Gov. Greg Abbott today signed into law probably the most important bill approved by the current session, a series of bills which will bring top to bottom reform to Child Protective Services and update the state's foster care laws, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports.
“The primary goal of government is to keep citizens safe, and that is even more important when it comes to children in our care,” said Governor Abbott. “Children dying while in the care of the state is intolerable, and these new laws are a needed step to ending such tragedies. I thank the Legislature for their bipartisan support of these measures I declared emergency items. I’d also like to extend my thanks to all CPS staff for their tireless dedication to caring for vulnerable children in trying circumstances.”
The measure steps in and takes several steps to speed up foster care placement, increase the likelihood of 'kinship placement,' meaning foster children placed in the home of a relative, vastly increase the number of CPS case workers, and to streamline legal procedures regarding Child Protective Services.
The measure shot to the top of the list when a foster teen who had fallen through the cracks in the system mudered a University of Texas student last year.
After that, reports surfaced of foster children sleeping in offices because the state didn't have the case workers or the resources to properly place them in new homes.
Among the measure approved today is one by Dr. Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) who pushed through a measure updating medical procedures for sexual abuse or chronic medical conditions
."We can see a pathway where Texas can not only be successful in protecting our children, but we see a pathway for Texas to become a national leader," Abbott said.
PHOTO: OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR