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"We're not privatizing the printing of telephone books here," said Nelson, a Republican from the Dallas suburb of Flower Mound who chairs the Senate's health and human services committee. "We're talking about children, and we can't make mistakes."
Christian died of head injuries in Corsicana after being placed in five different foster homes in seven months by Mesa Family Services, a private foster company that had been cited by the state for many safety violations, according to an investigation by The Dallas Morning News.
His foster mother has been charged with capital murder but maintains her innocence and says he was already hurt when he arrived at her home five days before he died. The Associated Press could not reach Mesa's co-founders for comment. One of the men, Artie Hilliard of Mullin, declined to discuss the case when contacted by the newspaper.
The state has revoked Mesa's license, and its foster homes are being supervised by another child placement agency, said Carey Cockerell, commissioner of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services. He said the department is examining what it has done in the past and what it could do in the future to prevent similar tragedies.
"I gotta tell you I've been thinking about what could I have done - is there anything that we could have put in the legislation that would have prevented this from happening," Nelson said at a committee hearing on the implementation of the reform law. "Did we err in allowing privatization?"
While private entities like Mesa 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. However, last year's landmark reform law directed the Department of Family and Protective Services to hand over those responsibilities to the private groups over a five-year period.
Supporters of outsourcing say the person charged with taking care of the children should have the authority to make decisions about their lives. But critics fear private companies will base those decisions more on their financial concerns than on what's best for the children they serve.
Nelson opposed the case management privatization during the last legislative session but ultimately agreed to let it go forward during negotiations with House leaders. She was the only senator present for most of Tuesday's hearing.
The outsourcing effort has been on hold for a month since the state decided to indefinitely delay issuing the first major contract. Cockerell said the decision was made after lawmakers and community organizations told him "there were some aspects of the project that might jeopardize its success."
Attorney Barbara J. Elias-Perciful said she fears other children will die if the department moves forward with the outsourcing plan. If state caseworkers aren't having regular contact with foster children, they won't have any way of knowing if they are being further abused or neglected, she said.
"Then we're in the situation where all the information the department has is only that which the private agency chooses to share," said Elias-Perciful, president of Texas Loves Children Inc., which provides training and legal materials to judges and attorneys handling child abuse cases.
But Jack Downey, president of The Children's Shelter in San Antonio, said studies showed outsourcing in Florida led to more adoptions and available foster homes, fewer children in foster care and less foster home crowding.
Mike Foster, an official with the Austin child placement agency Caring Family Network, said Christian's death should not lead people to condemn privatization. Instead, unsuccessful agencies should be held accountable.
"If we don't do a good job with children and families, we should not get a contract," he said.