Texas CPS News Archive

Man charged with murdering 4-year-old was under investigation by CPS

by Jordan Armstrong

DALLAS -- A father who was under investigation by Child Protective Services for family violence has now been charged with killing his common-law wife's 4-year-old son.

According to his arrest warrant, child abuse unit detectives were called to Medical City Dallas Hospital after the child was found unresponsive and brought into the hospital. He died about an hour after he arrived. Detectives at the hospital interviewed the boy's mother, Rosa Angon-Diaz, and Gordy, who was the only adult at home watching Darwin and his siblings when the incident occurred.

wfaa.com

July 26, 2017

From hardship to hard time: Female prison rate rises in US

by Mary Hudetz

The women in the old two-story house fell silent as a mother in the group recalled the toughest chapters of a life measured in prison terms and heartache.

Susan Hylton counts more than two dozen convictions on her record, most of them drug related. Her first run-ins with police began when she was 13. A runaway, she preferred life and hard drugs on the streets, she said, to sexual abuse she faced at home in El Paso, Texas. But her escape route led to more trauma: nearly a year in a sex trafficking ring as a minor.

therepublic.com

July 7, 2017

Trial date set for former CPS worker involved in Klapheke case

by Brooke Crum

While a trial date was set Wednesday for one former Child Protective Services worker involved in the 2012 Tiffany Klapheke child death case, new evidence has postponed the trial of former regional director Martha "Bit" Whitaker.

Gretchen Denny, who is accused of tampering with physical evidence in the 2012 death of 22-month-old Tamryn Klapheke, has a pretrial hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Nov. 2 in 350th District Court. Jury selection is expected to begin Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Whitaker will have another status hearing at 1 p.m. Aug. 17.

reporternews.com

May 22, 2017

Texas House votes to largely prohibit mandatory vaccines for children put in temporary Child Protective Services care

by Emily Donaldson

In what was expected to be a discussion of a largely bipartisan-supported bill that proposes improvements for the state's Child Protective Services agency, the merits of vaccines were hotly debated Wednesday afternoon.

One of the solutions proposed in the bill, authored by state Rep. Gene Wu, D-Houston, would require the Department of Family and Protective Services to administer a medical and mental examination for children in CPS custody for more than three days. These children would have likely been taken out of the custody of parents for safety concerns. The guidelines for these examinations would be set by the Health and Human Services Commission and medical practitioners, should the bill be passed.

communityimpact.com

May 22, 2017

Democratic lawmaker says Texas CPS workloads make 'a travesty' of child protection

A Democratic-sponsored bill that would set goals for reducing Texas child welfare workers' caseloads is laudable but needs more careful consideration, two key Republican writers of House social services policy said Monday.

Houston Democratic Rep. Armando Walle's measure would double-down on state GOP leaders' recent approval of 829 new positions at beleaguered Child Protective Services. The bill would encourage CPS to hire 893 more employees over the next two years and create an additional 825 slots at sister agencies such as Adult Protective Services, Child Care Licensing and the unit that operates the protective services department's hotline for reporting abuse, the Legislative Budget Board has estimated.

dallasnews.com

March 11, 2017

State Could Give Child Protective Services $88 Million to Keep Kids Safe

by Rhonda Fanning

Two Texas child welfare masters appointed by a federal judge will soon file a proposal that will cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars to help overhaul the child protection system.

Mike Ward has been covering the story for the Houston Chronicle. He says Jack gave the appointees a list of issues to look at in the system, most of which involve keeping kids safe while in state custody. State lawmakers are close to approving emergency funds nearing $88 million to hire additional caseworkers, investigators, and other front-line personnel so that the state can keep up with its intake of children.

kut.org

November 6, 2016

Foster moms being squeezed by CPS are still fighting for their boys

by Lisa Falkenberg

Tell me if this isn't the definition of motherhood: two foster parents so dedicated to giving two troubled little boys a chance that they're paying for intensive psychological therapy on their own dime.

Tell me if this isn't the definition of abuse: a supervisor at that agency, created to protect children, forcing the 4- and 5-year-old boys to visit relatives they're afraid of, ordering them to attend an adoption fair, and, in the latest senseless blow, severing the foster mothers' right to consent to the boys' medical treatment.

houstonchronicle.com

November 5, 2016

DFPS commissioner lays out plan to overhaul CPS

by Tegna

After KVUE reported that the commissioner for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services asked for more money to hire hundreds of additional case workers.

The plan laid out in a letter signed by DFPS Commissioner Hank Whitman is a part of his intent to overhaul Child Protective Services. In October, CPS workers didn't see 2,844 children in Texas. Over 500 of those children were at the highest risk of abuse or neglect. Whitman is asking senators for 200 more CPS case workers and 100 special investigators to "assist with the investigations and locate children and their families timely." In addition, he's requesting 250 other case worker positions.

kvue.com

October 28, 2016

Fort Worth couple jailed, accused of coaching children to have sex

by Deanna Boyd

FORT WORTH -- This report contains sexually graphic descriptions. A former military couple is in jail, accused of sexually assaulting two children over several years in an effort to teach the kids about sex.

Both the husband and wife are accused of "watching, coaching and instructing" the children on how to perform and participate in sex acts with the adults, according to arrest warrant affidavits.

star-telegram.com

September 9, 2016

The CDC Wants YOU! (To Be Vaccinated.)

by October 14

Remember Texas Senate Bill 538? It was one of 17 bills proposed last session to remove your freedom of medical choice. SB 538 was quite a doozy, though - a bona fide wolf in sheep's clothing.

You see, SB 538 gave the Governor ultimate authority to declare an epidemic of any infectious disease of his or her choosing. The police could then identify risk groups to quarantine, and those identified would be detained in a facility until the situation was deemed safe. If children were isolated as part of the risk group, they could be forcibly taken from their parents, and the State would be assigned as guardian, with full parental rights.

texansforvaccinechoice.com

September 7, 2016

Parents sought of 2-year-old found alone on Stafford street

by Benjamin Wermund

Child Protective Services is looking for the parents of a 2-year-old boy found wandering alone in Stafford Sunday morning.

The toddler was found walking on the U.S. 59 feeder road near Gringo's Mexican Kitchen around 8:30 a.m. Sunday.

chron.com

August 7, 2016

CPS reform must start with boosting pay

A retired chief of the Texas Rangers, Whitman's law enforcement background is an intriguing match with an agency that primarily provides social work. Why focus on pay first?

Doing this right will cost hundreds of millions of dollars. But not doing it right has costs, too. If lawmakers go cheap on agency pay raises, they will be throwing good money away because there won't be enough incentive for workers to stay. It's worth noting that it costs taxpayers $54,000 each time a caseworker leaves the agency, according to recent a review of the agency.

mysanantonio.com

June 19, 2016

Texas Incarcerates Immigrant Children In Private Prisons They Call 'Day Care Centers'

by Mnar Muhawesh

On May 4, a judge in the 250th District Court granted a temporary restraining order preventing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services from issuing a childcare license to the South Texas Family Residential Center in Dilley, Texas.

These families are fleeing South American countries where they face inhumane conditions at the hands of corrupt governments, organized crime and economic hardships, much of which had been fueled by trade deals like NAFTA.

mintpressnews.com

May 7, 2016

Coalition Asks Texas Governor to Veto 'Take Away Your Child Act'

by Annette M. Hall

Parents and children throughout Texas are in greater danger than ever, thanks to a recently passed child-protection measure by Democratic Sen. Kirk Watson - Senate Bill 1440 - that expands the powers of the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to make it easier to remove children from their homes and families for investigation of alleged child abuse or neglect.

Kidjacked

September 9, 2023

Black Mom Jailed for Protecting Child

by Annette M. Hall

Black mom in jail protecting child from sexual abuse of rich white husband.

Kidjacked

September 8, 2023

Family Support Connections | Get Involved

by Annette M. Hall

You can fight CPS and win. Learn from those who have been in your shoes. Attend live support group meetings, rally's, workshops and join in online discussions. There is strength in numbers.

Kidjacked

December 3, 2020

Jacked Up: Attorney Needed in Conroe

by Annette Hall

We need an attorney in Conroe, TX who is not afraid to fight CPS. The nightmare has been building daily to the extent that it is destroying the entire family, extended family and the children – all from false allegations that were already discredited in court, yet CPS is not held accountable.

Kidjacked

May 15, 2010

Jacked Up: Wrong on many levels!

by Annette Hall

Our family lives in Texas. My brother and his wife moved back to Texas in February 2007. They had a one-year-old son and another child on the way. The mom has a mental illness (bipolar with schizophrenic tendencies) and had a breakdown in March of 2007 and went into hiding.

Kidjacked

May 15, 2010

Jacked Up: Court Order Disregarded

by Annette Hall

I am the mother of 4 boys, who were ordered by a Texas court ruling to live with me. At the time of pick up, in Kentucky, I was served with an emergency temporary restraining order, (the emergency being I was going to get the boys).

Kidjacked

May 15, 2010

Jacked Up: Dateline: Faked Death

by Annette Hall

The Sunday night airing of Dateline told the bizarre story of the Texas couple, Clayton and Molly Daniels, who dug up a corpse and faked Mr. Daniels death in order to avoid the consequences of a being labeled a sexual predator.

Kidjacked

May 15, 2010