Department of Child Protection Services met 22 of 107 agreed safety measures, report finds
A court monitor’s report published July 29 found that the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services met 22 of 107 applicable safety measures related to its care of foster children throughout most of 2025. Separately, the report found that children in the state’s care experienced abuse or neglect at more than twice an acceptable rate.
According to the report, Mississippi’s foster care system continues to endanger children under its care at higher rates than a federal court order permits. Children were frequently placed in unlicensed facilities or with relatives before the department finished background checks, the report says, and children often went without required visits from caseworkers.
The 107 safety measures were agreed upon by the department and plaintiff lawyers in Olivia Y. v. Barbour, a decades-old federal lawsuit that alleged Mississippi frequently endangers those in the state’s child welfare system. Mississippi is seeking to dismiss the lawsuit.
The Associated Press reported the findings.