The state’s child welfare agency has canceled its contract with EMPOWER, the private contractor that’s come under scrutiny in recent months for its management of foster care services in nine North Texas counties, according to an internal email obtained by KERA News Tuesday.
It comes after the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services asked a Dallas judge in March to appoint a DFPS representative to take over EMPOWER’s operations following the deaths of two infants and the hospitalization of another child under EMPOWER’s care. The process is known as receivership.
Foster care services in Region 3E, which includes Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties, will transition to two different providers over the next several months, according to the DFPS email. Texas Family Care Network will serve Dallas County, and the Tarrant County-based Our Community Our Kids will serve the other eight counties…