December 1, 2004

Dewhurst Wants CPS Reform
To Be Legislative Emergency

By Mike Hailey
Capitol Inside Editor

Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst asserted Wednesday that reforming the state's Child Protective Services division should be an emergency issue for state lawmakers to consider when they convene in regular session next month.

The Republican lieutenant governor asked Governor Rick Perry to declare CPS reform as an emergency item that the Texas Legislature could deal with immediately without having to wait for procedural deadlines inherent in a regular 140-day session.

Dewhurst sounded the alarm amid reports that Health and Human Services Commissioner Albert Hawkins had ordered an emergency response team to San Antonio to investigate the case of a five-year-old girl who was allegedly beaten by her mother and is now on life support.

While awaiting reinforcements from Austin, State Rep. Carlos Uresti, a San Antonio Democrat who chairs the House Human Services Committee, joined a group of local activists in calling for an emergency appropriation of funds that could be used to hire more CPS caseworkers to alleviate a shortage of state investigators who are trained to deal with child abuse and neglect. Uresti said that CPS had been assigned to the five-year-old's case before the beating occurred. "We do not need to know the exact circumstances surrounding this child's beating to recognize the fact that CPS is understaffed, under-funded, and incapable of handling the number of cases entering the system each day," Uresti said.

Dewhurst said that he and State Senator Jane Nelson, the chairwoman of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee, plan to outline legislation next week aimed at reforming the state's child protective services while beefing up the amount of resources targeted for CPS. Nelson, a Flower Mound Republican, has been working on a reform plan at Dewhurst's request for the past two months.

"The time for talk is over, the time for action is now. Nothing is more important to me than protecting children from harm and preventing the loss of one more precious life," Dewhurst said.

Uresti said it was clear that the Department of Protective and Regulatory Services was aware that the San Antonio youngster was in danger but unable to do anything about it in time to rescue her. "The enormous number of cases in the CPS system cannot be handled by the current number of caseworkers," Uresti insisted. "This situation is preventing the agency from acting quickly and decisively to save lives. CPS and its caseworkers need assistance now. Without immediate relief, another avoidable tragedy is certain."