July 22, 2026 – DALLAS — The Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) has abruptly terminated its multi-year contract with Dallas-area foster care contractor EMPOWER, stripping the private nonprofit of oversight for more than 2,000 children across nine North Texas counties.
The contract cancellation follows an intensive review into severe child safety lapses, high caseworker turnover, and the preventable deaths of two infants under the organization’s supervision.
In a letter sent to parent entity Texas Family Initiative, DFPS Commissioner Audrey O’Neill confirmed that EMPOWER failed to satisfy performance benchmarks despite multiple corrective action plans and state-imposed oversight…