In the aftermath of last year’s voter endorsement of a parental rights amendment to the Texas Constitution, recent judicial decisions have heightened scrutiny of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) regarding the permanent removal of children from abusive families.
Two significant rulings from the Texas Supreme Court last month challenged the agency’s recommendations to strip parents of their rights entirely, allowing for the possibility of adoption for the children involved.
A third case in June, which could reshape future determinations of child abuse and neglect, saw an Austin judge conclude that DFPS infringed upon the constitutional rights of Temecia and Rodney Jackson. Their newborn daughter had been temporarily removed from their custody in 2023 due to a disagreement with a pediatrician regarding her jaundice treatment.
The judge ruled that the agency violated the Jacksons’ due process rights by failing to provide them with an avenue to contest its conclusion that it could not ascertain whether they had mistreated their child.
“Our objective is to ensure that the Constitution’s requirements are met. The Constitution mandates due process,” remarked Sophia Howard, a law fellow with the Texas ACLU who was instrumental in the Jacksons’ case.
While it is difficult to quantify the impact of recent decisions on families entangled in DFPS investigations, Texas courts are signaling that mere concerns regarding child abuse will no longer suffice for the state to justify the permanent removal of a child from their home.
This shift within the judiciary reflects a broader movement in Texas aimed at reforming the child welfare system. The state has been undertaking a comprehensive, bipartisan effort for decades to reshape the agency’s mission, responding to court mandates following a lengthy lawsuit concerning the foster care system, as well as a more assertive post-pandemic parent population that has grown increasingly vocal about state intervention.
Andrew Brown, vice president of policy for the Texas Public Policy Foundation, a conservative organization advocating for reform in the child welfare sector, noted that parents are now more inclined to assert their rights.
“I believe the COVID-19 pandemic played a role in this, as it provided families with a clear perspective on their circumstances,” Brown explained.
The pandemic has intensified a long-standing trend of parents resisting what they perceive as governmental overreach, contributing to the impetus for states like Texas to reevaluate their child welfare frameworks, according to Brown and others.
As part of this overhaul, Texas has been transferring nearly all responsibilities for foster care to private entities.
“There are multiple factors converging to create this moment,” stated Josh Gupta-Kagan, director of the family defense clinic at Columbia Law School.
The ongoing reforms in child welfare bring with them pressing concerns. Discussions surrounding the legal protections for parents during child abuse inquiries date back decades, particularly after studies revealed that Black children were disproportionately targeted in state investigations.
Some estimates suggest that over half of all Black children in the U.S. will have been subjected to a child welfare investigation by their 18th birthday, with many of those cases stemming from poverty mischaracterized as neglect rather than abuse.
“Historically, there have been abuses in the exercise of removal powers. Individuals who were not impoverished misinterpreted poverty as neglect,” said Vicki Spriggs, CEO of Texas CASA, a nonprofit that often advocates for children in Child Protective Services cases. “There were significant misuses of removal authority.”
The conversation surrounding parental rights is gaining momentum as the state’s child welfare agency enters a transformative period.
This year, DFPS is due for its Sunset review—a routine performance evaluation that is expected to provide a thorough analysis of the agency’s transition to private management of foster care.
Currently, over half of the state’s foster care management is in the hands of private organizations, though this transition has not been without its challenges.
Recently, DFPS abruptly terminated its $137.6 million contract with EMPOWER, which had been managing foster care placements and services in Dallas and surrounding counties. This decision came after a tumultuous two-year period that included at least two child fatalities while under the agency’s care.
DFPS had previously placed EMPOWER under state supervision in March, a measure intended to last until next month. However, the agency canceled the contract and reassigned the region’s foster care management to two other providers. Additionally, DFPS has requested a court to seal a report detailing EMPOWER’s progress since the supervision began.
Concurrently, the agency is negotiating a settlement for a class-action lawsuit filed in 2011 by children’s attorneys who cited hazardous conditions within the foster care system, a legal battle that has cost the state over $200 million in federal court monitoring and mandated reforms.
Spriggs expressed concerns that the extensive regulatory changes at DFPS, coinciding with unprecedented federal budget cuts to public health and stricter eligibility for food assistance and Medicaid, could exacerbate risks for children as economically disadvantaged families face increasing financial burdens.
“As people lose jobs, the factors that help mitigate family tensions are rising just as the threshold for child abuse removals is being elevated,” she noted.
Texas has navigated a long and complicated path toward reform, marked by urgent responses to a series of child fatalities that occurred despite state intervention. In 2004, for instance, a 9-year-old boy in Arlington was found starved, having been the subject of six CPS visits. That same year, a woman killed her 10-month-old in Plano mere months after a CPS visit. Subsequent high-profile deaths involved children already identified as at risk by the state.
These tragedies prompted then-Governor Rick Perry and Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst to call for investigations into the agency. In 2005, the state acknowledged it required 800 additional workers and over $300 million to enhance the child protection system.
In response, Texas lawmakers allocated funds to improve training, salaries, recruitment, and technology for CPS staff.
By 2017, bipartisan frustration among lawmakers over more than a decade of failed attempts to reform a beleaguered CPS system led to a shift away from a punitive foster care approach, favoring instead the enhancement of parental rights during investigations.
The ongoing federal lawsuit regarding troubling foster care conditions, which persisted despite federal oversight, compelled the state to enlist private legal assistance to resolve the matter.
“It became apparent that the system was excessively expansive, capturing families that didn’t require intervention, and those that could have been supported by community resources,” Brown remarked.
In 2017, House Bill 7 was enacted to streamline removal procedures, reducing the likelihood of children being taken from homes due solely to economic hardship rather than actual threats. House Bill 11 initiated the transfer of care and placement responsibilities for foster children to private nonprofit organizations.
The 2021 legislative session yielded two landmark bills that positioned Texas at the forefront of child welfare reform. One law strengthened the rights of parents in child abuse medical investigations, precluding the removal of children based solely on the opinion of a DFPS-contracted expert. Additionally, the Legislature narrowed the definition of neglect necessitating state intervention from “substantial risk” to “immediate harm.”
Consequently, the number of child removals in Texas has seen a sharp decline, dropping from 19,070 in 2016 to 10,011 in 2025—a 47% reduction.
“I believe the system often overreaches, intervening in families in harmful and unnecessary ways,” Gupta-Kagan stated. “It appears the system is overstretched and distracted by too many trivial cases.”
In 2023, Texas lawmakers adopted another significant reform by expanding parental due process rights. Parents under investigation for child abuse are now entitled to a written notice, akin to a Miranda warning, informing them of their right to have legal representation during CPS interviews and their right to refuse participation.
“Texas has taken a multifaceted approach to reevaluating our system,” Brown explained. “We examined both the structural inefficiencies of the bureaucracy and the decision-making processes that directly affect children and families.”
As Texas lawmakers prepare to reconvene in Austin this January, discussions surrounding the treatment of parents and families within the foster care system are expected to intensify, particularly regarding necessary adjustments to the newly contracted system.
Both Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick and House Speaker Dustin Burrows have identified the child welfare system, especially the investigation of parents, as a focal point for the upcoming legislative session.
Brown anticipates further reforms aimed at supporting parents, citing Florida’s establishment of a dedicated complaint office for parents facing state abuse investigations as a model he hopes Texas will emulate.
However, he also emphasizes the importance of reviewing the results of the Sunset evaluation of DFPS before advancing more ambitious proposals.
“We have accomplished much,” Brown concluded. “Let’s observe the Sunset process unfold and then make informed decisions about our next steps.”
