INSIDER
What is shaken baby syndrome, the controversial diagnosis for which Robert Roberson is set to die?
Read full article: What is shaken baby syndrome, the controversial diagnosis for which Robert Roberson is set to die?The American Academy of Pediatrics embraces the diagnosis, but courts have thrown out some cases, calling it ājunk science.ā
Facing pressure from judge, Texas reassigns workers to care for foster kids in unlicensed homes
Read full article: Facing pressure from judge, Texas reassigns workers to care for foster kids in unlicensed homesThe move is designed to reduce some of the rotating overtime shifts expected of agency caseworkers at group homes and motels, which have been criticized as dangerous for the children who live there.
Texas names new head of child abuse investigations after high turnover and heavy criticism
Read full article: Texas names new head of child abuse investigations after high turnover and heavy criticismThe Texas Department of Family and Protective Servicesā investigations division has seen record-high staff turnover, with 4 in 10 investigators leaving their jobs in 2022.
New Texas laws favor parents in child abuse investigations as legislators try to limit number of kids in foster care
Read full article: New Texas laws favor parents in child abuse investigations as legislators try to limit number of kids in foster careLegislators also passed bills that will provide foster kids entering the troubled system with duffel bags or backpacks and those aging out of the system with help setting up bank accounts.
After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workers
Read full article: After abuse accusations at The Refuge, Texas will create new reporting and screening requirements for foster care workersThe 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.
Federal judge says Texasā use of psychotropic drugs puts foster kids at serious risk
Read full article: Federal judge says Texasā use of psychotropic drugs puts foster kids at serious riskResidential facilities did not refill medications in a timely manner, failed to follow psychiatric orders and, in several instances, violated state guidelines, court monitors documented after site inspections. The lawyer representing the foster kids said it could be āthe tip of the iceberg.ā
Texas should tell parents their rights when it investigates child abuse claims, lawmaker proposes
Read full article: Texas should tell parents their rights when it investigates child abuse claims, lawmaker proposesMost reports of child abuse or neglect turn out to be unfounded. But while under investigation, parents with little understanding of their rights or the process often make decisions that could impact the fate of their families.
New Texas foster care report shows both improvements and continued deficiencies
Read full article: New Texas foster care report shows both improvements and continued deficienciesIn a fifth report tracking the stateās efforts to remedy its embattled foster care system, federal monitors documented persistent risks to Texas children ahead of next weekās court hearing.
Texas fights federal rule that would outlaw LGBTQ discrimination in state adoptions and foster care
Read full article: Texas fights federal rule that would outlaw LGBTQ discrimination in state adoptions and foster careTexas allows religious groups that are part of the stateās child welfare network to refuse to assist LGBTQ couples seeking to foster or adopt. That could put critical federal funding at risk.
Texas case could change adoption rules for Native American children, and undercut tribal rights
Read full article: Texas case could change adoption rules for Native American children, and undercut tribal rightsThe U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments Wednesday in a lawsuit challenging the preferences Native American families and tribes are given under the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Bastrop County grand jury declines to indict caretaker at center of The Refuge abuse scandal
Read full article: Bastrop County grand jury declines to indict caretaker at center of The Refuge abuse scandalThe grand jury said it did not find sufficient evidence to indict Iesha Greene, who was reported to have sold and solicited nude photos of children at the Bastrop shelter.
In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toilets
Read full article: In Texas youth prisons, children trapped in their cells use water bottles and lunch trays for toiletsGov. Greg Abbott largely remained silent as dangerous conditions caused by a lack of staff persisted at Texas juvenile facilities during the summer.
Texasā child welfare agency told staffers to keep quiet about gender-affirming care investigations, documents show
Read full article: Texasā child welfare agency told staffers to keep quiet about gender-affirming care investigations, documents showTexas Department of Family and Protective Services leaders instructed employees to avoid written communications about the cases and barred low-level employees from handling the investigations, according to internal agency communications.
Judge asks Texas to remove foster care kids from out-of-state facilities facing child abuse investigation
Read full article: Judge asks Texas to remove foster care kids from out-of-state facilities facing child abuse investigationAt least 48 Texas children are housed at facilities run by organizations under an investigation launched by two U.S. senators.
Judge plans to levy āsubstantial finesā after Texas failed to comply with court-ordered fixes to its foster care system
Read full article: Judge plans to levy āsubstantial finesā after Texas failed to comply with court-ordered fixes to its foster care systemThe judge in the 11-year federal lawsuit against Texas said the state has not properly punished or shut down unsafe child care placement facilities or curbed the rate of children who are sexually victimized while in the stateās care.
Texas Supreme Court allows child abuse investigations into families of transgender teens to continue
Read full article: Texas Supreme Court allows child abuse investigations into families of transgender teens to continueThe high court also raised questions about why the state opened these investigations in the first place, noting that the child welfare agency is not bound by directives from the governor.
Lack of communication between child welfare and juvenile justice systems hurts foster kids, court monitors say
Read full article: Lack of communication between child welfare and juvenile justice systems hurts foster kids, court monitors sayThe 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.
Bastrop shelter caretaker accused of exploiting girls was fired from previous job for misconduct with children
Read full article: Bastrop shelter caretaker accused of exploiting girls was fired from previous job for misconduct with childrenState records show Iesha Greene was fired in 2020 from a state juvenile facility for having inappropriate relationships with children. The Refuge said it was aware of her previous work there, but it never requested her publicly available personnel records.
Distraught over orders to investigate trans kidsā families, Texas child welfare workers are resigning
Read full article: Distraught over orders to investigate trans kidsā families, Texas child welfare workers are resigningOther investigators donāt want to follow an order they believe harms families but worry about the impact of a mass employee exodus on the stateās most vulnerable children.
Over 100 children have died in Texasā child welfare system since 2020, report says
Read full article: Over 100 children have died in Texasā child welfare system since 2020, report saysMost of the deaths were attributed to āpreexisting medical conditionsā or abuse suffered before the children entered the system, according to the DFPS report. The numbers are on par with those reported in previous years.
Judge loses trust in Texasā child abuse investigation of foster care facility and calls for federal inquiry
Read full article: Judge loses trust in Texasā child abuse investigation of foster care facility and calls for federal inquiryU.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.
Founder of state-contracted child abuse shelter hopes to reopen after employee was accused of exploiting two girls
Read full article: Founder of state-contracted child abuse shelter hopes to reopen after employee was accused of exploiting two girlsBrooke Crowder said The Refuge is working to incorporate a deeper employee screening process with the help of a company recommended by the governorās and attorney generalās offices.
Texas Rangers confirm investigation into nude photos of children at Bastrop shelter but find āno evidenceā of sex abuse
Read full article: Texas Rangers confirm investigation into nude photos of children at Bastrop shelter but find āno evidenceā of sex abuseAn attorney representing foster care children in a suit against Texas said Department of Public Safety director Steve McCrawās conclusion that there was no evidence of sexual abuse despite the investigation into the photos was āboth surprising and extremely troubling.ā
āTheyāre talking about how my existence is child abuseā: Trans teen fears crackdown on gender-affirming health care
Read full article: āTheyāre talking about how my existence is child abuseā: Trans teen fears crackdown on gender-affirming health careSpeakers at South by Southwest decried attempts by Texas officials to open child abuse investigations into families whose kids have used treatments like puberty blockers and hormone therapy.
State-licensed shelter where sex trafficking victims were reportedly abused ordered to close
Read full article: State-licensed shelter where sex trafficking victims were reportedly abused ordered to closeThe 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.
Texasā child welfare agency ordered to investigate trans kidsā families has been in crisis for years
Read full article: Texasā child welfare agency ordered to investigate trans kidsā families has been in crisis for yearsThe Department of Family and Protective Services has been under federal court monitoring for over a decade for violating the civil rights of kids in foster care. Now, the short-staffed agency has to investigate parents who provide their children with gender-affirming care.
Attorney General Ken Paxton appeals restraining order that blocked state agency from investigating trans teenās family
Read full article: Attorney General Ken Paxton appeals restraining order that blocked state agency from investigating trans teenās familyA Texas judge was scheduled to consider a statewide injunction on investigations of parents over obtaining gender-affirming care. The appeal now puts the hearing on hold.
Analysis: Texasā foster care problems are clear. The response from state leaders isnāt.
Read full article: Analysis: Texasā foster care problems are clear. The response from state leaders isnāt.The stateās foster care system has been dangerous to children and embarrassing to the state for years. But with state officials constantly chasing other issues, itās still suffering from neglect.
Texas foster care children exposed to sexual abuse, given wrong medication and neglected in unlicensed placements, new report says
Read full article: Texas foster care children exposed to sexual abuse, given wrong medication and neglected in unlicensed placements, new report saysThe federal judge overseeing the decadelong lawsuit against Texas for conditions in its foster care system cut this weekās hearing short. She proposed all parties involved, including the governor, ācut to the chaseā to identify solutions.
Texas children and childrenās hospitals are under siege from two viruses: RSV and COVID-19
Read full article: Texas children and childrenās hospitals are under siege from two viruses: RSV and COVID-19More children are being treated in Texas hospitals for COVID-19 than ever before, and an unseasonable outbreak of respiratory syncytial virus is adding to the stress on childrenās hospitals.
Texas foster care crisis worsens, with fast-growing numbers of children sleeping in offices, hotels, churches
Read full article: Texas foster care crisis worsens, with fast-growing numbers of children sleeping in offices, hotels, churchesIncreased oversight and lack of funding mean hundreds of children spend their nights in hotels and churches and on office floors.
Law enforcement across Guadalupe County to carry support bags for children at crime scenes
Read full article: Law enforcement across Guadalupe County to carry support bags for children at crime scenesGUADALUPE COUNTY, Texas ā It was a small program thatās now gained a lot of traction. Anderson-Glover immediately called at least 10 agencies within Guadalupe County, asking if theyād carry the bags in their patrol units. āIāve contacted Guadalupe County Sheriffās Office and spoke with the sheriff himself. Iāve contacted Seguin Police Department, Selma Police Department, Cibolo, Marion, Santa Clara City Marshalls office, the Guadalupe County Emergency Management, the four constables of Guadalupe County, the state troopers, and the Texas Game Warden,ā she listed. āWhich gives us approximately 300 patrol vehicles in Guadalupe County that will be equipped with these ASAP bags,ā she said.