DALLAS (AP) – A federal judge has declared the Texas foster care system unconstitutionally flawed and ordered an independent overhaul.
But Texas is fighting the ruling, even as two court-appointed administrators face a September deadline to present a plan to reform the system that houses 30,000 children.
U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack said in December that the system has been broken for decades, especially for permanent wards of the state who often “leave state custody more damaged than when they entered.”
Among the cases is S.A., a girl who entered the system at 5, reported being raped by an older child and was then moved more than 45 times, including to psychiatric hospitals. She missed chances for adoption because of paperwork delays and at 18 walked into traffic and was hit by a car. She has been living in a homeless shelter.
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