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.
Department of Family and Protective Services
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Health care
More Kids Sleeping in State Offices Amid Foster Shortage
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.
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Health care
Texas Caseworkers Call For Foster Care Reforms
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.
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Health care
Family and Protective Services Commissioner to Retire in May
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner John Specia announced Friday he would retire from the agency on May 31.
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Health care
Texas Fights Back Against Court-Ordered Foster Care Reforms
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.
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Health care
Texas Will Begin Tracking Pregnant Foster Youth
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.
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Health care
Is Texas Denying Health Coverage to Foster Youth?
Advocates say Texas officials are routinely denying health care coverage to former foster children after they turn 21, even though federal law says the coverage should continue until they turn 26.
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31 Days, 31 Ways (2015)
Foster Care Youth Getting State Ombudsman
Starting Sept. 1, children in Texas foster care will get an ombudsman to help them navigate the system, find their caseworkers and report complaints. This story is part of our 31 Days, 31 Ways series.
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Criminal Justice
Judge: State Never Proved 6 Houston Children Were Endangered
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.
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Criminal Justice
Judge Ordered Houston Children Out of Foster Care in 2013
Nearly two years before the murder of six Houston siblings, a state district judge denied a request by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to keep them in foster care, according to a memo sent to members of the Legislature on Tuesday.
