state legislators at the Department of Family and Protective Services headquarters on May 31, 2017.]()
Credit: Bob Daemmrich for The Texas Tribune -
Senate passes bill to ease licensing for immigration detention centers
The Texas Senate on Tuesday gave preliminary approval to legislation that would make it easier for the state to license privately-run detention centers as "family residential centers" in order to hold immigrant families in detention centers longer. Full Story
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Houston foster child death spurs concerns over placement shortages
The death of a 15-year-old girl who ran away from a Houston Child Protective Services office on Sunday has advocates and legislators grappling with the worst-case scenario of the state's shortage of homes for abused and neglected children. Full Story
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![The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services building in Austin.]()
Credit: Laura Skelding for The Texas Tribune -
Citing sex-trafficking series, Texas Dem urges Paxton to stop fighting foster care suit
“If there was ever a call to action for state officials to get serious about reforming foster care, this was it,” state Rep. Chris Turner said about problems plaguing the child welfare agency. Full Story
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![State Rep. Chris Turner, left, on the House floor during a budget debate on March 31, 2015.]()
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Analysis: Sex trafficking series shows Texas vexed by long-term challenges
State officials have done a lot of work to stop sex trafficking in Texas, but the results revealed by the Tribune's Sold Out series are demoralizing. The state's own safety net is part of the pipeline for victims of trafficking. Full Story
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![People who care for sex-trafficking victims have a common refrain: It's not if they'll run away, but when.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
When it comes to helping sex-trafficking victims, success is elusive
How do you help sex trafficking victims like Sarah who’ve learned that the way to survive is to flee? Full Story
![People who care for sex-trafficking victims have a common refrain: It's not if they'll run away, but when.]()
Credit: Callie Richmond for The Texas Tribune -
She was a sex-trafficking victim, but Texas law labeled her a pimp
Laws the state uses to put sex traffickers behind bars can sweep up their prey, too. A few years in age can mean the difference between a chance at rehabilitation and a lengthy prison sentence, as Yvette learned. Full Story
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![Yvette, 24, was convicted of trafficking a 16-year-old girl in 2015. She is serving a 23-year sentence at a prison in Gatesville, Texas.]()
Credit: Gabriel Cristóver Pérez for The Texas Tribune