DALLAS — The attorneys representing children who have been in Texas' foster care system delivered closing remarks late Wednesday afternoon as this week's contempt of court hearing targeting Gov. Greg Abbott, the Department of Family Protective Services (DFPS) and the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) came to a close.
After three days of testimony of a list of witnesses, including a former foster care child, state child welfare officials and multiple attorneys and caseworkers who represent children in foster care, the plaintiffs accused the state of not trying to "disprove" any of their allegations of abuse and neglect in the state's foster care system.
"I'm shocked that the State of Texas would come to a hearing of this significance and simply give up," Paul Yetter, one of the plaintiff's attorneys, said.
The hearing was expected to last through the week, with potential to leak into next week. The plaintiffs called nearly 20 witnesses and interviewed their final witness Wednesday morning -- a psychiatrist with expertise in psychotropic drug use in children.
The state's only witness was Dr. Ryan Van Ramshorst, the medical director for Medicaid and CHIP for the HHSC, who is over the program that provides healthcare for children in the foster care system. Despite multiple complaints for the state and its attorneys about the court's intervention into its foster care system, specifically the use of court-appointed monitors, Dr. Ramshorst acknowledged that reports created by the court's monitors led to reviews of psychotropic drug dosage for children after the reports revealed that the required safety checks weren't being conducted.
At the conclusion of the hearing, U.S. District Judge Janis Jack said she was sorry that taxpayer dollars were spent to conduct a hearing of this kind.
"I'm just sorry that were at this point where we're hearing a contempt motion and having this hearing," Judge Jack said.
She said she will review the evidence and may even re-listen to testimony before making an order.
"If I make an order, it's going to be very narrow," Judge Jack said. "I don't have any clue about remedies right now."
Judge Jack also said that any order she would give would not include instructions to place part of the foster care system in receivership.
"I'm not going to order any kind of receivership," Judge Jack said. "I'm going to carry that motion forward for some future date because I don't know the mechanics for it, and I haven't found ay evidence that it's been helpful."
Judge Jack did not give a timeline for her decision. The last time she found the state to be in contempt in this case, her order came months after the hearing.
Either way, her decision will come as the state's attorneys are expected to make an appeal to the 5th Circuit in the 12-year lawsuit.