The troubled Texas child welfare system that cares for vulnerable kids has been under federal oversight for more than seven years. “Foster children often age out of care more damaged than when they entered,” U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack wrote in a damning 2015 ruling. Yet the Department of Family and Protective Services — the state agency at the helm of the system — is still stumbling. Our reporters cover how fixes ordered by lawmakers, federal authorities and agency leaders are helping or hurting.
The federal judge overseeing the decadelong lawsuit against Texas for conditions in its foster care system cut this week’s hearing short. She proposed all parties involved, including the governor, “cut to the chase” to identify solutions. Full Story
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Increased oversight and lack of funding mean hundreds of children spend their nights in hotels and churches and on office floors. Full Story
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State officials knew children were being illegally housed in an unlicensed facility but did not notify the court, despite a mandate from a federal court judge that came as part of a decade-long class action lawsuit against the state on the behalf of foster children. Full Story
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A federal judge in 2015 found that Texas violates foster children's constitutional rights. At a hearing this week, court monitors found some progress in reforming the foster care system — but also noted several concerns. Full Story
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