Texas foster care

Lawyers for the State of Texas on Monday tried to convince a U.S. appeals court that it should not be fined for failures in investigations of abuse and neglect of intellectually disabled children. The three-judge panel appeared to not need much convincing.

After 13 years, the state said Judge Janis Jack should be removed from overseeing its foster care system because she isn't 'impartial.'

Four court filings, hundreds of pages and thousands of serious incidents illustrated how ill prepared the state is when directly caring for youth — a job their workers were never meant to do.

More than 800 youth this year have spent time in unlicensed placements throughout Texas.

Lawyers for the state’s foster care system tried to fend off contempt complaints stemming from alleged failures to observe several court orders from federal court monitors and plaintiffs in a case that stretches back 12 years.

At least 800 youth this year have spent at least one night in a hotel room, classified as a child without placement. The state now says it will investigate allegations that staff were reaping rewards from the hotels those youth were staying in.

Advocates say better accounting of deaf and hard-of-hearing children in the state’s care and better access to translators is needed.

Expectations of a newly fired-up state defense were largely muted in Tuesday's foster care hearing.

After several years of collaborative state agencies, a federal judge said recent filings and objections signal a more defiant stance in foster care litigation.

Judge Janis Jack took the state to task about the use of drugs and documented instances of errors. The state said it was concerned but disputed whether court has jurisdiction.