Foster Kids Cannot Wait for Texas to Fight a Court Order to Protect Their Safety

Billboards for Dallas CASA, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, carry the message "Abused Children Can't Wait." The statement echoes the message Nobel Prize-winning Chilean poet Gabriela Mistral powerfully delivered: "We are guilty of many errors and many faults, but our worst crime is abandoning the children, neglecting the fountain of life. Many of the things we need can wait. The child cannot. Right now is the time his bones are being formed, his blood is being made, and his senses are being developed."A federal lawsuit litigating the rights of Texas children in foster care is now in its seventh year. In a December 2015 order, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack determined that the Texas foster care system denies children in long-term foster care their constitutional right to be free from unreasonable risk of harm. Teens and young adults testified at trial to devastating physical and emotional injuries and repeated sexual assaults. The record includes evidence of barriers to reporting abuse, failures to investigate allegations of abuse, inadequate numbers of appropriate placement options, unreasonable caseloads of caseworkers, insufficient regular contacts with children, and the lack of current, accurate documentation accessible to key stakeholders.  Continue reading...