The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit has removed a federal district judge from a 13-year case against Texas’ foster care system.
Judge Janis Jack ruled in 2015 that the Texas foster care system was broken, leaving kids more traumatized than when they entered the system.
Now, she has been removed from the case by the 5th Circuit for “intemperate conduct.”
The court also vacated the $100,000 a day fines Jack issued against the state over its failure to keep intellectually disabled foster children safe in treatment homes.
It found the state achieved compliance with two court orders in the case.
The rulings are seen as major victories for the state of Texas, which said it has spent $150 million to achieve compliance with more than 50 court orders.
Attorneys for the foster children said Saturday they will appeal the ruling to the full 5th Circuit. Friday's ruling was made by three justices.
“”Frankly, this is a sad day for Texas children,” said Paul Yetter, attorney for current and former foster children in the case. “For over a decade, Judge Jack pushed the state to fix the broken system. She deserves a medal for what she’s done.”
In a statement, Yetter said they would continue to fight to keep children safe.
Judge Jack was well-known as a fierce overseer of the state’s child welfare system, which includes the Department of Family and Protective Services and the Health and Human Services Commission.
Jack found the head of HHSC, Cecil Erwin, in contempt over failures by the Provider Investigations Unit, which is responsible for investigating treatment homes for children with intellectual disabilities.
The state was found to have violated two orders involving the completion of investigations on time. Both orders only apply to children in the protected class, which are those in Permanent Managing Conservatorship — kids whose parents’ parental rights were terminated.
In a multi-day contempt hearing last December, numerous issues were demonstrated regarding backlogged cases and injured children for 38 cases.
The 5th Circuit found that because the contempt fines were not compensatory for plaintiffs but punitive for the state, the contempt hearing should have been conducted as criminal rather than a civil hearing.
For the 5th circuit, the three-day contempt hearing displayed the opposite of what Jack saw. It saw a state that had complied in more than 80 percent of cases. And a judge who they found unyielding.
“Our comprehensive review of the district judge’s conduct throughout the three-day contempt hearing in December 2023 that brought this issue to fruition repeatedly exhibits a highly antagonistic demeanor toward the Defendants,” wrote 5th Circuit Judge Edith Jones
The results of Friday’s ruling means the child welfare system in Texas has entered a new phase.
