Texas has on average 30,000 children in foster care at any given time. These vulnerable children are at the center of continued controversy between the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and U.S. District Judge Janis Jack.
Judge Janis Jack
Judge Jack ruled two years ago and again last week that the foster care system is broken. This past session, the Legislature rallied to come up with numerous child welfare bills and passed major reforms that include changes to the structure of the agency, and new regulations on the direct care of children. A critical piece being a rollout of foster care redesign that ensures community-based care is front and center in the care of at-risk children. Citing the recent legislative changes and frustration with federal interference, Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an appeal and received a temporary, administrative stay has been provided to the system.
Attorney General Ken Paxton
Many of our foster kids end up in human trafficking situations. Texas is responsible for the nation’s second highest number ofcalls to the National Human Trafficking Hotline and research shows that at any given time there are more than 300,000 victims of human trafficking in the state. In response to these horrific numbers, the Attorney General’s office released a new training video, “Be the One in the Fight Against Human Trafficking.” This video shares compelling and emotional stories by survivors, law enforcement,and good Samaritans.
The training video is available for anyone to watch and share at http://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/humantrafficking.
by Lucinda Dean Saxon
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