How the Army's Flub Let a Felon Become a Foster Parent in Texas

On paper, Gregory McQueen must have seemed like a great candidate to become a foster-care parent in Texas.A married man and Army veteran, McQueen had served as battalion representative on a task force to prevent sexual harassment at Fort Hood in central Texas.But some important information didn’t show up in a state background check before a foster-care agency hired McQueen and his wife last March to care for abused and neglected childrenTwo years ago, former Army 1st Sgt. McQueen pleaded guilty to more than a dozen military charges for attempting to run a prostitution ring in Fort Hood. As part of the plea deal he was demoted to private, sentenced to 24 months in prison, was stripped of his retirement pay and received a dishonorable discharge.That record should have kept him out of the foster-care program, the state says.   Continue reading...