Austin News

A recent report found that thousands of children in the Texas foster care system went missing in 2020 and that many were victimized and subjected to sex trafficking.

The report by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) showed that 4.6% of children in the foster care system went missing, 136 were victimized and 68 were victims of sex trafficking. The report shows a disturbing trend that has been on the rise in recent years. 

"The most recent DFPS report on missing and exploited foster children shows Texas is not living up to its obligation to the children in its care," Brandon Logan, executive director of One Accord for Kids, told Austin News. "Children in foster care have been removed from their parents for their own good. The report shows that at least some of these children may be worse off with the state of Texas as their parent than they were before the state got involved." 

One Accord for Kids reported that 4% of foster children went missing from the system in 2019, 266 more than in 2017. Of those missing children, 21% were 13 or younger. And 109 of the foster children who were found after they went missing reported being sexually or physically abused or were victims of sex or labor trafficking.

"Although the number of children in Texas foster care continues to decline, the number of foster children who go missing, and who report being victimized and trafficked while missing, continues to increase over past years," Logan said. "Some foster children who go missing are never found. At the end of 2019, there were 193 children missing from foster care that still haven't been located." 

Logan said he is alarmed by the number of missing children in foster care trending higher.

"I am particularly concerned about the increases for children under 12 years," he said. "Two hundred and fifteen foster children under 12 went missing in 2020, an increase of 62% from 2018. And 23% of foster children who report being sex trafficked while missing were under 12." 

The DFPS is tasked with keeping track of 50,000 children at any given time, and many of these children do not want to stay at a foster home. They also do not want to be found when they go missing. 

One Accord for Kids recommends the system increase family placement for the children. The organization also believes in community participation, and getting input from the youth who are in the system. Priority should also being given to find temporary homes for the foster children.

According to Logan, most of the children who go missing are from residential facilities.

"Most children who go missing from foster care, including those who are trafficked, disappear from residential facilities – not from foster families," he said. "These children tend to be older, have higher behavioral health needs, and are more susceptible to exploitation." 

Foster children are targeted by traffickers and are at increased odds of exploitation.

"Traffickers have been known to target victims in residential facilities by sending in confederates to encourage children to abscond and by otherwise coaxing children to leave by promising to care of and provide for them," Logan said.

Logan added that foster-care children run away for many reasons, and there are steps to keep these children safe. 

"Children go missing for a number of reasons," he said. "Most desire a level of normalcy that foster care denies them. They are frustrated with their circumstances and feel powerless to change those circumstances. 

"Involving older foster children in the decisions affecting their lives and giving them the freedom to have normal experiences for their age can prevent foster children from running away. Improving data systems and increasing communication between the child welfare and law enforcement systems would increase the likelihood of finding children quickly after they go missing."

Texas has made advancements toward its commitment to foster care children. Lawmakers have recently passed legislation that aims to focus on unnecessary family separations.

"Recent policy and legislative changes have increased the state's commitment to reducing trauma and to responding in a trauma-informed way," Logan said. "Many children who go missing and who are victimized while missing have unresolved trauma that contributes to their susceptibility. Some of this trauma stems from being unnecessarily separated from family. 

"Bills passed this legislative session make it less likely [that] children will experience the trauma of being unnecessarily separated from family and recognize that entering foster care is inherently traumatic and demands a trauma-informed approach."

As many was 300,000 youths are trafficked and abused every year, and 50% of these are young men and boys, according to the Cross Timbers Gazette.

A University of Texas at Austin report found more than 230,000 victims of labor trafficking in Texas and that 78,996 minors and youth were victims of human trafficking.