Nicolette LaRoe is a court-appointed attorney for kids in the child welfare system. But she advocates for them like they're her own.
That's why she's so passionate about CJ. 鈥淐J鈥� is how a recent court filing refers to the boy, whose full name and age aren鈥檛 disclosed.
According to the document, CJ was diagnosed in June 2024 with type of lupus induced by Depakote or divalproex sodium, a medication used to treat epilepsy and other conditions.
But caseworkers for EMPOWER 鈥� the private nonprofit managing foster care in the Dallas area at the time 鈥� didn鈥檛 properly document CJ鈥檚 medical needs in his case record and authorized the hospital to give the boy divalproex sodium Nov. 26, 2024.
CJ was admitted to the hospital February 19, 2025, with chest pain and pneumonia, according to the filing 鈥� conditions believed to be caused by lupus. In the eight months between his diagnosis and his admission to the hospital with lupus-related conditions, the document states, CJ had five different EMPOWER caseworkers assigned to him.
His medical needs were miscommunicated in the shuffle.
鈥淎ll the stuff that has happened has been tragic,鈥� LaRoe said in a July interview with 四虎影院. 鈥淎nd while they were going through all these caseworkers and supervisors and different directors and all this crap, it's like trying to hold jelly in your hand. You can never get a grip on anything.鈥�
A 四虎影院 analysis of two years of DFPS corrective plans showed CJ's case wasn't seen as an outlier: EMPOWER鈥檚 caseworkers reportedly weren鈥檛 showing up to court 鈥� and when they were, they were unprepared. Caseworkers dealt with large caseloads, lacked basic training and made simple mistakes that led to negative 鈥� and sometimes fatal 鈥� outcomes for kids, according to those documents.
四虎影院 also spoke to educators, attorneys, state lawmakers and child welfare workers who say state intervention with EMPOWER is a start 鈥� but it鈥檚 not enough to fix fundamental issues with Texas' model of what's known as community-based care.
An 'extraordinary' measure
CJ鈥檚 hospitalization occurred less than a year into EMPOWER providing foster care placement services for more than 3,000 children in state custody in Dallas, Collin, Ellis, Fannin, Grayson, Hunt, Kaufman, Navarro and Rockwall counties.
Entrusting foster care management to private contractors like EMPOWER is the basis of the community-based care system 鈥� the goal of which is to keep children closer to home and, as a result, improve the services they receive. The model was what Texas lawmakers saw as a fix to a child welfare system plagued by high turnover, documentation issues and less-than-ideal accommodations for foster children.
But months into its takeover, it appeared EMPOWER was crushed under the weight of the same issues. The state鈥檚 child welfare agency announced it was cutting ties with EMPOWER July 21.
Now, Texas Family Care Network 鈥� which operates in 15 southeast Texas counties 鈥� will take over management in Dallas County. Our Community Our Kids manages 10 counties, including Tarrant and Denton counties, and will add eight counties previously in EMPOWER鈥檚 care to its load beginning Oct. 1, according to OCOK鈥檚 .
鈥淭his decision was made with one priority in mind: helping ensure children, youth, and families receive safe, stable, and high-quality services,鈥� DFPS said in an email to community stakeholders.
The news came four months after the death of an infant in EMPOWER鈥檚 care. Her name was Athaliah Leilani Silva Bernal, according to reporting by
That same month, the Department of Family and Protective Services asked a Dallas judge to appoint a regional director to oversee EMPOWER鈥檚 operations in a process known as receivership 鈥� an 鈥渆xtraordinary鈥� measure, DFPS said in its petition to the judge, that precedes contract cancelation.
CJ鈥檚 hospitalization and the deaths of Athaliah and another infant resulted from EMPOWER鈥檚 鈥渟ystemic failures鈥� that created an 鈥渋mminent danger鈥� to kids in state custody, the agency said, even after DFPS imposed more than a dozen action plans meant to improve EMPOWER鈥檚 performance.
LaRoe, CJ's attorney, asked the judge in June to let her intervene in EMPOWER鈥檚 case because she said the receivership wasn鈥檛 child-focused enough and still suffered from grave issues.
鈥淓ach child represents a real child with a family with people who love and care about them, including their attorneys,鈥� LaRoe said. 鈥淎nd that we, as the people on the ground 鈥� I'm talking about lawyers, I鈥檓 talking about judges 鈥� that we have to deal with the fallout, which are the real-world implications and impacts that our children have to endure that we serve.鈥�
EMPOWER said in a July 6 emailed statement to 四虎影院 child safety remained its top priority through the receivership, and additional oversight, training and corrective action are meant to address the state鈥檚 concerns.
鈥�(Community-based care) requires sustained investment, both in funding and in community partnerships, to be successful. And like all cultural changes, transitions of any nature take time,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淥ur vision remains clear: ensuring children are safe today, strengthening the systems that support them tomorrow and continuing to build a stable, high-performing workforce to serve families across the Metroplex East Region.鈥�
Fifteen days later, when DFPS canceled EMPOWER鈥檚 contract, the nonprofit issued another statement saying EMPOWER was 鈥渄isappointed鈥� by the termination of its contract. This time, a spokesperson said she was required to send 四虎影院鈥� request for comment to DFPS for vetting and approval.
鈥淲e are proud of our dedicated staff, providers and partners and the positive impact they have made in the lives of countless children and families,鈥� the statement reads. 鈥淲e will work collaboratively with DFPS throughout this new transition to minimize disruption in services for children and families. The well-being of those we serve will continue to guide our efforts every step of the way.鈥�
Shaky beginnings
DFPS, home to Child Protective Services, had its own fair share of systemic failures over the decades. That includes foster children in CPS offices, caseworkers taking on too many cases, high , children, among foster youth and .
An ongoing 15-year-long federal lawsuit against the state over its foster care system brought to light many of those issues.
The Texas Legislature passed in 2017 to remedy the system鈥檚 problems using the community-based care model. DFPS would contract with organizations 鈥� known as single source continuum contractors, or SSCCs 鈥� who could take on CPS鈥� role serving the needs of kids in foster care within their home region.
EMPOWER earned one of those contracts in 2023. Its website describes the entity as a 鈥渃hild welfare collaborative鈥� led by Texas Family Initiative, which is part of a bigger Kansas-based nonprofit called The Family Initiative. EMPOWER took over foster care services in Region 3E after completing a three-stage process March 1, 2024.
By its own account, those staffing issues got EMPOWER off to a shaky start. Its senior vice president told in 2024 not enough DFPS caseworkers agreed to leave their state jobs to work for EMPOWER, meaning the provider was short more than 50 caseworkers as it began providing services.
That shortage, coupled with staff turnover, led to CJ鈥檚 rotating cast of caseworkers and miscommunications about his lupus, LaRoe said.
鈥淚t was insane,鈥� she said. 鈥淚t was like every other month there was somebody new, and nobody was documenting in any kind of meaningful way so that the next person knew.鈥�
EMPOWER鈥檚 transition was so rough in Collin County, judges set up monthly lunch meetings with EMPOWER and court-appointed attorneys to hash out issues, according to family law attorney Sharon Wilson.
It was an opportunity for attorneys to bring their concerns with EMPOWER directly to judges. When a caseworker insisted on sending time-sensitive drug test requests to Wilson鈥檚 client 鈥攅ven though Wilson knew her client would receive them faster via text 鈥� she said the issue was resolved during a lunch meeting.
But to Wilson, the fact that the meetings were necessary wasn鈥檛 a good sign.
鈥淚f a company is going to be provided a contract by the state of Texas to take over, then they need to be able to take over,鈥� Wilson said. 鈥淲e shouldn't be having to have monthly meetings about all the stuff that they're not doing and all the balls they're dropping.鈥�
Documented issues
By the time a hospital mistakenly gave CJ life-threatening medication in 2024, DFPS had put EMPOWER on three continuous quality improvement plans, or CQIs. CQI plans detail a contractor鈥檚 performance issues and outline paths for improvement.
By the time Athaliah died a little over a year later, EMPOWER had received 17 such plans and two corrective action plans, or CAPs.
The improvement plans show EMPOWER鈥檚 trouble with hiring and keeping qualified caseworkers led to unbalanced caseloads. DFPS requires the provider to maintain a ratio of 14-to-17 children per caseworker. More than 60 EMPOWER permanency case managers were over that limit in June 2024.
Currently, 71% of the contractor鈥檚 case managers are within caseload compliance, with an average caseload of 12 cases, according to EMPOWER. The nonprofit said it will 鈥渃ontinue to actively move toward our targeted caseload range."
Some EMPOWER caseworkers missed court hearings and failed to submit timely court reports, according to the receivership petition and one CQI plan.
Vicki Spriggs 鈥� CEO of Texas CASA, the statewide membership association for court-appointed child advocates 鈥� declined to comment directly on EMPOWER during a May interview with 四虎影院.
But Spriggs hears from frustrated volunteers, she said. Due to a revolving door of caseworkers assigned to children, she said, CASA volunteers have to fill in the gaps, sometimes getting caseworkers up to speed about a child鈥檚 case.
鈥淭hese are volunteers telling the paid person how to do their job,鈥� Spriggs said.
Foster children at one point were spending 鈥渆xtended time periods鈥� in EMPOWER offices, according to an April 2024 CQI. The plan didn鈥檛 specify whether kids were sleeping in offices. A 2021 prohibits kids from sleeping in CPS offices.
Then a Hunt County judge held EMPOWER in contempt and fined it $500 in February 2025, ordering the provider to comply with her standing order for CPS cases 鈥渞egarding the placement of children overnight in hotels or offices without written permission of the court.鈥�
EMPOWER isn鈥檛 the only division of Texas Family Initiative to be held in contempt of court. A child protection judge held the provider 2INgage in last year after a foster teen was transported hundreds of miles from home and had his medications changed without the provider alerting the court or the child鈥檚 attorney. serves a 30-county region that includes Wichita Falls and Abilene.
U.S. District Judge Janis Jack has held DFPS in contempt since the foster care lawsuit against the state began for failing to fix conditions for kids in the state鈥檚 care. A federal appeals court later overturned the latest contempt finding and removed Jack from the case.
Simple miscommunication involving EMPOWER led to or could have led to adverse outcomes for kids on more than one occasion. According to one plan, EMPOWER placed a child in a foster home that was from fostering kids. EMPOWER said at the time there was 鈥渘ot a clear process鈥� for who receives the list of banned homes.
In another plan, DFPS faulted EMPOWER after a young adult lacked hot water and possibly faced eviction. EMPOWER said it was because employees weren鈥檛 contacted via the nonprofit鈥檚 24/7 on-call line, the number for which previously wasn鈥檛 on EMPOWER鈥檚 website or contact list.
An April 2025 CQI showed some EMPOWER employees were transporting children without car seats, booster seats or both as required by state law. EMPOWER鈥檚 explanation: staff lacked an understanding of DFPS child transportation policies.
Technology issues worsened communication delays. DFPS uses a more than 30-year-old system called IMPACT 鈥� which has its own 鈥� to keep track of cases. But EMPOWER said their staff didn鈥檛 use IMPACT and at times wouldn鈥檛 log into it for a month, which deactivated their access and resulted in possible failure to provide services to children and families, DFPS wrote in one CQI plan.
A combination of all these issues 鈥� missed court dates, turnover, miscommunication, technology problems and a lack of training 鈥� led to vital information about kids like CJ falling through the cracks. EMPOWER often blamed issues on staff鈥檚 鈥渓ack of training鈥� about numerous work responsibilities, like approving service plans for children, assessing child safety factors and human trafficking.
The same problems
The corrective plans showed EMPOWER tried to address its issues. Yet the cycle of systemic problems that plagued the legacy system repeated themselves with EMPOWER.
Proponents of community-based care say the system facilitates better service and more family reunification. But Spriggs said that鈥檚 not what she鈥檚 seen.
鈥淭he same problems that are being experienced by the legacy system are the same problem being experienced by community-based care,鈥� she said.
Others propose more drastic measures. The Texas State Employees Union on state lawmakers to stop the rollout of privatized foster care after EMPOWER was placed under receivership until all contractor services are reviewed.
鈥淚t's going to require a lot to sit down and make this thing work,鈥� said Christie Carrington, a former CPS supervisor and an organizer with the employees union. 鈥淛ust passing the ball to a private agency is not going to exempt the state from being accountable to our citizens, to our youth and to our families.鈥�
End of the road
Before 2025, when a community-based care contractor鈥檚 performance was lacking, DFPS only had two options: issue CQIs and CAPs or terminate the contract entirely.
As EMPOWER鈥檚 CQIs stacked up, DFPS took to the Capitol. The agency asked Texas lawmakers to create a third option: a judge, at DFPS鈥� request, could appoint a receiver to oversee certain parts of a community-based care provider鈥檚 operations, DFPS Commissioner Audrey O鈥橬eill told the Texas House Human Services Committee in April 2025.
鈥淭his would add a tool for, I would say, very serious circumstances where we were maybe approaching termination, but we thought something prior to that could be useful,鈥� O鈥橬eill said.
A federal judge once considered placing DFPS under receivership, or partial federal takeover of the state's system.
State Rep. Aicha Davis 鈥� a Democrat whose district includes Cedar Hill, DeSoto, Lancaster and parts of Dallas 鈥� alluded to the 鈥渟hortcomings鈥� of the contractor in her district as she presented a bill that would create the receivership process.
Davis put forth a package of bills, along with Republican state Sen. Angela Paxton, R-McKinney, that would try to fix things, including establishing receivership. Paxton鈥檚 version of the receivership bill took effect in May.
The court-appointed receiver overseeing EMPOWER, George Cannata, is a regional manager with DFPS who鈥檚 been with the agency for nearly 30 years. Cannata also served as head of the Office of Community-Based Care Transition and lives in Region 3.
DFPS commissioner O鈥橬eill told members of the agency鈥檚 Partners for Children and Families Committee in May that Cannata will have full operational authority over EMPOWER鈥檚 daily functions, focusing on assessment and improvement.
鈥淭hat is really our critical focus, recognizing that no matter the path forward, this is the workforce in 3E and it is critically important that we ensure they are prepared to act in ways that keep children safe,鈥� O鈥橬eill said.
As receiver, Cannata has issued orders around training needs for EMPOWER employees, directed EMPOWER to move toward documenting information directly in the state鈥檚 IMPACT software, requested data, created a financial account to ensure accountability with funds and conducted regional townhalls with EMPOWER staff.
DFPS staff and EMPOWER caseworkers have conducted safety visits for almost every child in Region 3E, O鈥橬eill said at the time, except for three runaway children for whom staff were actively searching.
Despite the receivership, Davis said in an interview with 四虎影院 鈥� before EMPOWER鈥檚 contract was canceled 鈥� that she had 鈥渧ery little faith鈥� EMPOWER could bounce back from its mistakes and renew its contract in 2028.
鈥淓MPOWER is not a monopoly where there is no one else available,鈥� Davis said. 鈥淚 think right now, we can be looking at those different entities that perhaps aren't as big as EMPOWER, but they have potential, that they have the desire to support children and they have a record of doing so.鈥�
In an emailed statement following EMPOWER's contract cancelation, Davis said her priority has always been vulnerable Texas children, not the commercial success of EMPOWER.
"The Department of Family and Protective Services has provided EMPOWER with multiple opportunities since 2023 to improve its practices to ensure the safety of our Texas children, and they have failed to do so," Davis wrote. "There are babies who don鈥檛 get to grow into adults and reach their full potential because of that failure 鈥� that will never be okay."
EMPOWER鈥檚 successors, Texas Family Care Network and Our Community Our Kids, do have track records of managing foster care under the community-based care model, but it鈥檚 unclear specifically what made them stand out 鈥� or how they鈥檒l do with more counties on their plate.
DFPS chose OCOK and TFCN because they are 鈥渨ell positioned鈥� to support Region 3E鈥檚 transition away from EMPOWER, according to the agency鈥檚 community-based care .
State Sen. Lois Kolkhorst, R-Brenham, told 四虎影院 before EMPOWER鈥檚 contract cancelation that community-based care can and has worked in North Texas, citing the success of OCOK.
鈥淚t is my hope that with oversight from the state and enforcement of contracts, the services in the Metroplex will improve,鈥� Kolkhorst said in an emailed statement in June. 鈥淚 believe it is better for a community to take care of its own children rather than the centralized government in Austin driving a 鈥榦ne size fits all鈥� model for the rest of the state.鈥�
The contract turnover period is 180 days, during which Cannata will still serve as EMPOWER鈥檚 receiver.
CJ's attorney still has her doubts about sustaining privatized foster care with new, albeit Texas-based, providers. She called the term 鈥渃ommunity-based care鈥� a misnomer.
鈥淭here is nothing community-based about Empower. Nothing,鈥� LaRoe said. 鈥淭hey came from Kansas. They know nothing about Texas, they knew nothing about Texas, and they've had years to learn about Texas to gain the resources that they needed to in order to support our babies, and they still weren't able to do it."
Correction: This story has been updated to accurately reflect Vicki Spriggs' comments on issues within the child welfare system.
Toluwani Osibamowo is 四虎影院鈥檚 law and justice reporter. Got a tip? Email Toluwani at tosibamowo@kera.org.
四虎影院 is made possible through the generosity of our members. If you find this reporting valuable, consider . Thank you.
