ABILENE, Texas — The Taylor County Judge’s Office and Commissioner’s Court has officially moved into the Historical 1915 Courthouse just across the street.
The move was to make room for a new CPS court that was much needed for the county.
"We have a backlog of CPS cases going on which originally started out as drug cases and….they began to find children in these homes where the drugs are being produced and found, were testing positive to exposure to drugs,” Taylor County Judge, Downing Bolls said.
In 2018, Taylor County completed 1,798 abuse and neglect investigations. 912 of them were confirmed victims. 353 children were removed from the home because of the abuse or neglect, and 798 were under DFPS custody.
"This will allow the family court to get back and start doing some of the things they do. I think they've got a year and a half backlog on divorce cases and things such as that, so it has had a dramatic impact on our courts,” Judge Bolls said.
As the Judge’s Office and Commissioner’s Court settle in, plans for renovations are in the works as they apply for a construction grant this fall.
"We've gone ahead and proceeded on with architectural plans for the renovation of the courthouse. We've been working with the Texas Historical Commission on that,” Judge Bolls said.