A state judge allowed the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to appoint an outside child welfare director to take over foster care case management in the North Texas region after two children died while under the current operator’s care.
District Judge Monica Purdy on Wednesday approved George Cannata, a Child Protective Services regional director in North Texas, to oversee case management and executive operations for EMPOWER, a nonprofit foster care service provider.
In court documents, the agency said Cannata’s appointment was necessary because EMPOWER’s “systemic failures” placed foster care children in imminent danger, including a newborn who died after the foster care agency did not create a plan for care despite allegations of abuse with the family’s previous child. According to court records, another baby died after being reunited with its parents without proper safeguards.
EMPOWER, which oversees the Dallas region community-based foster care system, was placed under receivership, in which a court-approved third party takes control of and manages a business or entity.
“The goal of the receivership is to stabilize operations and ensure that children and families receive safe and consistent services without interruption. DFPS remains committed to strong partnerships with the many organizations that support children and families across the state,” said Marissa Gonzales, a DFPS spokesperson.
A spokesperson for EMPOWER said that throughout the receivership process, the organization will retain its state contract and continue to work cooperatively and transparently with the state.
“We are committed to continuing to strengthen services for our local communities. As always, our number one priority is the safety and well-being of the children and families we serve,” said Taylor Forrest, a spokesperson for EMPOWER.
Three years ago, DFPS awarded EMPOWER a contract to oversee foster case management for children in the Metroplex East Community-Based Care region, which includes Dallas, Collin and seven surrounding counties, until 2028. Since being awarded that contract, the foster care organization has repeatedly failed to improve despite state interventions, with issues including untimely reporting, unsafe transport, unmet measures, contract breaches, caseload failures and undocumented visits, DFPS stated in a petition to the court.
State Sen. Royce West, D-Dallas, said he approved of the change in case management.
“I have personally worked with DFPS and local judges to ensure EMPOWER’s caseworkers were showing up for court prepared and ready to proceed, because local judges reached out to me and raised concerns about EMPOWER caseworkers showing up unprepared,” West told The Texas Tribune.
Texas lawmakers in 2017 passed a package of sweeping measures aimed at addressing a crisis in the state’s child welfare system, including a bill that shifted foster care to a “community-based care” model by allowing contracted organizations to monitor children in foster care and adoptive homes to provide relief for the low-resourced state system.
DFPS reports that about a quarter of the children in state custody are in community-based care, and the agency expects to expand this to the entire population by 2029.
EMPOWER, part of the collaborative under Texas Family Initiative, is a key component of this model, covering some of the state’s most populous regions, but the recent petition calls into question the organization’s ability to adhere to the proposed community care model.
“The Department of Family and Protective Services has worked closely with EMPOWER over the last two years to help them overcome a variety of challenges,” West said. “However, following recent developments, it became clear that EMPOWER is no longer in a place where it can safely manage its caseload on its own, and asking the Court to allow for a Receiver has become necessary.”