AUSTIN, Texas (AP) _ Child Protective Services has fired four regional directors as it looks to overhaul operations following years of complaints that the agency fails to adequately protect children who are abused or neglected.
The four directors were terminated this week and a fifth in El Paso opted to retire. The five represent half of CPS’ regional directors in Texas.
The move is another indication that Henry “Hank” Whitman, commissioner of the Texas Department Family and Protective Services, which oversees CPS, seeks to introduce significant changes when it comes to the care of vulnerable children.
CPS has long contended with high turnover among caseworkers, low pay and plummeting morale. High-level managers, meanwhile, had continued to remain in place despite repeated instances of the state failing to protect children subject to abuse.
The Austin American-Statesman reports the regional directors “who were not rehired” were in the Austin, Harris County, Corpus Christi, and northwest Texas areas. WTAW News notes the Austin region includes Brazos, Madison, Leon, Robertson, Milam, Burleson, and Washington counties.