Case: Agency Didn’t Stop Foster Home Abuse

ELKHART (AP/Staff) – The state agency that oversees foster care in Texas continually dismissed allegations of abuse at an Elkhart home that took in dozens of children before the same charges led to a successful criminal prosecution. Court records show how the Department of Family and Protective Services ruled out allegations of sex abuse against foster parent James Vick on three occasions before he pleaded guilty to 18 counts of indecency with a child and was sentenced to 20 years in prison last year. Foster care experts say the mounting allegations, even if unproven, should have been a red flag. The district attorney who prosecuted the case says it shows how agency investigations are flawed. An agency spokesman says mistakes were made, but they aren’t indicative of a larger problem.