A sign for the Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services and the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services building in Austin on Nov. 14, 2019. Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune
By Neelam Bohra, The Texas Tribune, August 18, 2023
In early 2019, a small group of foster parents clustered in the governor’s office, hoping months of working with the state would improve things for children like theirs: deaf or hard of hearing and traumatized by a system that struggled to care for them.
In prior meetings held between these foster parents, the governor’s office and state agencies, leaders from Texas’ Department of Family and Protective Services waffled on their methods of tracking deaf children in foster care and the number currently in the system. After foster children came forward and shared stories of abuse and neglect amplified by an inability to communicate with anyone around them, DFPS promised to give the issue more attention.
At this January 2019 meeting, state agency officials said DFPS would, on a one-time basis, check medical providers’ information to verify the number of deaf kids in the system and look for communication barriers in homes where deaf kids were placed. DFPS also said it would train staff on deafness. But the foster parents left without feeling like these were long-term solutions.
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