HOUSTON — State officials testified Tuesday how more than $320 million has been spent on court-ordered improvements to the Texas foster care system since 2019 as proof the need for oversight was no longer needed and a 15-year-old federal lawsuit should end.
“I think the remedial orders gave important direction,” said Audrey O’Neill, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, referring to the 2018 injunction that spelled out the areas where DFPS and its sister agency, the Texas Health and Human Services Commission which regulates foster care facilities, should drastically overhaul. ”I believe these reforms are substantial and permanent.”
