DALLAS (CBSDFW.COM) – In a federal court hearing in Dallas, U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack ordered a criminal investigation into allegations of sex trafficking at a DFPS-contracted facility in Bastrop, Texas after abuse claims surfaced in January.
There were several tense moments in the court, including an expletive-ridden outburst by one of the attendees on Zoom.
In a letter to Department of Family Protective Services written earlier this year, an employee alleged that some of the children at The Refuge in Bastrop had been sex trafficked by employees.
Shortly afterwards, a court hearing found that at least seven children were not supervised and had been sexually and physically abused while at The Refuge. Employees of the facility allegedly took nude photos of underage girls at the facility and sold them on social media. Some of the money is claimed to have been used to purchase drugs, which were then provided to the minors.
The court also found that the children were not removed for weeks after the allegations first came to light.
Judge Jack also grilled DFPS about its investigation into the matter and threatened to hold the agency in contempt for not sharing information, including interviews with the abused children, with court-appointed monitors.
The hearing also concerned issues regarding the children who are left without placement. These court-appointed monitors are independent experts who were appointed by the court to look into the Texas foster care system following a years-long class action lawsuit by child welfare advocates against the state.
In 2021, The state and the plaintiffs agreed on setting up an expert panel that would provide recommendations meant to resolve issues related to the placement of children. The panel is also looking at the conditions of various DFPS-contracted facilities that are both in-state and out-of-state. The panel issued 23 recommendations in January, which included hiring more staff and addressing deficiencies in the system.
The I-Team reported in November that nearly 300 children spent at least one night in unlicensed facilities, including CPS offices and motel rooms. As of last week, 81 children had not been placed. DFPS testified that there were 125 children placed in Arkansas, Michigan and Tennessee.
from CBS Dallas / Fort Worth https://ift.tt/r4O73xn
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