Foster Care and Child Welfare Week in Review – February 13, 2023
Here are some news items from last week related to foster care, adoption, and child welfare that caught our eye:
When U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack declared in 2015 that Texas foster kids were leaving state care more damaged than when they entered, it forced the state to confront decades of missteps. “Texas’s foster care system is broken, and it has been that way for decades,” Jack wrote in a damning 260-page ruling that landed like a bomb. “All the while, Texas’s … children have been shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm.” As Judge Jack continues to threaten contempt-of-court fines in a federal lawsuit against the state’s foster care system, advocates say the case has moved the needle on reform — but it has come with a hefty price tag.
Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Stephanie Muth, who began her tenure about a month ago, told lawmakers writing a new two-year state budget that the agency will have different needs as it moves into the new system of outsourcing case management services to nonprofits. The new leader of Texas’ protective services agency hinted at changes Friday that the agency will have to make as it continues transitioning toward a new way of managing foster children’s cases.
Texas 2036 and the Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services (TACFS) are released a report calling for the state to update the child welfare information system used by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to track case file information, including instances of possible abuse and neglect. Texas DFPS currently uses the Information Management Protecting Adults and Children in Texas (IMPACT) platform to track case file information. The technology supporting this platform was built in 1996, based on federal guidelines from 1993. Modern platforms allow for greater interoperability between agencies and between staff, support continuous updates, and allow staff to access accurate and timely data by both computer and phone.
The Justice Department has been scrutinizing a controversial artificial intelligence tool used by a Pittsburgh-area child protective services agency following concerns that the tool could lead to discrimination against families with disabilities. The interest from federal civil rights attorneys comes after an AP investigation revealed potential bias and transparency issues surrounding the increasing use of algorithms within the troubled child welfare system in the U.S. While some see such opaque tools as a promising way to help overwhelmed social workers predict which children may face harm, others say their reliance on historical data risks automating past inequalities.
Jacobo, 8, and Bryan, 5, are brothers who share a tight bond and love towards one another. They may be little boys, but their hearts are big! Looking at their Heart Gallery profile, we learn even more about them, including things they enjoy doing and what they hope to find in a forever family. Their profile says they are very active and always ready to go on an outing. they dream of having a family that can love them, be patient with them, and give them lots of hugs as they grow up.
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