Foster girls who’d been victims of sex trafficking endured abuse at state shelter

[GMDino]

Ah, Texas.  Always looking out for the children, amiright?

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/10/texas-shelter-sex-trafficking-children/

Quote:The children were sexually abused and neglected while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, according to a report from a current employee.

BY REESE OXNER MARCH 10, 2022UPDATED: 7:30 PM CENTRAL

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The Child Protective Services office at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019. Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
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Employees of a Texas-contracted facility meant to care for female foster children who are victims of sex trafficking were discovered to be trafficking the same children, according to a federal judge.

Seven children, ages 11 to 17, were victimized by nine alleged perpetrators, according to discussions held during an emergency court hearing called by U.S. District Judge Janis Jack on Thursday. The children remained in the facility for over a month after the abuse was first reported before they were removed.

The children were sexually and physically abused and suffered from neglectful supervision and medical neglect while at The Refuge, a facility located in Bastrop contracted by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, a current Refuge employee reported to state authorities on Jan. 24. The court and the court monitors — watchdogs of the foster care system appointed by the judge — were not notified until Thursday.

That employee said a former staff member sold nude photos of two children in the facility’s care, using the proceeds to purchase illegal drugs and alcohol that were then supplied to the children, according to a letter from DFPS filed on Thursday notifying the court about the incident. Local law enforcement and the Texas Department of Public Safety were immediately notified, according to the letter.

“Has the governor seen it?” Jack asked, referring to the letter. No one answered.

Gov. Greg Abbott’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.


The identities of the suspects have not yet been made public.

Rich Richman, DFPS associate commissioner for child protective investigation, told the court the children weren’t immediately removed from the facility because investigators thought the person responsible had been fired.

However, several staff members were found to be allegedly responsible for the abuse of the children, some of whom were not immediately removed. A suspect has been arrested by law enforcement, and DFPS anticipates further arrests will be made.
Between the first report on Jan. 24 and March 4, DFPS received several additional reports about the staff member who was removed from the facility. However, during the investigation, DFPS “discovered several additional staff members still employed at the operation appeared to be involved, and that many of them were related to one another by blood or marriage and/or were cohabiting,” according to the letter. The operation’s residential care director is now believed to have known about the sexual abuse.

DFPS did not remove all of the children until Wednesday, five weeks after the first documented report of sexual abuse. The department sent Child Protective Services staff and off-duty law enforcement to the facility to “ensure the youth’s safety” a day prior. Eight of the nine children who were in The Refuge at the time have been placed with other facilities that specialize in serving victims of commercial sex trafficking, according to the letter. The remaining child refused to be placed in another facility and DFPS is searching for another placement.

“This is just shocking and shameful. Children are being subjected to terrible abuse in state care, and the agencies say nothing,” Paul Yetter, an attorney who represents foster care children in the federal lawsuit, said in a statement Thursday.
“Texas is failing its most basic duty: keep these innocent children safe. And we all know who pays the price. Without the vigilance of the court monitors, and the Judge’s jumping into immediate action, who knows what kind of further abuse would be happening.”

Jack, who is overseeing a decade-old lawsuit against Texas over its foster care system, expressed horror over the discovery during Thursday’s hearing.

The judge blasted DFPS for not immediately removing the children when the allegations of abuse were first reported, calling it yet another failure of the system. Numerous bombshell reports have been released by the court-appointed monitors detailing abuse within the system, neglect and even the deaths of children.

Dozens of facilities contracted by Texas have recently closed down or had their license revoked after racking up numerous offenses and subjecting children to dangerous and damaging environments. Child advocates and the judge have repeatedly criticized Texas officials for failing to ensure facilities are safe for kids in the state’s care. From summer 2019 to May 2021, the court monitors discovered that at least 23 children died in Texas' long-term foster care system in shelters and facilities licensed by the state.

DFPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The judge instructed the state to provide the court with the identities of the alleged abusers and victims by noon on Friday. She also asked for details on the care the children have received since they were removed.

But don't support your trans child in Texas.  That would be "abuse".

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(03-10-2022, 11:13 PM)GMDino Wrote: Ah, Texas.  Always looking out for the children, amiright?

https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/10/texas-shelter-sex-trafficking-children/



But don't support your trans child in Texas.  That would be "abuse".

Sadly, this kind of thing is not a rare occurrence.  It happens at group homes, or residential treatment centers, all over the country, including California.  Children removed by DCFS, or its equivalent, definitely need more support and care than they are currently getting.  But congrats on trying to turn the abuse of children into a partisan political issue.  Seriously, consider getting help.

[NATI BENGALS]

One of the reasons why I'm pro choice.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

For those inclined to agree with Dino's disgusting effort to make this a political issue, I provide you with some extremely disturbing instances from California, that hotbed of far right ideology.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-19/dcfs-la-county-noah-cuatro-anthony-avalos-gabriel-fernandez-full-coverage

Please note that these are only the instances that managed to make the news. Now, let me please say that CSW's (Children's Social Workers) are overworked, have a mentally agonizing job and, in the vast majority of instances do their very best. I have close professional colleagues who work for DCFS, and one of my former officers started their adult career as a CSW. Literally during their orientation trainings they are taught how to deal with the mental breakdown they will, not might, have. It's a rough job, no one likes to see children suffering. Also, with one exception from my experience, the children involved still love and admire their parents, and view those removing them from the home as the real villains. I've been in homes with dead animals and feces strewn about the home. I've seen children who were kept in pet kennels for years, to the point that their limbs had atrophied from lack of use. I will spare you the details of the sexual abuse I have encountered during the course of my job, none of you need to hear that.

So you will hopefully forgive me for taking umbrage when someone tries to turn the suffering of children into yet another attempt to demonize those they disagree with politically. It's nauseating, self serving and worthy of the highest levels of contempt.

[NATI BENGALS]

It would be a great job for robots to takeover.



But that may be how The Matrix starts.

[basballguy]

Shit like this should be reportable in this forum. This has nothing to do with Texas and everything to do with bad humans.

[basballguy]

(03-10-2022, 11:20 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: One of the reasons why I'm pro choice.

I’m pro choice too but I don’t see the correlation. People choose to have babies all the time and still give them up. Additionally, a quick google shows children are less likely to be abused or mistreated in foster care versus gen pop.

https://youthlaw.org/publication/foster-parents-who-are-they-and-what-are-their-motivations/

Also, over 80% of the kids in foster care don’t get there as infants.

[GMDino]

(03-11-2022, 12:34 AM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: It would be a great job for robots to takeover.



But that may be how The Matrix starts.

Texas will give rights to robots before they do parents who love their trans child or pregnant women.

They want to ban abortions, even in cases of rape, let anyone int he state sue if they see a parent supporting a trans child and also run a horrible foster care system.

[SunsetBengal]

It's not just Texas, it's everywhere. My wife works for Children's Services, and she has dealt with plenty of such cases in both NC and Ohio.

[GMDino]

(03-11-2022, 09:39 AM)SunsetBengal Wrote: It's not just Texas, it's everywhere.  My wife works for Children's Services, and she has dealt with plenty of such cases in both NC and Ohio.

Absolutely true.  The field is under staffed, overworked and underfunded.

Texas wins this round for also not caring about children and parental rights even when the child is not in their system.

A larger discussion of CYS is also a good thing.  But if the people running Texas want to say how much they care about the children they should put their money where their mouth is.

[Sled21]

Wanna be these abusers get long prison sentences instead of the slap on the wrist they would get in Kalifornia?

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-11-2022, 02:22 AM)basballguy Wrote: I’m pro choice too but I don’t see the correlation. People choose to have babies all the time and still give them up. Additionally, a quick google shows children are less likely to be abused or mistreated in foster care versus gen pop.

https://youthlaw.org/publication/foster-parents-who-are-they-and-what-are-their-motivations/

Also, over 80% of the kids in foster care don’t get there as infants.

Agee to disagree . Seems to me if you force someone to have a kid they don’t want then the chances of the kid being abused or just having a shitty up bringing increase if they stay with the parents. At the same time people who are forced to have a kid they don’t want are probably more likely to put a kid into foster care than people who are not forced to have kids.

[*michaelsean*]

(03-10-2022, 11:37 PM)Sociopathicsteelerfan Wrote: For those inclined to agree with Dino's disgusting effort to make this a political issue, I provide you with some extremely disturbing instances from California, that hotbed of far right ideology.

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-01-19/dcfs-la-county-noah-cuatro-anthony-avalos-gabriel-fernandez-full-coverage

Please note that these are only the instances that managed to make the news. Now, let me please say that CSW's (Children's Social Workers) are overworked, have a mentally agonizing job and, in the vast majority of instances do their very best. I have close professional colleagues who work for DCFS, and one of my former officers started their adult career as a CSW. Literally during their orientation trainings they are taught how to deal with the mental breakdown they will, not might, have. It's a rough job, no one likes to see children suffering. Also, with one exception from my experience, the children involved still love and admire their parents, and view those removing them from the home as the real villains. I've been in homes with dead animals and feces strewn about the home. I've seen children who were kept in pet kennels for years, to the point that their limbs had atrophied from lack of use. I will spare you the details of the sexual abuse I have encountered during the course of my job, none of you need to hear that.

So you will hopefully forgive me for taking umbrage when someone tries to turn the suffering of children into yet another attempt to demonize those they disagree with politically. It's nauseating, self serving and worthy of the highest levels of contempt.

I saw the Gabriel Fernandez story on Netflix or something. It’s hard to believe people like that exist.

Yes we don’t want children’s services taking kids out of their homes at the drop of a hat but good Lord did they drop the ball there.

[Sociopathicsteelerfan]

(03-11-2022, 06:42 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I saw the Gabriel Fernandez story on Netflix or something.  It’s hard to believe people like that exist.

Yes we don’t want children’s services taking kids out of their homes at the drop of a hat but good Lord did they drop the ball there.

Yeah, I work with DCFS a lot and believe me your standard employee there was intensely embarrassed and distressed about that.  I've trained a large number of officers and I always tell them that cutting corners to save ten minutes today could cost you your job at worse to taking hours, if not days, to fix later.  Even if you're not motivated by doing your job right you would hope that simple self preservation would be enough to stay on top of things.  Sadly, that is not always the case.

[basballguy]

(03-11-2022, 06:21 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: Agee to disagree . Seems to me if you force someone to have a kid they don’t want then the chances of the kid being abused or just having a shitty up bringing increase if they stay with the parents. At the same time people who are forced to have a kid they don’t want are probably more likely to put a kid into foster care than people who are not forced to have kids.

But your earlier comment implied kids were more likely to be abused in foster care thus the "pro choice" comment.   

That aside, there are MILLIONS of couple who seek out children to adopt.  Infants have virtually a 100% adoption rate.  Hell, often times the parents are already lined up before the child is even born.  Which translates (to me) almost every single infant put up for adoption is going to a loving home.  

I support your pro choice stance but I think if you drill down a little you'll find tying it to your perceived view of foster care doesn't make sense.

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-11-2022, 07:06 PM)basballguy Wrote: But your earlier comment implied kids were more likely to be abused in foster care thus the "pro choice" comment.   

That aside, there are MILLIONS of couple who seek out children to adopt.  Infants have virtually a 100% adoption rate.  Hell, often times the parents are already lined up before the child is even born.  Which translates (to me) almost every single infant put up for adoption is going to a loving home.  

I support your pro choice stance but I think if you drill down a little you'll find tying it to your perceived view of foster care doesn't make sense.

It makes plenty of sense. Kids without loving parents are more susceptible to abuse imo.

[basballguy]

(03-11-2022, 07:28 PM)NATI BENGALS Wrote: It makes plenty of sense. Kids without loving parents are more susceptible to abuse imo.

You keep shifting your position and I'm just trying to educate you.  Of course if a parent doesn't love their child they're more susceptible to some sort of abuse...though I'm not sure it's even possible to have data on who loves their kid and who doesn't.......but that has nothing to do with foster care or pro choice.

[NATI BENGALS]

(03-11-2022, 07:39 PM)basballguy Wrote: You keep shifting your position and I'm just trying to educate you.  Of course if a parent doesn't love their child they're more susceptible to some sort of abuse...though I'm not sure it's even possible to have data on who loves their kid and who doesn't.......but that has nothing to do with foster care or pro choice.

I'm not shifting my position. I already said agree to disagree. I'm not sure what you want to argue about. It's a story about kids being abused in the foster care system. Not the first time I have heard this theme and sadly won't be the last. I think forcing people to have unwanted children would increase the number of kids who experience this type of reality. It's a preconceived notion you are not going to change. And like you said the data isn't even going to be out there.

[BigPapaKain]

Plenty of things to bash Texas for. This is just awful human beings doing awful things. You can find that in any 10 mile radius.

[GMDino]

(03-11-2022, 09:34 PM)BigPapaKain Wrote: Plenty of things to bash Texas for. This is just awful human beings doing awful things. You can find that in any 10 mile radius.

When it ties in to what Texas does under the guise of "protecting the children" they get extra special credit for this one.