Dolly Mixture

Let talk about what’s been happening to children in Texas foster care under Greg Abbott. This has been going on for at least 15 YEARS, mind you. A federal lawsuit was filed in 2011 after years of documented failures in Texas’s foster care system. In 2015, a federal judge found that children were being exposed to an unreasonable risk of harm while in state custody. And the problems haven’t disappeared. Court-appointed monitors have continued documenting children placed in homes with histories of abuse, neglect and exploitation. Some facilities have kept children isolated for days or weeks. There have been serious supervision failures, and children have died while in state care. The state’s own agency reports that children entering foster care increasingly have severe trauma and behavioral and mental health needs. Meanwhile, Texas has handed billions of dollars in foster care contracts to private companies. One of its largest contractors, EMPOWER, was terminated this summer after two children in its care DIED over two years and the state identified serious management failures. And what is Abbott’s administration doing? Oh let’s see… On October 20, Texas went to federal court asking a judge to end the federal oversight that has been monitoring this system for years. The state says it has spent hundreds of millions on reforms and is ready to manage the system itself. But the court-appointed monitors are still raising serious safety concerns. These are children. They are in state custody. The state has a legal responsibility to protect them. Now, Greg Abbott wants the federal court to step aside. While children are STILL being abused. Fifteen years of litigation, billions in spending, repeated warnings and children still being exposed to dangerous conditions. This is what Republicans do when they’re in charge. But wait, it gets more disturbing. 🧵