Texas will create new database to screen child care workers after alleged abuse, expands mandatory reporting requirements
The legislation came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing she had a history of sexual misconduct with children at a state juvenile facility. Coworkers also concealed evidence of the abuse, which further put the foster girls at harm.
Lack of communication between child welfare and juvenile justice systems hurts foster kids, court monitors say
The court-appointed watchdogs expressed concern after learning that a caretaker accused of exploiting children at a state-licensed facility in Bastrop had been previously fired from a state juvenile justice facility for misconduct.
Judge loses trust in Texasโ child abuse investigation of foster care facility and calls for federal inquiry
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said she is seeking a federal criminal investigation into allegations that children were sexually abused and trafficked at The Refuge, a state-licensed foster care shelter for victims of sex trafficking.
Sex trafficking allegations at The Refuge to be referred to federal prosecutors for potential criminal charges
Judge Janis Jack, who oversees a years-long federal lawsuit into systemic issues within the stateโs foster care facility, sharply criticized the Texas Rangers and Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw, who concluded earlier this month that no wrongdoing had taken place at the now-shuttered The Refuge.
Child welfare monitors say thereโs โample evidenceโ kids were abused at Bastrop foster care facility, disputing Texas Rangers
Court-appointed watchdogs of Texasโ troubled foster care system found "ample evidence" that former sex trafficking victims were abused at a foster care facility, contradicting the Texas Rangersโ findings earlier this month.
State-licensed shelter where sex trafficking victims were reportedly abused ordered to close
The Refuge, which closed Friday, said it fired an employee accused of coercing the victims to sell nude photos as soon as it found out. The Bastrop-based shelter has not addressed the other eight staff members also accused of causing harm to the girls.