Federal Judge Orders Child Protective Services Not To Place Children In Unsupervised Homes

AUSTIN, TX — A federal judge has ordered child protective service officials to immediately comply with a previous court order that was supposed to ban the practice of leaving foster children in group homes lacking 24-hour supervision.

U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack, who is supervising the state's foster-care system, signed the decision on Tuesday. as the Houston Chronicle and other media outlets have reported. The ruling comes at a time of heightened scrutiny of the state's Department of Family and Protective Services, beset by myriad issues that include inadequate numbers of caseworkers to oversee a growing population of foster children.

The child protective services agency may come under full-fledged court supervision by early next year given its inherent shortfalls. The Legislature is expected to address a plan to increase the troubled agency's funding when it convenes next year.

In the judge's decision, Jack said the agency "incorrectly interpreted" her Dec. 17, 2015 injunction mandating that its officials "immediately stop placing (permanent managing conservatorship) foster children in unsafe placements, which include foster group homes that lack 24-hour awake-night supervision."

Specifically, the Corpus Christi-based judge said it was an erroneous interpretation of her previous order that it made allowances for foster children already in those homes to remain and that the ruling only applied to future placements.

"For over one year, PMC as well as temporary managing conservatorship foster children have remained in foster group homes without 24-hour awake-night supervision, in contrast to the Court's desired effect of its injunction," the newly signed order states in part.

>>> Read the full story at the Houston Chronicle

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