Recent News
MOST RECENT 2015 NEWS ITEM
12/17/15
Federal Court Finds that Texas Violates Foster Children's Constitutional Right to Be Free from Unreasonable Harm Caused by the State
On December 17, 2015, the U.S. Disctrict Court for the Southern District of Texas, Corpus Christi Division, issued its opinion in the class action brought against various State officials on behalf of Texas children in foster care. Hon. Janis Graham Jack found that Texas violates foster children's Fourteenth Amendment substantive due process right to be free from unreasonable risk of harm caused by the State. Judge Jack will appoint a Special Master to oversee implementation of a lengthy list of specific goals. Judge Jack concluded that "Texas's foster care system is broken ... it is broken for Texas's PMC foster children, who almost uniformly leave State custody more damaged than when they enter.... Texas's foster children have been shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm." She also took time to note that Hon. John "Specia and his staff have the best intentions to run an effective foster care system." To view the full opinion, please click here.
Other News Items by Year
The Wall Street Journal reported on November 1, 2015, that the most recent budget deal between Congress and the Obama administration takes $1.5 billion from the Crime Victims Fund and transfers it to the general treasury. The fund receives fines imposed on criminals to pay for victim services. By the end of the 2014 budget year the fund stood at $12 billion, according to the Journal, and in 2015 it will receive another $5 billion. Victim advocates are concerned the move will set a precedent for taking money from the fund. Last year about $2.4 billion went in the form of grants to local victim services groups.
In May 2015 Children's Defense Fund president Marian Wright Edelman devoted her "Child Watch" column to the overuse of drugs prescribed to foster children. Specifically, Edelman decried the use of psychotropic drugs that are not appropriate for use in children. She pointed out that drugs are often used in place of psychotherapy because of lack of resources. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children, Youth, and Families has asked Congress for $250 million in the upcoming budget to create an infrastructure that would increase screening, assessment, and interventions instead of relying on prescription drugs.
On March 25, 2015, the Office of Inspector General of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released a report entitled "Second-Generation Antipsychotic Drug Use Among Medicaid-Enrolled Children: Quality-of-Care Concerns." The report follows an evaluation of medical records of children in California, Florida, Illinois, New York, and Texas in which 687 Medicaid claims were made for second-generation antipsychotics (SGAs). SGAs treat psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and psychotic depression. The evaluation examined quality of care, given that little research has looked at the safety of prescribing these drugs for children. The evaluation found that only eight percent of SGAs were prescribed in conformance with medically accepted pediatric indications. HHS recommended that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services review, with state Medicaid programs, the use of SGAs for children; that CMS and states periodically review medical records of children prescribed SGAs; and, that CMS and states consider how to implement oversight of SGAs prescribed to children. To view the report, click here.
The Texas Supreme Court's Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families is offering a free, hands-on Trial Skills Training for less experienced attorneys handling Child Protective Services cases in Texas. A fictional CPS case and live witnesses are partnered with top-notch instructors to coach attendees through all stages of trial. The course is being conducted in Austin on November 4-6, 2015. Space is limited to 21 attorneys who represent children, parents, or DFPS on the CPS docket. The Children's Commission will contact each applicant's appointing judge to confirm suitability for the training. The deadline to apply is Monday, September 14. For more information and to submit an application,
click here.
The Texas Supreme Court Commission for Children, Youth and Families has graciously shared their legislative update with TLC. The Commission has also provided highlights of some of the more significant changes to the Texas Family Code. To view the highlights,
click here. To view the update,
click here.
Charles Childress, guest commentator for Sampson and Tindall's Family Code, has once again provided TLC with his legislative update tracking changes to the Texas Family Code. To review this legislative update,
click here
The Texas Supreme Court's Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families is generously providing scholarships to a limited number of Texas attorneys in connection with 4 important conferences this summer. Applicants must either be currently representing DFPS or taking court appointments on the CPS docket. Two scholarships are for the two conferences sponsored by the ABA Center on Children and the Law in Washington, D.C. in July. The ABA Conference for Parents' Attorneys is entitled "Achieving Justice Against the Odds" and will be held from July 22-23, 2015. The ABA Conference for Children's Attorneys is entitled "Advancing Access to Justice for Children and Families" and will be held from July 24-25, 2015. Each scholarship is a reimbursement for approved expenses up to $1,200. The deadline to apply for either of these scholarships is Friday, May 22, 2015. Another scholarship is for the registration fee for the one-day Child Abuse and Neglect Track at the State Bar's Advanced Family Law Conference. This live one-day track is sponsored by the State Bar Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect and will be held on Wednesday, August 5, 2015, in San Antonio, with video replays in Dallas on October 2, 2015, and in South Padre Island on October 16, 2015. The deadline to apply for this scholarship has been extended to Monday, June 22, 2015. The final scholarship is for the 38th National Child Welfare, Juvenile, and Family Law Conference to be held in Monterey, California, from August 25-27, 2015. This scholarship is for the conference registration fee and is only available to those who have received their NACC Child Welfare Law Specializatioin. The deadline to apply for this scholarship is Monday, June 15, 2015. For further details about each conference and scholarship, and to access the application form for each scholarship, please
click here.
On April 2, 2015, Governor Abbott signed Committee Substitute Senate Bill 219, which is effective immediately. The bill seeks to clarify and update the health and human services statutes and changes several provisions of the Texas Family Code. Charles Childress has written a paper compiling all the sections of the Family Code which are affected by C.S.S.B 219. Mr. Childress is the former Clinical Director of the Children's Rights Clinic at UT Law School and has served as a guest commentator for Sampson & Tindall's Texas Family Code. He also serves as TLC's pro bono Consulting Attorney. TLC thanks Mr. Childress for the many ways he has shared his extensive knowledge with judges and attorneys across Texas! To view the paper,
click here.
The House Committee on Juvenile Justice and Family Issues is scheduled to conduct hearings on HB 524 and HB 853 (and several other bills) on April 22. HB 524 is similar to SB 414 (which was heard by the Senate State Affairs Committee on April 20) and creates the circumstance where error in consolidating a parental termination suit with a grandparent suit could make the judgment void and could compromise the judgment so that the parental termination would be subject to challenge at any time. To learn more, please see the comments on page 13 of the updated legislative summary posted in TLC's Recent News section on April 20. HB 853 adds Chapter 57A to the Code of Criminal Procedure to require use of a pseudonym for a child victim and makes disclosure of the child's name a criminal offense (Class C misdemeanor) except in limited circumstances. This could affect child protection efforts since it will not be possible to determine from public law enforcement records if a child in a particular case was a prior victim of a perpetrator. To learn more, please see the comments on pages 24-25 of the updated legislative summary posted in TLC's Recent News section on April 20. The House Education Committee is scheduled to conduct hearings on HB 2790 and HB 3748 (and several other bills) on April 22. HB 2790 creates measures to ensure that certain adopted students are informed of their eligibility for tuition and fee exemptions at certain institutions of higher education. HB 3748 relates to coordination of education support services for and information regarding students who are currently or were formerly placed in foster care and includes helping transition students in substitute care who move from one school to another and designates a "liaison officer" to help students who were formerly in foster care.
To view the hearing notice for HB 524, click here, for HB 853, click here, for HB 2790, click here, and for HB 3748, click here.
To watch the live broadcasts of the House Committee hearings, click here.
Sandra Hachem, Senior Assistant County Attorney for Harris County, has prepared an updated legislative summary of pending legislation as of April 20, 2015, relating to child protection. The summary of each bill include comments regarding possible consequences and other issues of note. Ms. Hachem's latest summary also includes legislative action taken through April 17, 2015. TLC thanks Ms. Hachem for allowing us to share these summaries with the judges and attorneys who use TLC's Online Center. Please note that the comments do not reflect the official position of the Harris County Attorney or of TLC. To view the updated summary,
click here.
The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing on HB 1014 (and several other bills) on April 20 beginning at 2:00 pm or after adjournment. HB 1014 permits expunction of certain crimes that could impact investigations by DFPS. To learn more, please see the comments on pages 29-30 of the updated legislative summary posted in TLC's Recent News section on April 20. Also on April 20, the Senate State Affairs Committee is scheduled to conduct a hearing on SB 414 (and several other bills) beginning at noon. SB 414 creates the circumstance where error in consolidating a parental termination suit with a grandparent suit could make the judgment void and could compromise the judgment so that the parental termination would be subject to challenge at any time. To learn more, please see the comments on pages 98-99 of the updated legislative summary posted in TLC's Recent News section on April 20.
To view the hearing notice for HB 1014, click here.
To watch the live broadcast of the hearing on HB 1014, click here.
To view the hearing notice for SB 414, click here.
To watch the live broadcast of the hearing on SB 414, click here.
Sandra Hachem, Senior Assistant County Attorney for Harris County, prepares summaries of pending legislation relating to child protection. These summaries include comments regarding possible consequences and other issues of note. Ms. Hachem's latest summary also includes legislative action taken as of March 31, 2015. TLC thanks Ms. Hachem for allowing us to share these summaries with the judges and attorneys who use TLC's Online Center. Please note that the comments do not reflect the official position of the Harris County Attorney or of TLC. To view the summaries of key bills affecting child protection,
click here.
The State Bar's Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect is seeking nominations for its annual Fairy Davenport Rutland Award for Distinguished Service to Children and Families. The award is named after Ms. Rutland in recognition of her exceptional leadership as a founding member and chair of the Committee for over 20 years and her continuing dedication and many ongoing contributions to the field of child welfare. The award honors an attorney who has made a substantial contribution to the field of advocacy for abused and neglected children. The deadline for nominations is April 14, 2015. To view the nomination form,
click here
The Texas Supreme Court's Permanent Judicial Commission for Children, Youth and Families is offering a free, hands-on Trial Skills Training for less experienced attorneys handling Child Protective Services cases in Texas. A fictional CPS case and live witnesses are partnered with top-notch instructors to coach attendees through all stages of trial. The course is being conducted in Austin on April 15-17, 2015. Space is limited to 21 attorneys who represent children, parents, or DFPS on the CPS docket. The Children's Commission will contact each applicant's appointing judge to confirm eligibility for the training. The deadline to apply is 8:00 am, Tuesday, March 10. For more information and to submit an application, click here.