In November, the plaintiffs representing Texas children filed this motion asking the court to hold the state in contempt, sanction officials, and consider putting parts of the foster-care system under federal receivership. Last week, Judge Janis Jack heard three days of witness testimony and arguments regarding whether the State of Texas has made progress in protecting and caring for children in care and whether the state should be held in contempt for a third time. During this hearing, Judge Jack heard witness testimony from a young adult who previously experienced CWOP, former DFPS supervisors and caseworkers, DFPS and HHSC leadership, medical professionals, and child welfare experts.
During this hearing, the plaintiffs presented witness testimony regarding continued concerns about:
- How the state monitors, prescribes, and regulates psychotropic medications.
- Staffing issues within the Department of Family and Protective Services including high caseloads, mandatory CWOP shifts on top of full caseloads, and the inability to maintain consistent care of and control over some of the most medically and behaviorally complex children in the system.
- The continued use of unlicensed and unregulated placements, also known as Children Without Placement (CWOP)
- The department testified that there are currently 29 children in CWOP locations.
- The Health and Human Services Commission’s backlog and the poor quality of investigations into allegations of sexual abuse reported by children in state care who have intellectual or developmental disabilities.
- Additionally, according to the court monitors, children in the state’s care are not informed how to report sexual abuse.
The Associate Commissioner of Child Protective Services testified that DFPS has been actively working on supporting more Qualified Residential Treatment Programs, expanding foster care capacity, addressing behavioral and staffing difficulties in CWOP locations, and working to create intensive psychiatric treatment programs.
Judge Jack has not yet issued a ruling on the plaintiff’s contempt motion; however, she did issue a preliminary ruling that she will not order a federal receivership. Additionally, the court monitors are expected to release their 7th report in early 2024 ahead of the next hearing, which will likely be held at the end of January.
The Public Policy Team will continue to closely monitor this lawsuit and provide updates to the CASA network as promptly as possible.