🔴Relating to the regulation of child welfare, including licensure, community-based care contractors, family homes, and child-care facilities
HB 2789
🔴 HB 2789: Foster Care Oversight Rolled Back for Contractors
What it says it does:
HB 2789 claims to streamline foster care regulation so more facilities can stay open and kids can be placed faster. It presents itself as a fix for provider shortages and unnecessary red tape.
What it actually changes:
The bill exempts large regional foster care contractors from standard child-placing agency licensing, cuts liability insurance minimums from $300,000 to $100,000, removes annual proof-of-insurance filings for family homes, and shifts oversight power from law to the DFPS commissioner’s rulemaking.
Who is pushing for it:
Support came from the Texas Public Policy Foundation, Texas Alliance of Child and Family Services, Texas CASA, the Catholic Bishops, Buckner International, and One Accord for Kids. These groups either represent foster care contractors or advocate for privatized community-based models.
Who benefits:
Large foster care contractors save compliance costs and gain more autonomy. Operators pay less for insurance and face fewer licensing reviews. Trade associations gain stronger influence over DFPS rules.
Who gets left out or exposed:
Children and families lose protection if something goes wrong. A $100,000 insurance minimum barely covers serious injury or long-term care. Independent child-placing agencies and small providers remain under tighter rules while major contractors operate with broader exemptions.
Why this matters long term:
This bill shifts legal accountability from public oversight to private discretion. Once contractors can bypass licensing and rely on DFPS rules, future sessions can expand similar carveouts in other sectors. The loss of fixed guardrails makes safety standards depend on who holds office, not what’s written in law.
What to watch next:
DFPS will now decide what “compliance” means for exempt contractors. Texans should watch for how those rules are written and whether they include independent audits, insurance verification, and equal standards for all operators.
Bottom line:
HB 2789 lowers safeguards in the name of efficiency. It fixes a shortage by loosening the protections meant to keep children safe. The result is more contractor freedom, less public oversight, and greater risk for families who depend on the system to protect them.
#HB2789 #TexasPolicy #ChildWelfare #FosterCare #StayInformed