Texas and the Poor

When Jesus said, "The poor will always be with you. . ." (Matthew 26:11) Texas said, "Darn! Darn! Double Darn!!

Texas likes Big Oil and Big Business. What it doesn't like are the poor. The Legislature also doesn't like abortion. "Ain't no child in Texas going to be aborted on our watch!!"

Herein is a problem. The problem is that most people who want to abort their child don't want their child for one reason or another. So Texas stops the abortion and the child is born to people who don't want it. The truth is that after the child is born, Texas pretty much leaves the child on his own with those parents/parent who didn't/don't want him or her in the first place. Sure they could have given the child up for adoption, but folks who find themselves in these places are often short on making wise decisions.

So, a newborn is on his/her own in the care of parents who don't want him or her. That is where the great state of Texas steps in with solutions. First, there is the Department of Family and Regulatory Services which is a pseudonym for Child Protective Services. When CPS steps in, the child is a little less in danger than with its parents. This department sheltered from any legal action and completely immune from any civil or criminal action, gets to decide the fate of the child that tragically comes into their care. Tragically because: the staff is overworked and underpaid; the staff is under-trained and is introduced to a toxic culture of arrogance and omnipotence that permeates this agency. They and only they know what is best for the children in their care--although the turnover rate and education rate of this agency is deplorable.

When CPS decides to place a child in foster care, Texas has helped again because it has underfunded the foster care system to the point that children sleep on the floor or couch of the CPS worker's office. Now if the workers are poorly trained for their jobs, imagine what kind of training they have to oversee children and teenagers in their offices. In fact, I doubt that such arrangement meet minimum standards of the Texas Health Department for keeping children.

After children are placed in foster care, Texas helps again. They pressure the department to get the children out of foster care and get someone--anyone to adopt them. Pretty much anyone will do as long as they are not sex offenders. One has to draw the line somewhere! Thus begins a rather disastrous set of experiences in which special training is held to help the case worker learn to ignore the counsel of those who do know--the trained counselors paid by the state to see these children and when called up, testify in their best interests.

As I said, Texas hates the poor. And I got more reasons than just the CPS system. You should take a look at Texas InHuman Services.