A Positive Step into Reforming the Foster Care System

I read an article in the Austin American Statesman today regarding recommendations on how to better the foster care system in Texas. As many of you know, the foster care system is broken. There are too many children and not enough quality homes to provide effective care. CPS workers are overworked and do not visit the children in these homes as often as needed.

The special masters' proposal gives recommendations on how to fix the foster care system. Some of the recommendations include having quality and monthly face-to-face visits between children in foster care and their caseworker, better accessibility for foster children to report abuse, better investigations of foster homes, better support services for children in the foster care system before they leave the system, and more. Other recommendations mentioned included eliminating foster care group homes, decreasing the CPS caseworker's workload, and making plans to decrease the turnover rate of CPS caseworkers.

This all began last December when it was declared unconstitutional, by U.S. District Judge Janis G. Jack, that children are better off before they enter the foster care system. In other words, children who entered the foster care system were worse off than they were before they entered the system. These children were being harmed by a system that was meant to give them a better life. Judge Jack ordered the Texas Department of Protective Services to come up with a way to repair the foster system, and make immediate changes.

It is sad to know that it has taken this long to find a way to repair our broken foster care system. How many children have been harmed by a system that was meant to help them grow and heal? I am glad that there is finally something being done to help these children get a better quality of care after having to deal with traumatic instances that have brought them there in the first place.

 If you want more information regarding this article, the article's name is Report urges foster care overhaul by the Austin American Statesman.