“Beat on me,” foster care chief tells lawmakers. And they do.
The man Gov. Greg Abbott has put in charge of fixing Texas’ dysfunctional foster care system told state legislators on Wednesday he’d gladly take the brunt of their anger if it meant they’d give him more money to catch up on a backlog of 2,844 at-risk children awaiting the agency’s assistance.
State leaders order Child Protective Services overhaul
Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services Wednesday to ramp up efforts to protect endangered foster children and curb the backlog of ones waiting for homes.
Texas not checking on thousands of kids at risk for abuse
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) – Texas is still failing to check on thousands of children who are the highest risk for abuse or neglect in the latest sign of trouble for an understaffed child protection agency that Republican Gov. Greg Abbott has pledged to overhaul, according to state data released Tuesday.
Number of Texas children in foster care at all time high
AUSTIN, Texas (KXAN) – The number of children in the state’s foster care system is at an all-time high. At least 30,000 children and teens across the state need permanent or temporary homes.
Judge orders changes to fix ‘broken’ foster care system
It was early July 2001, and Trish Virgil was going to make a lemon meringue pie. “In our family, 12 years old meant that you get to finally learn how to make homemade pies,” she says now, smiling.
Horrors of Texas Foster Care Are Not Materially Unlike Better Known Atrocities
As former boss of the famed Texas Rangers, Henry “Hank” Whitman surely will know where to start as Gov. Greg Abbott’s recently appointed commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services: throw a whole bunch of people, including most of the Texas Legislature, the governor and the lieutenant governor into prison for knowingly and deliberately running a state-sponsored child rape factory.
Abbott Picks New Leaders For Texas CPS
AUSTIN (AP) – Gov. Greg Abbott has chosen the former head of the Texas Rangers as the new leader of the state’s embattled child welfare agency, calling the status quo there “unacceptable.”
Foster Home Crunch Strands Children in Psych Facilities
Abused children in Texas are being left in psychiatric facilities longer than they were six years ago as the state’s child protective services system grapples with federal court scrutiny and diminishing options, according to data obtained by The Texas Tribune.
Texas Mom Gets ‘Formal Apology’ After CPS Takes Custody of Her 9-Year-Old Daughter
It was early July 2001, and Trish Virgil was going to make a lemon meringue pie. “In our family, 12 years old meant that you get to finally learn how to make homemade pies,” she says now, smiling.
Foster Care, Dead Children, and Greg Abbott’s Cognitive Dissonance
When it comes to protecting children, Greg Abbott just doesn’t get it.
According to emails obtained by the Texas Tribune, Abbott took a personal interest in the January 2015 murder of a two-month old girl who had been removed from her mother by Child Protective Services and placed temporarily with a family friend. Justice Hull was drowned in a bowl of water by the family friend’s 14-year-old daughter, who told authorities she didn’t want her mom to adopt the child.