Mississippi鈥檚 foster care system continues to endanger children under its care at higher rates than a federal court order permits, according to a a federal lawsuit the state .
The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services met 22 of 107 applicable safety measures related to the agency鈥檚 care of foster children throughout most of 2025, a court monitor found. The measures are by the department and plaintiff lawyers in the Olivia Y. v. Barbour federal lawsuit, that alleged Mississippi frequently endangers those in the state鈥檚 child welfare system.
The report, published on July 29, experienced abuse or neglect at more than twice an acceptable rate, were frequently placed in unlicensed facilities or with relatives before the department finished background checks and often went without required visits from caseworkers.
The department also undercounted how many foster children experienced abuse and didn鈥檛 provide enough information for the monitor to determine whether some requirements were being met, according to the report. The monitor that caseworkers more frequently had appropriate caseloads and foster children were less often placed in overcrowded homes compared to previous years.
The latest assessment is the first full court monitor report published since 2021, when lawyers for that Mississippi鈥檚 child protection department doesn鈥檛 鈥渉ave the capacity to comply鈥� with the settlement.
In an in May, Department Commissioner Andrea Sanders said through policy and organizational efforts, the state has since made positive changes to its foster care system that 鈥渉ave been far reaching, covering the work of the Agency across many areas鈥� like staffing improvements and technology upgrades.
Sanders is the fourth commissioner of Mississippi鈥檚 child protection department, an agency created in 2015 as a .
Gov. Tate Reeves and the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, represented by Attorney General Lynn Fitch鈥檚 office and the national law firm Baker Donelson, are trying to dismiss the lawsuit. Their lawyers said that Mississippi has made sufficient progress in keeping children safe.
Reeves and the state鈥檚 child welfare department did not respond to emails from Mississippi Today. MaryAsa Lee, a spokesperson for Fitch鈥檚 office, said the office does not comment on active litigation and would speak through its court responses.
Chief U.S. District Judge Sul Ozerden, who鈥檚 overseeing the lawsuit, said lawyers representing Mississippi foster children could wait until the court monitor submitted its 2025 report to file a response to the state鈥檚 motion to dismiss. Marcia Lowry, the lead lawyer for the foster children, told Mississippi Today the report contradicts the state鈥檚 position on the case.
鈥淚t鈥檚 one thing to make grand statements,鈥� Lowry said. 鈥溾�榃e鈥檙e going to keep all children safe. We鈥檙e going to give all children whatever they need.鈥� But then you have to find out whether you鈥檙e really doing that, and they鈥檙e not doing it in Mississippi.鈥�
Lawyers for Reeves and Mississippi鈥檚 child welfare agency to require a response from Lowry about their motion to dismiss the case before the report was published, saying it 鈥渉as no bearing鈥� on their argument. , saying that the report would contain core elements related to the motion.
Underreported abuse and insufficient investigations
Many of the dozens of required safety measures Mississippi鈥檚 child welfare agency didn鈥檛 meet have direct implications on foster children鈥檚 wellbeing.
For example, lawyers for both sides agreed that except in certain circumstances, no foster child under the age of 10 should be placed in group housing 鈥� where . But the monitor found 22 children under the age of 10 living in these facilities who shouldn鈥檛 have been placed there. Additionally, the department only completed reports on mistreatment in a timely manner about half the time, far below the court鈥檚 90% standard.
Case workers make in-person visits to assess the physical and mental wellbeing of foster children, but the report says they are doing so at much lower rates than the standard. It found that the child welfare agency self-reported its workers attending less than half of their required meetings with children, foster parents and biological families.
The report also highlighted specific examples of alleged abuse from last year that Mississippi鈥檚 child welfare department may have mishandled. In one investigation the monitoring team reviewed, three teenage children alleged a range of abuse from their foster parent, from encouraging fights between the children to leaving one child so traumatized that the teenager needed acute care for suicidal thoughts. The state鈥檚 investigation found insufficient evidence for the allegations, but the monitor report says the state did not look into several of them.
In another, different children had reported a foster mother of being physically and verbally abusive four times within a year and a half, including restricting how frequently they could use the bathroom. Mississippi鈥檚 child protection department said all the allegations were unsubstantiated, but the report says caseworkers documented enough evidence at least once to suggest that professionals should address the concerns. It was unclear to the monitor if the department ever provided that intervention.
Lowry blamed Sanders, who has led the agency since 2020, for many of the issues the report identified. She said the changes Sanders cited in her May affidavit haven鈥檛 resulted in tangible results for Mississippi foster children.
鈥淪he鈥檚 gotten the overall number of workers to be within a reasonable limit, but I don鈥檛 know what else she鈥檚 been doing,鈥� Lowry said. 鈥淏ecause there are so many issues here that are so important to kids and to their safety.鈥�
Lack of data makes some measures unknown
Data collection and reporting issues made it difficult for the monitor to determine whether the state鈥檚 child welfare agency was meeting certain lawsuit safety standards, according to the report. For a dozen measures, the monitor said the Mississippi agency didn鈥檛 provide enough information to make a reliable assessment.
The report also says the child protection services department miscalculated some safety measures. The agency identified 25 to 30 incidents of foster child maltreatment during the monitoring period, but the monitor found at least 18 more that should鈥檝e been included. Out of a random sample of mistreatment investigations, the report found that only 82% of the department鈥檚 conclusions were backed by available evidence.
While certain measures, including the rates of foster child mistreatment, have improved since , the number of measures Mississippi鈥檚 child welfare agency met decreased in 2025. Many of the safety measures that have improved still do not meet agreed-upon safety standards.
Lowry said she plans to incorporate this report into her team鈥檚 response to Mississippi鈥檚 motion to dismiss the Olivia Y. lawsuit, which it has to file by late August. Whether the lack of data or actual violations led to Mississippi not meeting the agreed-upon safety measures, she said, the number of unfulfilled requirements is unacceptable.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 ridiculous,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he differences are not one or two kids. The differences are significant.鈥�
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