On Tuesday, Jan. 11th US District Judge Janis Jack held the latest court hearing in the class action lawsuit related to federal oversight of the Texas foster care system. During the court hearing, the most recent reports from the court-appointed Monitors and the Expert Panel were reviewed and discussed. The two monitor’s reports and the recommendations from the Expert Panel all show how dangerous the ongoing crisis in CPS is for foster children and state employees on the frontlines.
Caseloads-
The Monitors’ report found that 40% of CVS caseworkers have caseloads higher than the range of 14-17 children per worker agreed to in a settlement with the Plaintiffs. The private contractors OCOK and 2Ingage also report similar levels of staff with high caseloads. After years of claiming that caseload standards were not needed, in late 2019 DFPS finally agreed with the Monitors’ guidance to maintain caseload range of 14-17 children per CVS worker beginning in 2020. Within 90 days, DFPS will submit to the court a plan to lower caseloads to the agreed range.
Children Without Placement- “Institutionalized abuse”
The latest court Monitors’ report on the CWOP crisis made clear that children and staff continue to be put in harm’s way every day with Judge Jack labeling current arrangements as ‘institutionalized abuse.’ An analysis of 290 Serious Incidents Reports from July- September 2021 shows that “Mental Health Episodes” and “Physical Aggression Towards Staff” are the two most common issues involved in reported incidents. While communicating to staff that CWOP shifts are a required job function, training remains non-existent or completely inadequate, putting both children and staff in danger. The strain that the yearlong CWOP crisis is putting on staff is directly related to higher turnover rates and higher caseloads. While the federal court’s oversight is restricted to CVS, the crisis caused by children without placement impacts every part of DFPS and every job title.
Additionally, DFPS will submit a plan within 90 days on how to return children from out-of-state placements. Both DFPS and private SSCCs have increased the use of facilities in other states for children without placement. OCOK’s use of Temporary Emergency Placement (TEP) facilities spiked also, which may have been done in an effort to keep CWOP reporting numbers artificially low.
Recommendations from an Expert Panel appointed by DFPS and Plaintiffs provide short and long terms goals to end the crisis. The recommendations with the most immediate impact relate to an infusion of funding and resources to address the complex needs of children without placement. Coordinating appropriate services, care, and placements would be taken on by newly created Clinical Coordinators positions, who the Expert Panel recommends to work closely with every stakeholder involved in that child’s care. The recommendations include providing the Clinical Coordinator access to a flexible pool of funding to pay for services and needs.
The expert panel also recommends that DFPS appoint community liaisons to expand foster care capacity in each region, and recruit qualified residential treatment programs (QRTPs) to meet requirements of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act.
Now what?
All children in state custody and DFPS employees – and our own families – are suffering today because of the unprecedented crisis caused by elected leaders. State leaders have spent 11 years fighting against lower caseloads and defending an inadequate foster care system that regularly puts children in danger.
The ongoing Children Without Placement crisis is a direct result of decisions made by elected officials over years and years. This is must end. We need elected and appointed leaders at every level to pull out all the stops to locate, provide, and fund quality services and placements for children in the foster care system. TSEU members have been communicating directly with local elected officials, community members, and stakeholders to educate them about the crisis and to discuss solutions. We – and children without placement under our care – can’t just wait for state leaders to fix this crisis.
find more information on the DFPS Caucus HomePage
WHAT TO DO NOW:
Our next meeting is:
TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1 / 6:00pm
All active TSEU members are invited to participate in our statewide virtual meetings. Please contact your nearest TSEU office to register.
There is a lot of work to do. Vocal support from local stakeholders and community members calling for immediate steps to end this crisis is crucial. Here are some additional steps we are taking – GET INVOLVED TODAY!
- TSEU members are planning to continue holding Town Hall meetings across the state in the coming months and to keep working with Town Hall participants to resolve this crisis.
- TSEU members will continue to call on state leaders to start hiring and training staff specifically to provide care for children without placement in safe homes or licensed facilities. We, along with our allies, can’t let this crisis become the new normal.
- Organize! For details on organizing in your area, please contact your TSEU organizer or mgedutis@cwa-tseu.org
While we’re working to involve our community to take a stand, we need our own colleagues to make their voices heard, too! Most of our coworkers aren’t members of TSEU. ‘Waiting to see what happens’, or ‘thinking about it’ will not make a difference. Ask them to get off the sidelines, join TSEU and get involved today!