A court-appointed Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regional manager will take over foster care services in nine North Texas counties after allegations that mismanagement at a private contractor put children in harm.
Dallas judge Monica Purdy approved the appointment of George Cannata, a Texas Department of Family and Protective Services regional manager, to take over the operations.
EMPOWER — the non-profit that provided foster care services in Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties — was accused by DFPS in a petition of continuously putting foster children in "imminent harm," resulting in the death of two infants and the hospitalization of one child.
EMPOWER has been put through 17 Continuous Quality Improvement plans and two Corrective Action Plans due to caseload failures, contract violations, unsafe transportation and poor or untimely documentation, according to a petition filed by DFPS this week.
The court's order gives Cannata broad control over EMPOWER's operations. He will be able to manage, fire or discharge staff, enter contracts and have access to all financial documents.
EMPOWER has been responsible for finding foster homes for children who have often times been abused or neglected and put under state custody.
Cannata has nearly 29 years of experience in child protective services and has served as the regional manager for North Texas. He's also served as the Director of the Texas Office of Community-Based Care Transition.
Community-based care is a foster care model instituted in Texas in 2017. It allows DFPS to contract out services to groups like EMPOWER, which describes itself as a collaborative of non-profits led by Texas Family Initiative.
DFPS's website says about a quarter of children in state custody are in community-based care, and it expects to expand it to that entire population by 2029.
EMPOWER was awarded its contract with DFPS in March 2023, which the company told KERA it will keep throughout the receiver process.
Cannata will be receiver for 90 days unless a 60-day extension is granted. DFPS will assess EMPOWER's ability to keep kids safe every 60 days after Cannata's appointment.
Dylan Duke is KERA's Breaking News Reporter. Got a tip? Email Dylan Duke at dduke@kera.org.
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