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Lucy, an employee at Texas’ child welfare agency, found herself parked outside a well-known hotel, preparing for her upcoming shift. In an attempt to gather strength and empathy, she skimmed through the pages of her small, blue Bible, searching for the motivation to enter the building.
While many people in the state were either wrapping up their workday or contemplating dinner, Lucy devoted her attention to the welfare of two children within the foster care system.
As Lucy walked towards the hotel room where the kids were staying, she found solace in reciting Bible passages to herself. Her shift for the evening was scheduled until 8 p.m., but there were other weeks when it extended till midnight or even 4 a.m.
Lucy, who preferred not to disclose her full name due to concerns of reprisal from the state agency, expressed her hope that the child is already asleep to avoid any complications. She emphasized the difficulty of reaching assistance before 8 a.m. if one is working during that time.
When the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services is unable to promptly find a suitable placement such as a psychiatric facility or a residential treatment center, children from unsafe or abusive home environments are temporarily accommodated in hotels or offices.
DFPS often labels these kids as “children without placement,” implying that they are older teenagers dealing with complicated trauma and behavioral issues. Unfortunately, their caretakers are constantly changing and are usually overwhelmed caseworkers who are expected to handle various tasks like administering medications, constantly keeping an eye on the kids, and conducting bed checks every half an hour while they are asleep. Caseworkers have informed the Tribune that at unlicensed facilities, where they monitor these children, property damage, verbal abuse, and physical assaults occur frequently.
There are nearly 20,000 kids in the state’s care. In fiscal year 2022, 1,242 children in the system spent at least one night in an unlicensed foster facility, like a hotel or office. On average, those children spent 15 nights in such places, according to a report from court-appointed watchdogs in a long-running federal lawsuit that has repeatedly slammed the practice.
The poor working conditions, particularly the overnight shifts, are compelling DFPS employees to depart in significant numbers. The agency is currently experiencing an unprecedented level of staff turnover, as nearly one-third of its employees have left during fiscal year 2022.
According to the Tribune, caseworkers, the foundation of the Texas foster care system, have expressed concerns about the conditions they face, which include understaffing, inadequate compensation, and burnout. These factors pose a threat to the level of care they can offer to the state’s most vulnerable children. On average, caseworkers earn a salary of close to $53,000.
Lucy voiced her uncertainty about our ability to salvage the situation, expressing concern over the numerous tenured caseworkers we’ve lost. She emphasized that the children’s lives and time are being wasted, leading to a harmful cascade of destruction.
DFPS officials have acknowledged their efforts to reduce the number of children in unlicensed facilities by creating more options for youth with complex mental and behavioral health needs. However, the agency is also dealing with a significant decrease in the availability of beds at licensed facilities. This situation has the potential to hold the agency in contempt of court in an ongoing federal lawsuit, as the opposing lawyers claim that the placement crisis is overwhelming caseworkers and jeopardizing the safety of all children in the state’s long-term care system.
According to Myko Gedutis, an organizer with the Texas State Employees Union, caseworkers are required to sign up for overnight shifts to supervise children without placement up to five times a month. This expectation is in addition to their regular caseloads. Although the agency claims that these shifts are voluntary, caseworkers who spoke to the Tribune anonymously, along with Gedutis, state that the agency will assign shifts if volunteers are not available.
“According to them, we should choose the shift we desire. However, I have no interest in any of them,” Lucy expressed. “I am not willingly participating in this chaotic situation. It poses a significant risk to everyone involved.”
Upon arriving at the hotel room this evening, Lucy discovered that the two children were fast asleep. She settled herself in the corner, engrossed in reading through their files, periodically glancing at the clock as she eagerly awaited the end of her shift.
In her previous overnight shifts, a young girl exhibited violent behavior towards a coworker, while another child hurled Lucy’s computer against the wall. The fear of what lies ahead consumes her, as she expresses her terror, “I have yet to experience physical harm, but I fear that my time is approaching when I will be subjected to being hit or kicked.”
Ever since Lucy joined the state agency, she has encountered various physical health issues. Now, if she happens to get injured while on duty, she becomes anxious about her ability to recover quickly.
She stated, “I am not a young person. I cannot tolerate someone touching me in such a manner.”
Facing a contempt of court motion
Children sleeping in hotels and offices because of placement shortages have been at the center of a long-running federal lawsuit against the agency. In a January hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack asked the state to commit to having zero children without placement by this past June.
The state evaded the question.
DFPS commissioner Stephanie Muth assured, “Rest assured, we will persistently maintain our efforts to reduce those numbers with utmost dedication.”
Despite her well-known reputation for scathing criticisms of Texas’ foster care system, Jack remained unappeased.
Jack expressed his confusion, saying, “I fail to comprehend why we haven’t left yet. It seems highly unsafe to have our child in such a hazardous environment.”
Paul Yetter, the attorney advocating for foster children, is currently requesting that the judge find the state in contempt of court due to the pressing issue of placement crisis.
Yetter stated in a filing made in August that the duties of staff members to oversee children in unlicensed placements had led to unfeasible workloads and a high turnover of caseworkers. He emphasized that overwhelming DFPS employees jeopardized the safety and well-being of all children within the system.
In the court filing, Yetter stated that the State’s belief that caseworkers burdened with mandated double duty can ensure the long-term safety of children is nothing more than wishful thinking.
As facilities close, agency turns to employees
Since 2020, there has been an increase in the number of children without placements who are now staying overnight in unlicensed facilities such as motels, hotels, and offices.
Placement shortages have been on the rise due to the closure of placement facilities. The scrutiny faced by facilities accommodating foster children has led to this increase.
Between 2015 and 2020, a total of 485 licensed facilities in Texas offered placements for foster children. Out of these, 25% of the facilities had to undergo intensified monitoring due to numerous instances of standards violations and allegations of child abuse, neglect, or exploitation within their care.
Facilities catering to multiple children rather than individual foster families accounted for the majority of the 1,000 beds lost for children in the state in 2021.
“In September 2021, Jack stated that Texas would be shutting down these facilities due to their deemed unsafety for children.”
Furthermore, proponents argue that the state’s current payments to private providers may fall short in incentivizing these entities to accept children in their care. Given the heightened scrutiny faced by hundreds of facilities, private providers also express concerns about assuming additional risks when taking in children with complex needs.
According to Gedutis, the union representative, the industry’s reaction was something along the lines of, “Sure, we’ll accept those children, but you’ll have to compensate us with a higher payment. We are willing to take on that risk, but it will come at a significant expense for you.”
According to data from over ten years ago, the rates offered by private providers frequently fail to sufficiently cover the expenses associated with services for children. Furthermore, these rates are closely linked to the specific needs of each child. Consequently, when children with complex behavioral and mental health requirements display progress, providers may experience a decrease in their payments. In an effort to address this issue, the state agency is currently revamping the payment system, with the anticipated implementation of these changes as early as January 2025.
According to Lori Duke, the co-director of the Children’s Rights Clinic at the University of Texas School of Law, in the past, when the agency faced difficulty in finding foster homes for kids, they would usually have to stay at emergency shelters for a few nights. These shelters varied in quality. Duke mentioned that having children sleep in offices and hotels was considered a last-resort solution.
However, due to the lawsuit’s scrutiny, numerous emergency shelters have closed down. As a result, along with the reduction in state beds, the norm has become placing children in hotels and offices.
With over 10,000 employees under its charge, DFPS leadership sought assistance from its caseworkers to tend to the children at the core of the placement crisis.
Gedutis, the union organizer, stated that the state opted for a simple resolution. They simply stored the children and assigned workers without any consideration for their safety.
States across the country have struggled with placement shortages, particularly for children with complex needs. Oregon has continued to place foster kids in hotels, defying a settlement from a class action lawsuit in 2018. Washington has placed children in foster homes unequipped to handle them, which led to foster families dropping out of the system, the head of its foster care agency wrote in a state budget request.
Texas lawmakers this year set their sights on reducing the number of all children entering the system and increasing legal representation for foster kids. They added some mental health support for kids in foster care, including 20 inpatient mental health beds and three new mobile crisis teams dedicated to foster kids, which is expected to help alleviate the placement shortages.
Legislators failed to pass Senate Bill 1853, which would have prohibited DFPS from advocating in court that a child remain in an unlicensed temporary placement if a safe and appropriate licensed placement was available.
Gedutis expressed his disappointment, stating that they have almost lost hope in the legislators. He added that even the legislators who do care are remaining silent. He emphasized that these are young individuals who will grow up to be adults in their own communities, yet the legislators are simply giving up on them.
“CPS is to blame”
Prior to commencing their shifts, DFPS staff in Harris County receive updates regarding children residing in hotels. Among them is a young girl under the state’s care who enjoys swimming, animals, and sports. However, it’s important to note that she may resort to biting if her desires are not met.
According to shared notes with the Tribune, a teenage boy with multiple mental illnesses and developmental disorders is described as being easy to communicate with. He enjoys crafting, watching TV, and spending time on YouTube. However, it should be noted that the teen becomes very protective of his electronic devices and may resort to damaging property or assaulting adults who try to take them away.
Caseworkers portrayed DFPS offices filled with holes resulting from instances where a child had forcefully punched or kicked the walls.
After four years of working as a Child Protective Services caseworker, Samantha resigned from her position in February. Although she continues to work with the agency in a different role, she requested the Tribune not to disclose her full name. Samantha expressed her concern about the agency’s inadequate guidance regarding the safe restraint of aggressive children.
Samantha also experienced discomfort in handling the children’s medication during her shift. The instructions for administering the medications were often unclear, and she lacked the necessary training to determine the appropriate dosage.
Samantha expressed her concern, “I’m worried about what would happen if I accidentally administered the wrong dose. The appearance of certain medications seemed a bit unusual.”
According to a representative from DFPS, employees must finish 10 distinct trainings prior to their shift in monitoring children without placement. These trainings encompass areas such as trauma-informed care, psychotropic medication, and supervision within this specific environment.
Samantha recalls attending meetings with the agency to discuss expectations for the overnight shifts. However, she claims that she never received any training that she found genuinely beneficial.
In light of her potential return to work at the agency, Didi, a former caseworker with 15 years of experience, expressed her concern about CPS’s failure to find suitable placements for children. While she preferred to remain anonymous, she emphasized the need for improvement in this area.
Didi has recently started working at a community mental health center. As part of her new position, she completed a four-hour certification course in the safe transportation and distribution of medication. Surprisingly, Didi mentioned that she never received any training from the DFPS (Department of Family and Protective Services) despite regularly administering medication to children in unlicensed facilities.
Despite hearing the agency’s repeated promises to address the placement crisis, she remains skeptical as little progress has been made over the past three years to enhance conditions for both caseworkers and the children they serve.
According to Didi, there is a group of exceptionally rebellious teenagers who will face a harsh reality when they turn 18. She believes this is because we are failing to equip them for the challenges ahead and failing to provide them with any form of stability. Didi places the blame on CPS for this situation.
Jolted awake
Lucy’s eyelids grew heavy as she gazed at the endless stretch of highway ahead. Having just completed an overnight shift, exhaustion began to take its toll on her.
According to Apple Maps, her estimated distance from home was a minimum of 45 minutes. However, the exhaustion from her long work days had finally taken its toll. The seat headrest gradually transformed into a makeshift pillow, tempting her to surrender to sleep.
Then, the car swerved.
Suddenly, she was jarred awake, causing her to tightly grip the steering wheel and swiftly pull over onto the shoulder.
She expressed, “My journey back home was incredibly dangerous as I was on the verge of being killed due to my overwhelming fatigue. Resting has always been a challenge for me, and I feel utterly drained to the core.”
Before repeating the same routine the following day, she quenched her thirst with a gulp of Coke, refreshed herself by splashing water on her face, and reignited her car engine as she resumed her journey back home.
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