CPS employee filmed telling 14-year-old girl in foster care to become prostitute if she wants to eat

Concerned citizens who suspect that a child is being abused are encouraged to report their worries to Child Protective Services (CPS). But what do you do when CPS itself is suspected of abuse?

Keisha Bazley lives in Houston. She has nine children. Her fourteen-year-old daughter was playing truant from school and “causing trouble” so Keisha turned to CPS for help. Her daughter was then housed at a nearby hotel and a CPS employee assigned to her. One day, the girl asked the CPS employee for food. Instead of providing it, the CPS worker suggested that the girl turn to prostitution as a source of income.

"My daughter told me that the worker had been telling her she should do these things, so she said she decided to video her," Bazley told FOX 26. The video confirmed what her daughter had claimed and Bazley filed a formal complaint with CPS.

"This should not happen to girls in their care," she said. "It should not happen. It's unacceptable."

Jamie Masters, the Commissioner of CPS, traveled to Houston to personally apologize to Bazley and her daughter.

In a statement to FOX 26, Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) spokesperson Melissa Lanford, said:

DFPS is aware of the video and has taken action. The person in the video – who was employed as CPS support staff - was dismissed from her position August 10. The safety and appropriateness with which children in care must be treated is our paramount concern. Nothing less will be tolerated.