Mississippi’s foster care system continues to endanger children under its care at higher rates than a federal court order permits, according to a new report for a federal lawsuit the state seeks to dismiss. The Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services met 22 of 107 applicable safety measures related to the agency’s care of foster children throughout most of 2025, a court monitor found. The measures are agreed upon by the department and plaintiff lawyers in the Olivia Y. v. Barbour federal lawsuit, a decades-old case that alleged Mississippi frequently endangers those in the state’s child welfare system. The report, published on July 29, says that children in the state’s care 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’t provide enough information for the monitor to determine whether some requirements were being met, according to the report. The monitor did find 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 both sides agreed that Mississippi’s child protection department doesn’t “have the capacity to comply” with the settlement.
