The latest Department of Family and Protective Services news from The Texas Tribune.
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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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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During the five-month session, lawmakers expressed determination to change how abused and neglected children are cared for. Full Story
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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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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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“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 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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How do you help sex trafficking victims like Sarah who’ve learned that the way to survive is to flee? Full Story
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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No one wanted Lena behind bars. She was not a prostitute; she was a child who had been sexually exploited. But teenage sex-trafficking victims in Texas end up in jail for one simple reason: There's nowhere else for them to go. Full Story
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