Texas
Federal judge blasts Texas Child Protective Services over missing reports
A federal judge blasted Texas Child Protective Services for appearing to withhold serious incident reports involving children permanently in the foster care system.
Judge Janis Jack had fiery remarks for the Texas Commissioner over the Department of Family Protective Services in a hearing.
“Commissioner Muth, not much will get past monitors with whistle blowers who care about children calling routinely, so you need to factor that in when you decide what not to disclose next time,” said Judge Jack.
The first serious incident that was missing from shift logs involved a child who caused a concussion on a caseworker.
DFPS told the court’s monitors it was inadvertent, but then the same thing happened again.
READ MORE: Texas CPS making progress in reducing number of unplaced youth
This month, a whistle blower sent the court monitors a news report from Waco.
Waco resident David Drakes was arrested for charges of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old foster child who ran away multiple times over three days.
The monitors determined that child is one only temporarily in the foster system.
However, the monitors learned from a forensic interview that the child reported another child, who is permanently in the foster system, ran away with her.
It turns out the child’s caseworker had been contacted by a Waco police detective who said when the child returned to the foster care home she made an outcry that she had been raped and was taken to the hospital for a new exam.
When the monitors checked the shift logs for February DFPS only produced logs for the child the day before she ran away, and the day after she returned.
The explanation came down to a DFPS procedure regarding runaways that the department changed as of Thursday.
“Up until yesterday we were not uploading first night notes,” said Deputy Commissioner Audrey O’Neil. “We have changed that practice. Now, any child in DFPS supervision for a portion of the day will be uploaded.”
[JUDGE JACK: “I’m still not understanding why the shift notes were not uploaded. Do you have an explanation other than trying to hide the ball?”]
“Your honor, we are absolutely not trying to hide the shift logs,” replied O’Neil.
[JUDGE JACK: “Well that’s what happened, isn’t it?”]
The next step in the 12-year-long lawsuit against the state will be for Judge Jack to determine if the state is in contempt. That could involve the state paying a fine.
The judge will also rule on the state’s motion for relief from remedial orders.
Attorney Paul Yetter said in a statement nothing will improve until the state gets serious about fixing its broken system.
AUSTIN – Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton said Wednesday he has secured a settlement of bankruptcy claims against genetic testing company 23andMe stemming from a 2023 data breach that exposed personal information, including some genetic ancestry data, of 6.9 million customers worldwide.
Paxton’s office said the settlement includes $150 million for a multistate coalition of 42 states. But because of limited funds in 23andMe’s bankruptcy estate and competing claims, the states’ recovery will be $18 million paid immediately, with Texas receiving $1,266,860.
23andMe disclosed in October 2023 that attackers had accessed accounts affecting 6.9 million consumers. Some of the information was later posted for sale on the dark web, according to Paxton’s office, which said the company learned of the breach months after the data became publicly available. The office said 23andMe initially denied a breach and later blamed consumers’ account settings and password practices.
Paxton joined a multistate investigation that concluded 23andMe used unreasonable security practices and failed to implement adequate safeguards against hacking, the office said.
23andMe filed for bankruptcy protection in March 2025. Paxton’s office said the settlement incorporates privacy and cybersecurity requirements, including enhanced security standards, comprehensive risk assessments and creation of an independent advisory board, along with enforcement of state privacy laws and continued consumer data deletion rights.
“Companies that collect and profit from Texans’ most personal information have a legal duty to protect it,” Paxton said in a statement.
The company also agreed to a $46.75 million class-action settlement in the bankruptcy case for affected U.S. consumers who submitted claims by Feb. 17, 2026, Paxton’s office said.
Copyright 2026 by KPRC Click2Houston – All rights reserved.
The Texas Longhorns entered the 2025 season with more expectations than any team has had to deal with in recent memory.
Many among the media were ready to crown the team and quarterback Arch Manning before they even played one game. Of course, those unrealistic expectations were never met, even though the team finished with a 10-3 record and a Citrus Bowl win over the Michigan Wolverines.
2026 is heading in the same direction for the Longhorns. Many believe head coach Steve Sarkisian has the most talented team in the country. But in order to fix the issues from this past season, the Longhorns needed to fix one issue that has cost them in the past.
Changing The Narrative
One of the biggest issues the Longhorns had last season was the play of the offensive line. It was apparent in the first game of the season against the Ohio State Buckeyes that Manning didn’t have the pocket time needed to make big plays.
This offseason, Coach Sarkisian went out and found two massive transfer portal additions that should completely change the narrative on this offensive line.
It starts with potential starting right tackle Melvin Siani. Siani has spent time with the Temple Owls and last season with the Wake Forest Demon Deacons.
The Longhorns are set at left tackle with Trevor Goosby, who could play himself into being a top 10 pick in the 2027 NFL Draft. If the team can get competent play from Siani, the offense will be able to open up the playbook, and the world may finally see Manning at his college peak.
The Longhorns also went out and found a potential fix at left guard for the 2026 season. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers transfer Laurence Seymore could be another strong patch for the holes in the offensive line.
After spending the first two seasons of his college career with the Miami Hurricanes, Seymore made stops with the Akron Zips and the Hilltoppers.
Of course, the one concern with Seymore is wondering if he can compete at the SEC level coming from the C-USA.
This season for the Longhorns starts and stops with the play of Manning. Coach Sarkisian and the rest of this coaching staff understood that protecting their quarterback was the most important goal when building the 2026 roster.
The Longhorns are going to be leaning on veteran talent to protect their quarterback, and it may very well be the best decision they made this offseason.
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