More than 100 children have died in Texas since 2020 while in the state's child welfare system, including two who passed away due to COVID-19 complications, according to a report provided by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) to lawmakers on Friday.
According to a DFPS report obtained by The Texas Tribune, 44 children died in 2020, and 38 passed away in 2021 while they were in the state's care. The number of child deaths is at par with those previously reported in the past years.
A total of 22 children in the state's care have already died in the first three months of this year, which is an alarming statistic given that it is about half the number of deaths recorded in each of the previous five years.
Lawmakers investigating Texas' troubled child welfare system
The state of Texas cared for 45,870 kids in 2021. The kids who died last year represent about 0.08 percent of children under the state's care. According to a study by The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and the University of Pennsylvania that was referenced in the report of the DFPS, children in foster care are 42 percent more likely to die than children in the general population.
The DFPS report was produced in response to questions from a hearing conducted by the House Human Services Committee last month. The hearing was held after allegations of abuse surfaced at a state-licensed foster care facility in the city of Bastrop. That renewed state lawmakers' interest in Texas' troubled child welfare system.
KERA News reported that most of the deaths that were listed in the report were attributed to abuse suffered before the children entered the system or preexisting medical conditions. The report did not specify, though, what those conditions were. The Texas' child welfare system often serves kids with specialized medical and therapeutic needs.
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Six children in the state's care have died by suicide since 2020
According to the report, six children have died by drowning since 2020, while another six under the state's care died by committing suicide. One kid died this year after suffering a gunshot wound while being pursued by law enforcement. Three children who ran away from Child Protective Services died from physical violence.
The DFPS report also stated that two children with preexisting conditions have died from complications due to COVID-19 while under the state's care. One of them died in 2020, and the other one just this year.
Liz Kromrei, director of services at Texas Child Protective Services, said around 35 percent of eligible youth in Texas' long-term foster care system were vaccinated against COVID-19 with at least one dose last week.
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack, overseeing an 11-year-old lawsuit against Texas on behalf of the children under the state's care, asked the DFPS for the percentage of fully vaccinated youth, but they did not have that information on hand. KXXV reported that leaders revealed no formal policy within the department regarding vaccinations, but they encouraged children to agree to get jabs.
