Texas Asks Judge to End Foster Care Oversight While Admitting 7 Court Orders Unmet

Houston, Texas — Texas asked a federal judge this week to end court oversight of its foster care system, even though the state’s own filings acknowledge it has not met seven court orders covering abuse investigation time frames, caseloads and face-to-face interviews with alleged victims.

The hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane began Tuesday in Houston. It is the first open hearing in the 2011 class action since Judge Janis Graham Jack was removed from the case in 2024 over bias allegations, according to the Austin American-Statesman. The suit was filed on behalf of children in long-term foster care, a group the Texas Tribune puts at about 6,800.

What the state is asking for

State attorneys, led by Allyson Ho, argue that Texas has reached “substantial” compliance with a 2018 injunction and that about seven years of monitoring should end. Their motions describe the court’s role as “micromanagement” and say it is time to return the foster care system to Texas.

Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Audrey O’Neill and Health and Human Services Commission Commissioner Stephanie Muth testified for the state. The Tribune reported that the state told the court it has spent more than $320 million on court-ordered changes since 2019, including about $66 million paid to the federal monitors.

What the state admits it has not done

According to the Statesman, the state’s unsealed motions list seven orders it has not met. The figures cited include 79% for Priority One abuse investigations started within 24 hours, 85% for Priority Two investigations started within 72 hours, 79% for face-to-face contact in Priority One cases and 83% for caseworkers giving children a point of contact for reporting abuse and neglect.

The court monitors have also raised “significant concerns” about children being placed in homes with histories of abuse, neglect or exploitation, the Tribune reported. Monitors flagged that the Health and Human Services Commission lets homes stay open when a child-placing agency disagrees with closing them, and that some homes reopened under new agencies after the commission recommended closure.

Privatization and the EMPOWER firing

About 61% of Texas foster children are now in the care of private contractors, according to the Tribune. Under questioning from plaintiffs’ lead attorney Paul Yetter, O’Neill acknowledged the privatization effort has had problems. “There have been challenges,” she said.

In July the state fired EMPOWER, its largest private foster care contractor, which managed cases in Dallas and seven other counties, after two children died in its care. The Statesman reported that the state said the nonprofit was putting children in “imminent danger” and that the contract ends in January. The state argues the firing shows its system is working.

The legal fight

Texas is relying on a ruling by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals that eliminated core remedial orders, overturned contempt sanctions tied to failures in investigating abuse in homes serving foster youth with disabilities, and removed Jack from the case. The state lost a two-week trial in 2015, after which the court found children were leaving state care in worse shape than when they entered, the Statesman reported.

Attorneys for the children argue the state is applying the wrong legal standard and has not reached full compliance. They plan to call regional child welfare directors and two experts from the 2023 contempt hearing, Viola Miller and Christi Carrington. Miller has previously criticized the state’s use of unlicensed hotels and rental homes to house foster children.

Fixing this broken Texas system takes time.

Paul Yetter, lead attorney for the plaintiff children, statement to the Texas Tribune

What’s next

The hearing is expected to run through much of the week, the Tribune reported. Crane will then decide whether to release Texas from monitoring or set a modified timeline. The Department of Family and Protective Services declined to comment to the Statesman.

A state that admits it is still missing deadlines to begin abuse investigations and to see alleged victims face to face is asking to be trusted without outside eyes. When an agency answers only to itself, homes with abuse histories can stay open and the public learns about deaths after the fact. Court monitoring has been one of the few tools forcing the state to put its record in public. Read more about foster care system problems and how families can push for accountability.

Key facts

• A hearing on ending federal oversight of Texas foster care began Oct. 20, 2026, in Houston before Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane.
• The class action was filed in 2011; the state lost a two-week trial in 2015.
• Texas filings list seven court orders the state has not met, including abuse investigation start times and face-to-face contact with alleged victims.
• Monitors raised “significant concerns” about placing children in homes with histories of abuse, neglect or exploitation.
• About 61% of Texas foster children are in private contractors’ care; the state fired its largest contractor, EMPOWER, in July after two children died in its care.
• Crane will decide whether to end monitoring or set a modified timeline.

Sources

• The Texas Tribune — More than $350M in foster care reforms, oversight, enough to end court monitoring, state tells court (2026-10-20)
• The Texas Tribune (via KPRC) — Federal judge to weigh Texas bid to dismiss 15-year-old suit seeking foster care system reform (2026-10-20)
• Austin American-Statesman — Texas admits it hasn’t met foster care court orders, but wants federal oversight to end anyway (2026-10-20)

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