FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS ABOUT PROBLEMS CHILD PROTECTIVE SERVICES (CPS) IS EXPERIENCING AND THE PENDING TEXAS FOSTER CARE LAWSUIT

  • CPS STAFFING AND CHILD WELFARE TRENDS

Q             WHEN THE MEDIA REPORTS HIGH CPS WORKER ATTRITION RATES AND VACANCIES, IS THAT OCCURRING IN EVERY DEPARTMENT WITHIN CPS?

A             High CPS caseworker turnover is a persistent problem that sometimes reaches a particularly critical level as it has this past year.  The most serious CPS staffing issues in Dallas County have been with the investigation units which have experienced a reported 57% annual turnover rate which only recently dropped to 49%.  When investigation caseworker positions are vacant, chances increase that children in imminent danger will not be seen in a timely manner and appropriate follow-up will not be conducted in response to reports of suspected abuse or neglect.

Q             CAN DALLAS CASA VOLUNTEERS AND PROFESSIONAL STAFF HELP FILL THE GAP UNTIL CPS CAN HIRE AND TRAIN MORE INVESTIGATION CASEWORKERS?

A             Dallas CASA is not involved in the investigation that occurs prior to a child being removed.  Our court appointments occur after an investigation has been completed and a child has been removed from his or her home.  Once appointed, however, CASA volunteers can provide fact-based reports to the judge on critical issues including whether a temporary placement is appropriate and will protect a child from further harm.  In instances when a child cannot safely return home, CASA volunteers recommend the best option for each child to grow up in a safe and loving environment where each child can heal from trauma and thrive.

Q             A RECENT NEWS ARTICLE REPORTED THAT CPS TURNOVER “NEGATIVELY AFFECTS A CHILD’S CHANCES OF SUCCESS BECAUSE IT SOMETIMES CAUSES THE CASA VOLUNTEERS TO QUIT.” HAS THAT BEEN DALLAS CASA’S EXPERIENCE?

A             No.  Issues with the responsiveness and speed of child welfare processes definitely are a prime source of frustration for CASA volunteers, but CPS caseworker turnover does not cause our volunteers to walk away.  In fact, the opposite is true.  We prepare Dallas CASA volunteers for the fact that CPS caseworkers will turnover both as a result of attrition and because planned caseworker transfers occur as the stage of the case and the legal status of the child change. Caseworker transition is part of what motivates CASA volunteers to maintain a consistent connection with each child they serve, knowing they likely will be the only constant adult as the child navigates through a frightening and uncertain time.

Q             WHAT IS DALLAS CASA’S RELATIONSHIP WITH CPS LEADERSHIP?

A             Many changes have occurred in the ranks at the local and state levels of leadership.  Dallas CASA has built a strong relationship with CPS leadership over the years and is committed to continuing and strengthening new and existing connections, while scrupulously maintaining our independence.  Although we do not always agree, we believe each child benefits when Dallas CASA and CPS communicate well.

Q             WHY DO CHILDREN SLEEP IN CPS OFFICES?

A             Children sleep in CPS offices when an appropriate foster care, relative or other placement has not been identified or is not yet ready to receive the child.  Sometimes it is too late in the day to transport the child to a distant location and the trip is delayed until the next morning for the safety and comfort of the child.  While the inability to locate a placement can happen with children as they are coming into protective care, the situation is just as likely to occur when a placement has broken down – meaning the child or youth was living with a foster family or elsewhere and a placement change is necessary.  That can happen, for example, when the current placement provider cannot handle behavioral issues or when a child needs a higher level of therapeutic or medical care than the placement is licensed or able to provide.

Q             WHAT, IF ANYTHING, IS BEING DONE TO REDUCE THE FREQUENCY OR ELIMINATE CHILDREN SLEEPING IN CPS OFFICES?

A             At a meeting of the Dallas County Child Welfare Board in May 2016, Dallas CPS leadership reported that they are working with Buckner and other groups to identify other emergency, temporary placements that can both accommodate children and provide meals.

Q             WHAT ARE THE TRENDS IN INVESTIGATIONS, CHILD REMOVALS, AND TOTAL CHILDREN IN PROTECTIVE CARE?

A             Generally, the number of investigations completed in recent months has been trending higher, primarily because investigators were brought in from other regions to supplement the reduced ranks in Dallas County investigation units.  These out-of-region investigators have been working “abandoned” caseloads left behind when caseworkers leave CPS. The increase in the number of completed investigations has not meant a corresponding increase in the number of children removed each month in Dallas County, despite public reports that the number of children removed state-wide is increasing.

In May 2016 in Dallas, 102 children were removed from home out of 1,042 completed investigations, resulting in a 1:10 ratio.  By comparison, 201 children were removed from home in January 2016 and 828 investigations were completed, resulting in a 1:4 ratio between children removed and investigations closed.

Identifying trends is complicated by changes relating to utilization of Parental Child Safety Placements (PCSP) which involve an agreement with the parent(s) for a child to be placed in a household of a relative or friend without the necessity of CPS filing a case requiring court approval of the removal.  When stricter approval standards apply and more of the placements are determined to be ineligible, more children come into protective care.  This happened in December 2015 and January 2016, when the Governor’s office, in response to higher child fatality statistics, reportedly called for disqualification of proposed placements if any household member had a criminal conviction, including a misdemeanor conviction. If PCSP are restricted in the future, the number of Dallas County children removed likely will trend up.  CPS has suggested that the number of removals in Dallas County will increase as it continues to recruit and train additional investigation caseworkers.

The total number of Dallas County children living in protective care has held steady since September 2015, with a monthly average of approximately 2,700.

  • THE TEXAS FOSTER CARE LAWSUIT

Q             IS IT TRUE THAT A FEDERAL DISTRICT COURT HAS RULED THAT THE TEXAS VIOLATES THE RIGHTS OF TEXAS CHILDREN LIVING IN FOSTER CARE?

A             The court ruling you have heard about addresses the rights of Texas children who have been in foster care (or other protective care placements) for one year or more.  The court issued a decision in December 2015 ruling that the state fails to reasonably protect children in long-term foster care from harm and fails to provide adequate alternative placements options.  The 260-page opinion details the tragic circumstances of individual children and youth representing the class whose interests are the subject of the lawsuit.  The opinion includes detailed descriptions of failures to protect children and youth in long-term foster care against physical and sexual assaults, citing an extensive record of documentation and live witness testimony. The court opinion concludes with the stinging indictment that the children “almost uniformly leave State custody more damaged than when they entered.”

Q             ARE THE LAWSUIT AND THE CRISIS INVOLVING CPS CASEWORKER ATTRITION RELATED?

A             The most serious issues the media has been following regarding CPS staffing relate to investigation units and delays checking on the safety of children who have not been removed from their homes.  In contrast, the lawsuit instead concerns the rights of children and teens who are in the permanent managing conservatorship of the state and have been in foster care for at least one year.  Issues cited in the court’s opinion, however, do cross-over in two critical areas.  First, the court identifies unreasonably high caseloads as the reason oversight for children in foster care suffers and why so many CPS caseworkers quit. Second, the court was severely critical of the quality of investigations that the state’s Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) division conducts when allegations are made that a child or teen in CPS conservatorship is being abused or neglected. The court’s opinion includes disturbing examples of sexual and physical abuse continuing for years despite reports of abuse having been made.

Q             WHAT IS THE CURRENT STATUS OF THE LAWSUIT?

A             The district court judge has appointed two special masters to develop a recommended plan to remedy faults in the Texas foster care system identified in the court’s opinion, with a late September deadline. The State of Texas has an appeal pending challenging the district court’s ruling, but has failed twice to have the federal appeals court block the district court’s appointment of the special masters.    Based on the district court’s highly critical findings of under-reported and undocumented child-on-child abuse, CPS already has discontinued placements in foster group homes that lack round-the-clock supervision.

Q             DOES THE DISTRICT COURT’S RULING SAY ANYTHING ABOUT THE ROLE OF CASA VOLUNTEERS?

A             Yes.  The court decision offers one measure of hope by explicitly recognizing the positive difference court appointed special advocates make and by concluding that every child in this circumstance should have a CASA.  CASA volunteers, the opinion recognizes, gain in-depth knowledge of each child and “make sure foster children don’t get lost in the overburdened legal and social service system or languish in inappropriate group or foster homes.”  This affirmation should inspire all CASA programs to recommit to serving more abused and neglected children in the child welfare system.

  • WHAT DALLAS CASA AND YOU CAN DO TO HELP

Q             WHAT IS DALLAS CASA DOING TO HELP CHILDREN IN LONG-TERM FOSTER CARE?

A             The court decision expresses concern that the appointment of CASA volunteers ends when the status of a child’s case changes from the state having temporary managing conservatorship to having permanent managing conservatorship. Generally, that change in status happens after the child has been in protective care for one year.  While volunteer appointments may end at that juncture for some CASA programs in Texas, that is not true for Dallas CASA.  With few exceptions, our appointments continue until the court’s jurisdiction comes to an end.  For the majority of youth growing up in foster care, the court case closes when they turn 18.  An option exists, however, to extend foster care and the court’s jurisdiction up to the date a young adult turns 21.  When a petition to extend foster care is granted, Dallas CASA’s default position is to remain on the case, continuing to support the young adult as he or she transitions to independent adult living.

Q             DOES DALLAS CASA FACE PARTICULAR CHALLENGES SERVING CHILDREN IN LONG-TERM FOSTER CARE?

A             Overall, 40 percent of Dallas children who come into protective care are placed outside Dallas County, with 20 percent placed outside the region (a 19-county area).  The percentage placed in distant locations is even higher for children and youth who have been in foster care for more than one year.  The number of foster homes in Dallas County falls far short of the current need. CPS has launched the initial stages of Foster Care Redesign, a program with objectives that include increasing the number of children placed in their home communities.  Dallas is not included in the current or next announced phase of Foster Care Redesign.  The piloting of the program in certain adjacent counties actually limits the availability of closer placements for Dallas children because some beds that might otherwise be appropriate are reserved for the exclusive use of counties in the pilot.  The small number of available beds in residential treatment centers in Dallas increases the likelihood of distant placements particularly for older children. Reports continue of shrinking numbers of available beds ─ even at distant locations ─ as more facilities housing children with emotional and behavioral issues are closed due to quality concerns.

Q             WHAT IS DALLAS CASA DOING TO MEET THE CHALLENGE OF SERVING MORE CHILDREN AND YOUTH, PARTICULARLY THOSE IN DISTANT LOCATIONS?

A             Dallas CASA has employed a number of strategies to be sure children placed far from their home communities do not fall through the cracks.  Most recently, the agency launched a pilot to reimburse pre-approved travel expenses for volunteer advocates who are willing to continue serving children who are placed at locations at least 100 miles away.  Funding to support that new effort is being sought, with the first grant award notification received this month.  We have been pursuing other strategies as well.  Dallas CASA recently won a Promising Practices award from National CASA for its arrangement with Angel Flight to transport volunteers and our professional staff supervisors to visit youth in distant placements.  Dallas CASA also employs professional staff to directly serve children who are placed far away.

Despite a shortage of Dallas County foster homes and alternative placements to serve every abused and neglected child at every level of need, Dallas CASA will continue its efforts to serve more and more children regardless of the location of the placements and regardless of how often the placements may change.  We also are committed to continuing to increase the overall number of children served.  Last year, 925 Dallas CASA volunteers were assigned to cases, representing a 20% increase in assigned volunteers over 2014.  A total of 334 newly-trained volunteers were sworn-in during 2015, a 16% increase.  Because of the availability of more volunteers, Dallas CASA was able to serve 2,680 children last year, an annual increase of 18%, with an average of 300 more children served each month.  While Dallas CASA now serves three out of five Dallas children in protective care, we are focused on the 40% of Dallas children who do not have a CASA volunteer standing with them during such a frightening and uncertain time.

Q             WHAT CAN THE COMMUNITY DO TO HELP DALLAS CASA SERVE MORE CHILDREN WHO NEED A STRONG ADVOCATE?

A             With a total of 4,646 Dallas children living in protective care last year, the need in our community is enormous.  The reality is that CASA volunteers and community supporters are our best recruiters.  Please flatter someone you know by suggesting they might have what it takes to become a CASA volunteer.  We hold information sessions on a weekly basis and training sessions run year-round.  Here is the link to our website page to register to attend an information session.

If friends say they are waiting until they retire, remind them that the vast majority of our volunteers are full-time employees and the distribution of volunteers across age ranges is surprisingly even.  If the hesitation is about the emotional impact of child abuse, please pass along that failing to take action also takes a personal toll, that stepping off the sidelines and out of our comfort zone will be personally rewarding, and that volunteers focus on impacting a child’s future rather than dwelling on the child’s past.  Most importantly, please share with prospective volunteers that they will be paired with a Dallas CASA professional staff member who will support them, accompany them on each first experience, and guide them every step along the way to becoming an effective advocate for each child they serve.  And please share with them that Dallas CASA has an extensive continuing education program so that volunteers can deepen their understanding of the broad issues they may encounter as they proudly advocate on behalf of the precious children we are so privileged to serve.