Texas’ foster care system is at a breaking point. 

Overcrowded shelters, exhausted caseworkers and a backlog of children without stable homes paint a grim picture of a system struggling to keep up. 

Federal and state courts are pushing for reform, and advocates are calling for urgent change. In response, Texas lawmakers are trying to find ways to mend the state’s broken foster care system before more children fall through the cracks.

Legislation pending in Austin would make it harder for the state to sever parental rights in cases of abuse or neglect. The proposed change would alter the legal standard from reasonable efforts to active efforts. The shift in terms was met with resistance from some who argued the higher standard could delay necessary interventions, leaving children in unsafe environments for longer periods of time. 

However, supporters of Texas Senate Bill 620 expect this to prevent unnecessary family separations, ensuring the state exhausts all of the possible resources to support struggling parents before taking the extreme step of termination. 

Foster care is at the forefront of this issue. Any shift in policy regarding parental rights will have direct consequences on the number of children in foster care — either easing the burden or worsening the crisis.

The number of children in the Texas foster care system surpassed 21,358 in fiscal year 2022, according to the most recent Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS) report by the Children’s Bureau. That is roughly the population of Stephenville, Texas. Of those children, 8,714 were removed due to neglect.

Faced with these numbers, lawmakers have focused on the primary issues within the foster care system and defining neglect. One of the main issues, aside from understaffing and overcrowding, is the numerous requirements for foster parents and a lack of resources due to financial strain.

“I think some of the biggest challenges are related to how much oversight and how many visits you get from the state, or also the tiny niche requirements for foster parents,” said Sarah Crockett, Texas CASA public policy director and volunteer. “I think sometimes there’s a lot more expected, and that goes into being a foster parent that I think a lot of people don’t really know about, and it can get overwhelming really quickly.”

When taking in a child who may have trauma or other behavioral issues, foster parents are expected to receive frequent visits from caseworkers or attorneys. They are also responsible for taking the child to therapy or family visitation hours.

When children enter the foster care system in Texas, they are immediately enrolled in the STAR Health Foster Care Plan, a collaboration with Texas Health and Human Services (HHS). These resources provide a variety of assistance, including but not limited to physician care services, prescription drugs, family planning and behavioral health services.

While every child in Texas is covered by Medicaid, other equally important tasks fall on the foster parent, leaving many weary of applying and creating a shortage of foster parents in the state.

“There is definitely a shortage of foster parents in Texas. The thing I think people don’t consider is that a lot of people become foster parents to adopt a child out of foster care, which is a great outcome, but then that foster parent is no longer in the system. So you end up never getting ahead of the curve,” Crockett said.

When there is a lack of foster parents, there is a lack of safe homes for children.

A subsequent issue in the foster care system is the need for homes for children of all ages, not just infants. Of the 21,358 children in the foster care system, 2,009 are below the age of one, while 4,740 are teenagers. Families are often more willing to adopt babies, while older children — especially those with pre-established trauma, behavioral challenges or siblings — face more significant obstacles to finding permanent homes.

To address this disparity, the Texas foster care system began incorporating kinship care in the 1990s.

“I think the state does its best, but trying to find someone who’s willing to take in five kids is really challenging, and that’s partly why Texas does a very good job of prioritizing kinship care,” Crockett said. “Kinship caregivers are often family members of the child, or a teacher or coach — somebody the kids know who is in their lives and willing to take them.”

As of 2022, only 40% of children in the foster care system were placed in kinship care, leaving the majority without the familiarity of relatives. Keeping siblings together remains a challenge, with one-third of sibling groups still separated as of Aug. 31, 2022.

At the same time, the system must also find placements for children with higher levels of need, including those who struggle with physical aggression or suicidal ideation. In many cases, these children — along with sibling groups and teenagers — are placed in residential treatment centers.

“Those kids are typically placed in a more restrictive environment, often that looks like a residential treatment center,” Crockett said. “There’s always a shortage of staff for those facilities, and a lot of staff turnover happens.” 

High turnover rates in these facilities are often linked to inadequate funding, which limits resources, reduces staff pay and increases burnout among workers. The financial strain on the foster care system affects not only staffing but also the quality of care children receive.

A combination of federal and state funds primarily supports Texas’ foster care budget. The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) was allocated $4.58 billion for the 2022 fiscal year. However, many advocates argue that current funding is insufficient to meet the system’s growing demands.

“There are people in the field who talk a lot about it. You know, you can make the same hourly rate at Buc-ee’s as you can at a residential treatment center,” Crockett said. “And obviously, the work environment and the stress of the job is much harder. The pay isn’t high enough to keep staff in those jobs.”

At its core, foster care is intended to provide stability, safety and support for the state’s most vulnerable children. But without adequate funding, better incentives for foster parents and improved working conditions for caseworkers and staff, Texas risks failing the thousands of children it is meant to protect.