December 28, 2020

The Honorable Greg Abbott

Governor

Delivered Electronically

Re: M.D. et al. v. Abbott

Dear Governor Abbott:

Thank you for your letter of December 23, 2020, regarding the M.D., et al. v.
Abbott lawsuit and for your leadership on this important matter.

As the executive commissioner of the Health and Human Services Commission, I

take very seriously the responsibilities to ensure children in general residential
facilities are protected from abuse and neglect and to comply with the court’s
orders. I can assure you that HHSC is committed to addressing the orders as
comprehensively as possible and that our team has been working diligently to do
so. We created a new unit within Child Care Licensing to focus solely on
implementing the heightened monitoring requirements. We are also implementing
new policies and automation changes to meet additional aspects of the court
orders.

In response to the court’s December 18 order, my team has worked to detail our
efforts to fully meet the remedial orders and we will submit the certifications
demonstrating full compliance by the January 2, 2021 deadline.

P.O. Box 13247 • Austin, Texas 78711-3247 • 512-424-6500 • hhs.texas.gov

The Honorable Greg Abbott
December 28, 2020
Page 2

Thank you for your continued support and leadership.

Sincerely,

Cecile Erwin Young

cc: Jamie Masters, Commissioner

Texas Department of Family and Protective Services