Texas state officials, including those in Gov. Greg Abbott’s office, knew for months that foster children were being illegally housed in an emergency shelter cited hundreds of times for dangerous conditions — but failed to report the violation to court-appointed watchdogs tasked with monitoring the state’s foster care system, according to court records.
The Whataburger Center, a shelter for foster children in San Antonio named after the restaurant chain because of a one-time donation, was cited 239 times for not meeting state minimum standards between 2016 and 2020. Some of the reports identified abuse or neglect. In September, the shelter was put on probation by the Texas Health and Human Services Commission and placed on an admissions hold — blocking children from being housed there — after the department said it found “a continued pattern of deficiencies in the area of supervision, medication, and reports/record keeping.”
After being placed on probation, shelter officials told the state it would move the children to other placements and surrendered its license in January, according to court records. However, Family Tapestry, the state-appointed provider for the region which also runs the center, continued to illegally place children in the Whataburger Center and its own office — which is only separated from the shelter by a door — until ordered to vacate children in March.
BY REESE OXNER with Texas Tribune.
Photo: Credit: Eddie Gaspar/The Texas Tribune