Courts Rebuff Texas Bid to Slow Foster Care Fixes
A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton's efforts to block the appointment of special masters to oversee reforms in the state's troubled foster care system. Full Story
The latest Child Protective Services news from The Texas Tribune.
A federal appeals court on Monday rejected Attorney General Ken Paxton's efforts to block the appointment of special masters to oversee reforms in the state's troubled foster care system. Full Story
The number of children sleeping in Child Protective Services offices shot up after an internal policy change at the agency limited child placements, according to state data released Thursday. Full Story
A new group has joined the chorus lambasting Texas for resisting court-ordered reforms to its foster care system: its own employees who work with children. Full Story
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner John Specia announced Friday he would retire from the agency on May 31. Full Story
Despite a major victory in federal court last month, advocates for reforms to Texas’ long-term foster care system are steeling themselves for a lengthy battle to force Texas officials to follow through on changes ordered by a federal judge. Full Story
Until this year, Texas had not kept track of how many children in the state's foster care system were pregnant or parenting — though experts estimate the rate is well above the general population's. Full Story
One year after a federal judge heard evidence alleging that Texas Child Protective Services had violated foster children’s civil rights, lawyers for the state and the advocates who filed suit are awaiting a potentially sweeping legal decision. Full Story
A state district judge who denied a request to keep six siblings — recently murdered in Houston — in foster care says he wasn’t provided enough evidence two years ago to keep the children removed from their family. Full Story
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would prohibit the Department of Family and Protective Services from making a finding of "abuse" or "neglect" against a parent who surrenders parental rights to get a child mental health care. Full Story
UPDATED: A 38-year-old Arlington woman was executed Wednesday for the starvation death of her girlfriend’s son. Lisa Ann Coleman is the sixth woman to be executed in the state since 1982. Full Story
Former foster youth who have successfully enrolled in college share their experiences and thoughts about the challenges of transitioning to higher education. Full Story
Though the state offers free tuition and fees for certain former foster youth who enroll at public colleges and universities, relatively few take advantage of the opportunity — a trend policymakers are hoping to change. Full Story
Like most child welfare agencies nationwide, Texas Child Protective Services has had its share of problems. Officials say reforms have made clear improvements, but the agency still faces problems. Full Story
On the heels of an expansion of Fort Bliss, El Paso is seeing an increase in the number of children who can't be placed in foster homes because there aren't enough English-speaking homes available. Full Story
The Department of Family and Protective Services has ramped up its efforts to conduct predictive data analysis and reduce the high turnover of CPS caseworkers, the agency’s commissioner told a panel of senators on Thursday. Full Story
Failures in the foster care system put children in Texas and across the nation at greater risk of falling into the sex trade, activists and lawmakers asserted Wednesday on Capitol Hill. Full Story
Texas' child welfare agency has launched a new program aimed at improving foster care in the state. Now in effect in 60 counties, the program attempts to keep children close to their communities and reduce the number of times they move between homes. Full Story
The Department of Family and Protective Services is moving forward on redesigning its foster care system, which will outsource services to private contractors. At a hearing Monday, some raised concerns about accountability. Full Story
The 5th Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that the national child advocacy group Children's Rights cannot file its class-action suit on behalf of all 12,000 youth in Texas' long-term foster care system. Full Story
Child Protective Services officials got an earful on Wednesday at a Senate hearing on improving the caseworker retention rates in rural communities. And they got a minor scolding from Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville. Full Story