A bill approved by the Texas House would let the state’s child welfare agency and its contractors conduct more comprehensive background checks while hiring employees.
, The Texas Tribune’s daily newsletter that keeps readers up to speed on the most essential Texas news.
When Iesha Greene, a caretaker at The Refuge, was accused of soliciting and selling nude photos of two girls in her care at the facility,that Greene had been previously fired from a state juvenile facility for inappropriate relationships with children. A spokesperson for The Refuge said the facility was “absolutely not” aware of Greene’s history of misconduct, which he said would have prevented her hiring.
The bill returns to the Senate to consider changes made by the House. A spokesperson did not immediately respond to an inquiry about whether Gov. Greg Abbott supports the bill. During a Senate committee hearing on the bill in March, James Yocum, deputy director of human resources at DFPS, told lawmakers that staff at The Refuge also concealed evidence that allowed the abuse to persist. While mandatory reporting requirements exist for professionals licensed by the state, such as teachers and day care employees, the rules do not extend to staff at foster care and juvenile facilities like The Refuge that are not licensed by the state.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Texas House approves bill to improve background checks on child-welfare workersThe action came after The Refuge, a Bastrop foster care facility, hired a caretaker without knowing her history of misconduct. tx kprc2 click2hou fostercare
Read more »
Texas House approves bills to spend up to $1 billion to buy more state parklandThe Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.
Read more »
Texas House panel takes up watered-down school choice bill, to Gov. Abbott's disapprovalA sweeping yet significantly scaled back version of an education choice bill that would allocate public funds for certain private education was taken up by a Ho
Read more »
Texas House approves bills to spend up to $1 billion to buy more state parklandThe Texas House paved the way for a billion-dollar investment in state parks, which one advocate said would create “a new golden age” for the park system. Texas now ranks 35th nationally in state park acreage per capita.
Read more »
Texas House Committee Debates Expanding School ChoiceThe House Public Education Committee is hearing testimony about expanding school choice in the state of Texas.
Read more »
Gov. Abbott threatens to veto pared-down school choice billTexas Governor Greg Abbott tweeted Sunday, May 14 that the Texas House needs to get in line with the Texas Senate about school choice legislation.
Read more »