Contractor serving 1,100 foster children quits

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The contractor leading a pilot program to overhaul Texas’ troubled foster care system canceled its five-year contract with the state Friday, forcing the Department of Family and Protective Services to take over direct management of about 1,100 foster children.

Providence Service Corp. last February signed a five-year, $30 million deal that included managing 1,100 children in West Texas, the first region selected as part of a redesign of foster services statewide. But the firm is now pulling out.