Judge terminates parental rights of both parents to three Castro children; DFPS named permanent managing conservator

A High Plains Child Protection Court judge on June 11, 2025 terminated the parental rights of Encarnacion Castro to her three children — Isabelle Castro, Eugenia Castro and Alexander Castro — based on her sworn, voluntary affidavits of relinquishment and found it was in the children’s best interest to do so. The court also terminated the parental rights of Domingo Malul Ramos to Alexander Castro after finding he was served by publication, did not respond, failed to register with the paternity registry and had constructively abandoned the children. The judge named the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as permanent managing conservator for Alexander and left the department as permanent managing conservator for Isabelle and Eugenia.

The ruling was delivered in a Zoom hearing of the High Plains Child Protection Court presided over by Judge Graham. Pamela Ferguson, attorney for the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), presented testimony including that of Becky Hernandez, a permanency specialist from Saint Francis Ministries who had supervised the children’s case and accepted the mother’s affidavits of relinquishment. Hernandez testified that she believed the relinquishments were voluntary and that the three children are thriving in their foster home.

Why this matters: Termination of parental rights severs the legal parent–child relationship and clears the way for a foster family to pursue adoption. In this case the foster family that has cared for the children for years told the court they intend to seek adoption as a sibling group.

Court findings and basis Judge Graham announced the decision from the bench, saying the court found by clear and convincing evidence that termination was in the children’s best interest. The court…