The state of Texas is leaving kids in dangerous homes, and they’re dying.
Over the past six years, we found that 1,200 Texas children have succumbed to abuse and neglect by adults charged with their care. About 50% of those cases were children whose families had been reported previously to the state’s Department of Family and Protective Services for abuse and neglect allegations.
Through a database we created, we found more than 250 cases where allegations against family members had been made within six months of the child’s death.
Meanwhile, the number of cases where the state found abuse or neglect and closed the case without further attention skyrocketed to at times over 70%.
The failures go back years and have been compounded by failures in addressing systemic issues in the state's Child Protective Investigations unit. Texas legislative and administrative reforms have also made it more difficult to remove children from dangerous homes.
