Texas Child Abuse Reporting

• Adoptive parents Jonathan Phillip-Jesse and Christina Lynn are charged with capital murder after Michael was found emaciated with multiple fractures, head trauma, severe internal injuries, and sores, consistent with daily severe abuse over more than a year.​​

• An 11-year-old foster child died after complaining of stomach pain and suffering a head injury while in a state-contracted residential treatment center; the facility was later shut down and its license revoked amid findings that it posed an immediate threat to children’s safety.

• Federal court monitors documented that at least 49 foster children died under Texas’ care since 2019, including 16-year-old Mia Morales, a “child without placement” who repeatedly ran from hotel placements, emblematic of systemic neglect and unsafe conditions for high-needs youth.​

• A 3-year-old boy in North Texas died from his injuries after alleged weeks of escalating abuse by his mother and her boyfriend, with investigators reviewing text messages that reportedly show their awareness of the child’s suffering before his death.​

• Travis County leaders reported a “significant increase” in child abuse cases in Austin, warning that rising reports reflect both growing awareness and a real surge in harm to children requiring CPS and law-enforcement response.​

• Court-monitor reports in a long-running federal lawsuit found 49 foster children died while in state care from 2019 onward and documented 1,831 intakes for alleged abuse, neglect, or exploitation in licensed placements in just one year, showing entrenched danger inside the system itself.​

• Texas’ official maltreatment fatality report found 99 confirmed abuse- and neglect-related child deaths in FY 2024, with 38 due to abuse and the majority due to neglect, and more than half of the deaths involved children or perpetrators with prior CPS history.​

• A KARA article summarizing DFPS data notes 258 child fatalities involving abuse or neglect in Texas for 2024, with 248 tied to neglect, underscoring that the most lethal form of abuse often leaves no visible marks and is frequently minimized or misclassified.​

Residential treatment center death after ignored distress

• Witness accounts indicate the 11-year-old boy in northeast Texas was crying and in significant pain in a bathroom before staff insisted he get on a van for a movie outing, raising questions about basic medical response and supervision standards in contracted facilities.

49 foster-care deaths as evidence of constitutional violations

• Attorneys in the long-running federal lawsuit against Texas CPS argue that dozens of deaths in care, including a teen labeled “No. 49,” show the state has ignored federal fines and court orders and continues to violate foster children’s constitutional rights to safety.​

Misleading state counts of neglect deaths

• Investigative reporting found that DFPS touted drops in “maltreatment” fatalities while simultaneously changing definitions of neglect and when deaths are investigated, leading to official numbers that understate how many children actually die due to neglect.

Newborn Mila Jackson case – CPS removal and lawsuit

• The Jackson family’s lawsuit alleges DFPS wrongfully removed newborn Mila for three weeks, labeled her parents as neglectful on the abuse registry without a proper hearing, and then refused to provide a meaningful appeal process even after downgrading its findings.​

Statewide neglectful supervision and abuse in licensed homes

• Court-monitor data show that in a one-year period, neglectful supervision accounted for 52 percent of allegations in licensed foster placements, with additional physical and sexual abuse allegations, underscoring that children are not safe simply because they are in state-approved homes.

  Texas child abuse reporting (statewide)

  • Texas Abuse/Neglect Hotline (DFPS Statewide Intake)

    • Phone: 1-800-252-5400 (toll-free, 24/7, statewide).

    • Online (non-emergency): txabusehotline.org (response within 24 hours).

    • Emergencies: Call 911 or local law enforcement if a child is in immediate danger.

  “If you suspect a child is being abused or neglected in Texas, call the Texas Abuse Hotline at 1-800-252-5400 or file a report online at TxAbuseHotline.org. In an emergency, always call 911 first.”

  Texas Youth Helpline (support for youth and families)

  • Texas Youth Helpline (DFPS) – confidential support, not a reporting line

    • Phone: 1-800-989-6884 (1-800-98-YOUTH), 24/7.

    • Website: usually listed as Youth helpline (dfps.state.tx.us)​

  A line you can use:
  “Youth and parents in crisis can call the Texas Youth Helpline at 1-800-989-6884 for free, confidential support and referrals; it is not a CPS reporting line.”

  Texas CASA (statewide)

  • Texas CASA (state network)

    • Address: 1501 West Anderson Lane, Suite B-2, Austin, Texas 78757.​

    • Phone: (844) 230-6467 (toll-free) or (512) 473-2627 (local).​

    • Email: txcasa@texascasa.org.​

    • Website: texascasa.org%2A%2A​

  • CASA of Central Texas

    • Mailing address: 1308 E Common St, Ste 205, New Braunfels, TX 78130.​

    • New Braunfels office phone: 830-626-2272.​

    • San Marcos office phone: 512-392-3578.​

    • Email: info@casacentex.org.​

    • Website: casacentex.org%2A%2A​

  • Dallas CASA

    • Address: 2757 Swiss Avenue, Dallas, Texas 75204.​

    • Phone: 214-827-8961.​

    • Website: dallascasa.org%2A%2A​

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