March 23, 2007, 1:15AM

Associated Press

AUSTIN — The deaths of three children in foster homes run by private agencies have lawmakers questioning where to draw the line on outsourcing the care of Texas' abused and neglected youngsters.

A state Senate committee wrestled with the issue for more than four hours Thursday as senators discussed a bill that would scale back a privatization plan they approved two years ago.

"I've gone back and forth and questioned, and I have such mixed emotions," said Sen. Jane Nelson, a Republican from Lewisville who chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

Though private groups already recruit and manage about 80 percent of Texas foster homes, state employees have traditionally been responsible for tasks such as developing case plans for children or conducting family visits.

In 2005, however, the Legislature approved a landmark Child Protective Services reform bill directing the state to hand over those responsibilities to the private groups over five years.

The deaths of 6-year-old Katherine Frances, 3-year-old Sierra Odom and 1-year-old Christian Nieto of head injuries in the past year and a half prompted lawmakers to reconsider whether they are willing to give those groups so much responsibility.

A compromise that Nelson unveiled Thursday would scale back the privatization experiment to a small pilot and would keep state caseworkers involved in decisions about placements and service plans.

Her bill also calls for stricter supervision of foster homes and the hiring of specialists to monitor foster care placement agencies for possible safety problems.

F. Scott McCown, a former judge turned advocate for abused children, applauded the decision to slow the privatization and keep state caseworkers involved.

But he said the state should also end an effort to let private companies recruit and manage all foster homes by 2009.

Some foster families prefer to work directly with the state, he said, and they might quit if they had to move to a private firm.

Also, many of the children in state-run foster homes have extreme health issues that private groups can't or won't accommodate.

"In 24 months, private providers aren't just going to be signing contracts right and left to take all these kids," he said.

But representatives from several private foster care agencies said Nelson's new proposal doesn't go far enough.

They said their caseworkers should be allowed to work with biological families because they're the ones coordinating school, doctors' appointments and therapy.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/politics/4654891.html