DALLAS — It's been just shy of three months since foster care case management and placement services in nine North Texas counties transitioned from traditional operations under the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services to being managed by a private company called EMPOWER.
EMPOWER, a self-titled "local child welfare collaborative", started managing foster care in Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Rockwall, Navarro, Grayson, Fannin, Hunt and Kaufman Counties on March 1.
It's the latest move in a program the state calls Community-Based Care (CBC), which is a plan to privatize foster care regionally throughout the state with the hope of creating a more localized approach to care that leads to better outcomes for children.
However, in the weeks leading up to the transition and the nearly three months that have followed, multiple caseworkers and staff members who stayed in their roles and made the transition to EMPOWER have expressed frustrations and concerns with the operation.
Overnight Hotel and Office Stays
"They were big on saying 'We're going to be different than the state. We're not going to have kids in hotels'," a former EMPOWER caseworker told WFAA.
She and two current EMPOWER caseworkers, who have all asked to remain anonymous, told WFAA that EMPOWER has placed multiple children in hotels as they wait for placement. They also said the organization has allowed children to stay overnight in their offices.
"At least put kids in hotels," the caseworker said. "There's no beds in the office. There's no food in the office, so the kid doesn't have food. They don't have beds. Most of them are lying around on the floor."
When DFPS has not found a placement for a child, they're what's commonly referred to as a "Child Without Placement", or CWOP. The issue has also been referred to as "Child Watch", as caseworkers are tasked with working shifts in addition to their regular caseloads to supervise and monitor children who are awaiting placement while they are in temporary situations like hotels.
In 2021, Texas lawmakers passed a law that made it illegal for the state to house children in department offices overnight after reports revealed that hundreds of children were sleeping at Child Protective Services (CPS) offices throughout the state because there weren't enough placements for the number of children in care.
"It's been a horrible thing to witness," the former caseworker said. "It is definitely still an issue. It's Child Watch. It just is what it is. There's no way around it. If you have kids that are either spending the night in the office or spending the night in hotels and workers are having to come and sit, it's Child Watch."
Multiple caseworkers shared that when they were working for DFPS, the CWOP shifts were four hours long. Under EMPOWER, they said they are expected to be "on call" for longer shifts for a full week at a time.
They also said DFPS funded security officers to assist during these shifts, particularly with children who may display more aggressive behavior as a result of the trauma they've endured. They said EMPOWER has cited its "budget" for why they are not equipped with security.
"When you’re in that office, it’s just you and those kids," the former caseworker said. "You better know how to defend yourself. They said we can’t fight our kids, but it’s fight or flight. There’s no protection there for us. We have some aggressive kids. I've been attacked by a kid who was in Child Watch. I've had kids who have threatened to put their hands on me."
WFAA initially reached out to Dr. Linda Garcia, EMPOWER's Senior Vice President, on April 2 to ask about whether or not EMPOWER had housed children in hotels or offices during its first month of full case management. Dr. Garcia sent the question to a representative from EMPOWER's Kansas-based parent company, The Family Initiative, to "coordinate a response". That person never responded to the question after multiple follow-ups.
This week, WFAA reached out to Dr. Garcia again with the same concern. Dr. Garcia responded with a list of "improvements" to the system under EMPOWER'S leadership. The only mention of the children who don't have placements was in a portion of the statement that reads "EMPOWER has helped significantly decrease the number of children without placement in the Metroplex East Region".
Dr. Garcia did not respond to a follow-up email confirming that she was not denying or addressing the concern about children sleeping in EMPOWER offices, which is illegal.
The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services confirmed that Single Source Continuum Contractors (SSCCs), which is the formal name for groups like EMPOWER that are privately managing foster care in the state, must follow the same requirements as the state that prevent them from housing children in their offices overnight.
When asked about the repercussions for violating that state law, a spokesperson for DFPS provided this information:
"There is no “penalty” per se, but it is treated as a contract violation and follows that process: starting with step-by-step plans that must be put in place to improve the operation (and in doing so remedy the deficiencies, in this case children staying overnight in offices). Each step in the process has deadlines."
The spokesperson said contract violations, like this one, that are not fixed will result in contract termination.
In February, Dr. Garcia told WFAA that EMPOWER had been working actively with community stakeholders to create more placements for the children. She said placing children in offices was a "non-negotiable".
“Before we started, they said they had all of these plans in place," a former caseworker said. "They had all of these placements for our kids, and none of that is what they portrayed when we transitioned.”
High Case Loads and Poor Work Conditions
Caseworkers also told WFAA, they've been handed staggering caseloads as EMPOWER experiences high turnover. Multiple workers told WFAA they have 20 or more cases. They're not supposed to have more than 17.
The former caseworker said she went from having less than 10 children in her care to 20 in one week, as several colleagues in her unit opted not to make the transition to a private system. She said her caseload was increased to 25 before she quit.
"We were told that we wouldn't have any more than 14 to 15 cases," she said.
Emails that WFAA received from other caseworkers show that EMPOWER offered multiple bonuses to case workers for high caseloads. The emails also detailed monthly bonuses for staff who stayed with EMPOWER, with a $1,000 offer to workers who stayed through June 1.
The former caseworker said she and her colleagues have yet to receive the additional funds for staying through the spring.
"Where's the money?" she asked "I have not received a thing."
She said, even if she had received the earlier bonuses, she still would not have stayed with EMPOWER to receive the additional $1,000.
"Ten thousand wasn't enough," she said. "No money is worth my mental health."
And with her high caseload, not enough placements for the kids she serves, and a family of her own -- that's what was at stake.
"I found myself in a really really dark place over the last few weeks to the point where I would look in the mirror and pretty much not even recognize who I was because I was so stressed," she said. "This whole dark space that I came in, March 1st during the transition, that’s when I got in this space. Everyone kept saying to give it time, it’s going to get better it’s going to get better. As I’ve watched over the past few weeks, the past couple months it’s gotten worse.”
Dallas County Concerns
In addition to concerns from EMPOWER employees, stakeholders in Dallas County said they are concerned with the lack of information they've received from the entity and the lack of collaboration with the County.
A vast majority of the children in EMPOWER's care are in Dallas County.
“It’s very important that we take care of the children of Dallas County," said Dallas County Commissioner Andy Sommerman. "It seems very clear that the State of Texas has abdicated their ability to do so to a private enterprise or whatever it is because we don’t even know what EMPOWER is.”
Commissioner Sommerman addressed his concerns in Dallas County Commissioners' Court earlier this week.
"I have a question...a question rather profound. What is EMPOWER? Is it a corporation? It doesn't seem to have a corporate entity. Is it the State of Texas? Nope. It doesn't seem to be the State of Texas either. Does it seem to be a conglomerate of corporations? Yes. But is it incorporated? Can't find anything that says that," Sommerman said in the meeting.
Sommerman said his concerns stem from the fact that, historically, Dallas County has had a contract with DFPS to fund extra caseworkers and other assistance for its CPS operations in the county to help keep caseloads down and allow for extra support. He said the county is not able to transfer its contract to EMPOWER and that neither DFPS nor EMPOWER has contacted the commission about this issue.
"There has been no meeting between EMPOWER and the Dallas County commissioners. None whatsoever," he said. "It would be important that they do so. We are here to try and help the children of Dallas County. We are willing to provide additional funding for people of Dallas County. We don’t even know who this entity is, or what it is or how we can help them. We need communication from them.”
Dallas County has a child welfare board that meets monthly. The board is responsible for overseeing the practices of the portions of foster care work that is funded by Dallas County.
Dr. Angela Scheuerle, the chair of the Dallas County Child Welfare Board, said in a statement that "The Board does not have a formal relationship with EMPOWER".
Dr. Scheuerle's statement went on to say that the board recognizes EMPOWER as "the significant player in the foster care system in Dallas County."
Representatives from EMPOWER have attended the monthly board meetings to provide verbal updates on things like the number of children in care and caseloads. At the board's May meeting, which WFAA attended, board members expressed frustration about not being able to get specific numbers from EMPOWER.
Dr. Scheuerle wrote in her statement, "Since February, we have requested a formal written report similar to those we previously received from CPS. EMPOWER has not yet provided such a report."
Both Dr. Scheuerle and Commissioner Sommerman said their hope is for the county to be able to work with EMPOWER.
WFAA's request for an interview from Dr. Garcia included that this story would include concerns from Dallas County officials about the organization's operation.
Dr. Garcia provided this statement:
"EMPOWER, a local child welfare collaborative, began providing foster care case management services on March 1, 2024, for the Metroplex East Region in North Texas. We are committed to providing high-quality services to children and families. Our dedicated team is working tirelessly to serve the families and children in our region, and as a result, we have seen real improvements in less than three months.
- EMPOWER has helped significantly decrease the number of children without placement in the Metroplex East Region.
- Since March 1, 2024, EMPOWER’S Transitional Living program, Preparation for Adult Living, has helped more than 300 youth in care, ages 14-17, locate stable housing, educational support, vocational training, and life skills development.
- In partnership with local providers, we launched a foster parent campaign to raise awareness about the need for more safe, loving foster homes in the Metroplex East Region. There is a great need for foster parents in our region, and we encourage families who would like to make a difference in the lives and futures of children to visit 3empower.org/fosterfutures.
EMPOWER will continue to partner with DFPS and local stakeholders to best serve the community and ensure the safety and well-being of all children in our care"