Mercedes Losoya lost her life to an abusive family and a broken CPS system. Her death left a community scarred.
Lupe Torres Morin’s family told her not to go to the trial. They warned her that the images and the videos of her great, great granddaughter’s abuse could rob her of other, happier memories of the little girl. More than a year later, they weren’t wrong. “I can hear Mercedes tell him, ‘stop, I’ll be […]
‘Dumped’ with strangers: How the state of Texas failed to save a three-year-old girl in San Antonio
Ronni Salazar’s mother was desperate. Homeless and pregnant, she had recently stormed out of a hospital after testing positive for methamphetamines. That’s when she was approached by a woman she didn’t know in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant on San Antonio’s south side. The woman said she wanted to help. The young mother […]
Audio Documentary: After Texas Turned its Back on Troubled Families, Children Died
From Texas Matters, Texas Public Radio’s statewide news program A Texas Public Radio investigation into the deaths of Texas children from abuse and neglect reveals many of the fatalities could have been prevented. However, the state agency with the responsibility to protect children who are in dangerous homes failed to intervene. The reporting project titled […]
The Source: When Home is the Danger
The Source is Texas Public Radio’s live, call-in show. A Texas Public Radio investigation into the deaths of Texas children from abuse and neglect reveals many of the fatalities could have been prevented. However, the state agency with the responsibility to protect children who are in dangerous homes failed to intervene. The reporting project […]
Texas keeps child abuse and neglect deaths out of sight, bringing to light proves complex and costly.
This story is part of When Home is the Danger, a multi-part series on how Texas is leaving children in dangerous homes and families without ongoing support or monitoring. On June 12, 2016, three-month old Leanne Fuentes was found dead after co-sleeping with her mother who later tested positive for cocaine. Child Protective Services was […]
Why Texas’ Massive Drop in Child Neglect and Abuse Deaths is Misleading
This story is part of When Home is the Danger, a multi-part series on how Texas is leaving children in dangerous homes and families without ongoing support or monitoring. Texas released another in a series of reports charting a precipitous decline in child fatalities from abuse and neglect this month. The Child Maltreatment Annual Fatality […]
Mishandled from beginning to end: How a 9-year-old Texan died when family, neighbors and police raised concerns.
This story is part of When Home is the Danger, a multi-part series on how Texas is leaving families without ongoing support or monitoring and children in dangerous homes. Until the end of October, Susie Wilson drove every few weeks the 90 minutes south from Abilene to a tiny speck of a place called Trickham […]
TPR panel discussion: What Texas wants for child welfare
The Texas child welfare system sits at a crossroads. For the first time in 13 years, the state may exit federal court oversight with much more power and freedom in 2025. What does that mean for the next legislative session, and what does Texas want for its children? Paul Flahive hosted a panel of lawmakers, […]