Audrey O’Neill named commissioner of Texas’ foster care agency

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Audrey O’Neill, who took the reins of the Texas foster care agency in August after the previous commissioner stepped down after two years, has officially been named the head of the agency by Gov. Greg Abbott.

Abbott had appointed O’Neill on Monday as the commissioner for the Department of Family and Protective Services for a term set to expire on Aug. 31, 2027.

“I am honored that Governor Abbott has entrusted me with the leadership of the Department of Family and Protective Services, and I am proud to build on the tremendous progress the agency has made over the past several years,” said O’Neill. “I am deeply committed to the mission of DFPS and to our dedicated staff who embody that mission every day.”

O’Neill stepped into the role of acting commissioner for DFPS in August after Stephanie Muth, the previous director, stepped down in July. O'Neill's annual salary is $300,000.

Previously, O’Neill served as deputy commissioner for programs at the foster care agency since 2023. She also held the position of principal deputy inspector general at the Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General.

O’Neill is taking over an agency that continues to be embroiled in a long-running lawsuit in which U.S. District Judge Janis Jack ruled in 2011 that found kids were leaving the state’s care more damaged than when they entered, after being “shuttled throughout a system where rape, abuse, psychotropic medication, and instability are the norm. In May, lawyers representing children in the state’s care asked the U.S. Supreme Court to intervene after Jack, who ordered DFPS to institute changes over the years, was removed from the case in October.

In August 2020, there were 50 children classified as “CWOP” or children without a placement. That number soared to 400 in August 2021. Other problems included an investigation into allegations that an employee at a residential treatment center for children who were trafficking victims had solicited and sold nude photos of the home’s residents. A grand jury declined to indict the employee due to insufficient evidence.

O’Neill is the fifth commissioner since 2012 and each of O’Neill’s predecessors have served less than five years in the role.

When Muth took over two years ago, she helped lower the number of children without placement. She also continued the decade-long rollout of the “community-based” care model, in which children in foster care receive services and are placed into care near their own home and relatives instead of being moved across the state to the first available placement.

Eight of the state agency’s 11 districts now have a private community-based contractor.

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