Federal judge fines Texas agency $100K a day over deficiencies found in foster care investigations - KVUE

[TexasTowelie]

Texas is appealing a judge's decision to fine the state $100,000 a day until it addresses issues within the foster care system.

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AUSTIN, Texas — A federal judge has ruled that the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) is in contempt of court for failing to properly investigate allegations of abuse and neglect by children in the state's custody.

The ruling, handed down Monday, comes nearly five months after a three-day hearing last December, during which the court heard from a number of witnesses, including a former foster child, multiple caseworkers and attorneys who represent current foster children and experts in psychotropic medications and other areas of child welfare.

"I'm just sorry we're at this point," U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said to the court on the final day of the hearing.

Jack's 427-page order includes recaps of the two prior contempt orders she's handed down in the state's nearly 13-year lawsuit over failures in its foster care system. The order also lays out dozens of pages of evidence presented in the hearing as well as findings from court-appointed monitors who found shortcomings in timeliness, accuracy and eventual outcomes of the investigations conducted by HHSC's Provider Investigations unit which is responsible for these investigations in state-run facilities like group homes.

Read more: https://www.kvue.com/article/news/state/texas-news/federal-judge-fines-state-agency-over-deficiencies-found-foster-care-investigations/287-f676d859-7640-424a-93fc-465bf5739904