Foster child placement agency draws scrutiny after Lake Georgetown drowning

The two children who drowned Sunday in Lake Georgetown were playing a game to see who could hold their breath the longest, police said Monday.

The Georgetown Police Department has not released the names of the children, a four-year-old boy and his six-year-old sister. Both children were in the foster care system of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services, police said.

A 12-year-old boy who also lived in the home went searching for the children after they did not resurface from the swimming area at Russell Park, according to a press release from Capt. Roland Waits with the Georgetown Police Department.

The 12-year-old found the girl after about five minutes and pulled her to the surface before bystanders pulled her to shore and performed CPR until emergency personnel arrived. The boy was found about 15 minutes later. The two were in water about two to three feet deep about 15 feet from shore when they went under, police said.

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The Department of Family and Protective Services has suspended placements of foster children by a Central Texas network following Sunday’s drowning of two foster children at Lake Georgetown.

Placements by Austin-based Providence Kids child-placement agency have been halted pending the outcome of the state’s investigation of the incident. Providence Kids has 29 foster children in eight homes in Williamson, Travis, Bell, Lee and Hays counties, according to a DFPS press release.

The complete story is at http://www.statesman.com/news/news/local/police-two-children-who-drowned-in-lake-georgetown/ngZ4C/ .