Texas State Agency Deep Dive · August 29, 2026

Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services
Workforce & H-1B Analysis

DFPS employs 11,725 people — more than any other agency in this series — doing some of the hardest work in Texas government: protecting children from abuse, investigating neglect, managing foster care, and providing adult protective services. Their average salary is $61,119. The H-1B vendors brought in to build their IT systems average $105,003.

11,725

State Employees

$61,119

Avg Employee Salary

H-1B Workers (FY2026)

H-1B Sponsoring Vendors

5/19

Petitions Certified-Withdrawn

DFPS caseworkers are chronically underpaid, routinely overloaded, and among the highest-turnover state employees in Texas. The agency has struggled for years to keep enough workers on staff to handle its caseloads. The state legislature has held hearings on it. Children have died because of it.

And yet the agency's IT budget runs through 12 H-1B staffing firms at an average of $105,003 per worker. Stier Solutions Inc filed four Data Analyst petitions, all of which now carry a status of "Certified - Withdrawn" — and a fifth petition, from EPEOPLE Technologies, was withdrawn as well. Withdrawn certifications still appear in DOL disclosure data and still count toward the public record of H-1B activity at this agency.

DFPS Payroll — Current State Employees

11,725

Employees on Payroll

$61,119

Avg Annual Salary — Lowest in Series

$716,618,354

Total Annual Payroll

$300,000

Highest Salary

31.3%

White / Non-Hispanic

33.3%

Hispanic / Latino

30%

Black / African American

1.8%

Asian

Employee Ethnicity Composition

Employee Count by Ethnicity

Average Salary by Ethnicity

Salary Band Distribution by Ethnicity

Ethnicity Detail

Ethnicity	Employees	% of Agency	Avg Salary
HISPANIC	3,905	33.3%	$58,908
WHITE	3,673	31.3%	$65,281
BLACK	3,520	30%	$58,917
OTHER	369	3.1%	$56,407
ASIAN	211	1.8%	$74,799
AM INDIAN	47	0.4%	$60,067

Salary Band × Ethnicity

Ethnicity	<$50K	$50–75K	$75–100K	$100–150K	>$150K	Total
HISPANIC	1,264	2,233	339	63	6	3,905
WHITE	856	2,060	531	197	29	3,673
BLACK	1,064	2,113	311	31	1	3,520
OTHER	156	187	19	6	1	369
ASIAN	44	77	57	30	3	211
AM INDIAN	15	23	7	2	0	47

H-1B Vendor Placements at DFPS — FY2026 (Q3 Cumulative)

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5 of 19 H-1B petitions filed against DFPS carry a Withdrawn status

Four Stier Solutions Data Analyst petitions and one EPEOPLE Technologies Business Intelligence Consultant petition all carry a status of "Certified - Withdrawn." They still appear in DOL's public disclosure record. Data source: DOL LCA Disclosure Data, cumulative through FY2026 Q3.

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Stier Solutions filed 4 Data Analyst petitions — all subsequently withdrawn

Stier Solutions Inc filed four Data Analyst petitions listing DFPS as the worksite. All four carry a status of "Certified - Withdrawn." Three workers were listed at $100,339 and one at $87,381 for the same job title.

Stier Solutions Inc

4 workers $97,100 avg Level II Withdrawn

Job: Data Analyst

⚠️ All 4 petitions carry a status of "Certified - Withdrawn"

⚠️ Wage split: 3 workers at $100,339 and 1 at $87,381 for the same Data Analyst title

I-200-25262-322593, I-200-25262-322017, I-200-25262-322076, I-200-25262-322363

CONCH TECHNOLOGIES INC

2 workers $93,687 avg Level II Certified

Job: Software Developer / Software Engineer

Two job titles (Software Developer and Software Engineer) across 2 petitions, both remote (Anna, TX).

I-200-26044-638646, I-200-25332-443372

Conquest Consulting LLC

2 workers $87,672 avg Level II Certified

Job: QA Associate Analyst

I-200-26107-804450, I-200-26110-813437

HCL GLOBAL SYSTEMS INC

2 workers $123,947 avg Level II/III Certified

Job: Automation Engineer

Both filed hourly ($64.89/hr and $54.29/hr).

I-200-26152-968959, I-200-26105-797457

Mellow Soft Inc.

2 workers $100,500 avg Level II Certified

Job: Software Engineer

I-200-26168-025863, I-200-26156-984565

Camelot Integrated Solutions Inc

1 worker $114,754 avg Level II Certified

Job: Software Developer

I-200-25342-465214

Data S Solutions LLC

1 worker $114,754 avg Level II Certified

Job: Software Developer

I-200-26023-585086

DatamanUSA, LLC

1 worker $131,040 avg Level IV Certified

Job: Business Analyst

Filed hourly at $63.00/hr — annualizes to ~$131,040. Level IV — the most senior classification in this dataset.

I-200-25354-499709

EPEOPLE TECHNOLOGIES INC

1 worker $110,000 avg Level II Withdrawn

Job: Business Intelligence Consultant

⚠️ Certified - Withdrawn.

I-200-24247-310175

FLYSOFT INC.

1 worker $92,248 avg Level II Certified

Job: Business Analyst

I-200-25268-334609

POULOMI TECHNOLOGIES, INC.

1 worker $140,000 avg Level III Certified

Job: Software Developer

Highest-paid vendor in this dataset at $140,000 — Level III.

I-200-25343-469311

TIA INFOTEK INC

1 worker $92,248 avg Level II Certified

Job: Business Analyst — Accessibility

I-200-26023-584475

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Texas Agency Series — All Five Agencies

TxDOT — 138 H-1B worker positions, 30 vendors, CGI holds 101 across 3 petitions. Scale is the story.
OAG — 9 workers, 7 vendors, spanning both the general office and the Child Support Division. Location is the story.
Comptroller — 66 workers, 12 vendors; CGI's second 50-position mega-petition, a misspelled job title. Process integrity is the story.
Agriculture — 11 petitions, 9 vendors, a $38,439 wage gap between two titles for one role.
DFPS — 11,725 employees at $61,119 avg, vendors at $105,003 avg, 5 withdrawn placements. The gap between who Texas pays and who Texas contracts is the story.

TxDOT · OAG · Comptroller · Agriculture

Top 20 DFPS Job Classifications

Class Code	Title	Employees	Avg Salary
5023	CHILD PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC I	1,688	$47,361
5026	CHILD PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC IV	1,351	$65,952
5025	CHILD PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC III	1,021	$61,765
5024	CHILD PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC II	834	$54,697
5505	HUMAN SERVICES TECHNICIAN I	544	$37,542
5017	FAMILY & PROTECT SCVS SUPR II	526	$75,929
150	ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT I	511	$33,359
5016	FAMILY & PROTECT SCVS SUPR I	491	$69,941
5027	CHILD PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC V	267	$67,573
1353	INVESTIGATOR III	248	$61,002
5018	FAMILY & PROTECT SVCS SUPR III	186	$82,461
5004	ADULT PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC III	170	$60,291
5033	PROTECT SRVCS INTAKE SPEC IV	168	$56,745
1572	PROGRAM SPECIALIST III	149	$63,781
5010	FAMILY SERVICES SPECIALIST I	144	$67,335
5005	ADULT PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC IV	130	$63,313
152	ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT II	116	$37,810
1354	INVESTIGATOR IV	113	$68,308
5002	ADULT PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC I	104	$48,134
5003	ADULT PROTECTIVE SVCS SPEC II	101	$52,429

25 Highest-Paid DFPS Employees

Name	Title	Ethnicity	Annual Salary
ONEILL , AUDREY	COMMISSIONER, DFPS	WHITE	$300,000
SIMS , JENNIFER	DEPUTY DIRECTOR II	WHITE	$242,550
TALBERT , MARTA	DEPUTY DIRECTOR II	WHITE	$241,500
KOZIKOUJEKIAN , VICKI	GENERAL COUNSEL V	WHITE	$233,730
SOUTHERN , LUANNE	DIRECTOR VII	WHITE	$210,000
BANUELOS , ERICA	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	HISPANIC	$201,600
WINDBIGLER , GRACE	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	WHITE	$201,600
BIGGAR , LEA	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	WHITE	$201,600
KANNE , LISA	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	WHITE	$201,600
REEVES , NATALIE	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	WHITE	$201,600
MCGRATH , ANDREW	DIRECTOR VII	WHITE	$199,733
BEATY , ROBERTO	DEPUTY DIRECTOR I	HISPANIC	$189,000
LINDEMANN , ANGELITA	DIRECTOR VI	HISPANIC	$184,863
WOLD , KEZELI	DIRECTOR VII	WHITE	$183,750
LACEFIELD , LAUREN	DIRECTOR VI	WHITE	$178,500
CORDRAY , GLENNA	GENERAL COUNSEL IV	WHITE	$175,633
KING , ADAM	DIRECTOR V	WHITE	$175,000
WANG , GLORIA	DIRECTOR V	ASIAN	$173,762
BENAVIDES , AUSRA	DIRECTOR V	WHITE	$172,272
MADDOX , KYMBERLEY	DIRECTOR V	WHITE	$171,439
BLACK , STEPHEN	DIRECTOR VI	WHITE	$170,733
LOE , MELISSA	DIRECTOR VII	WHITE	$165,375
PANKRATZ , MICHAL	PHYSICIAN II	WHITE	$164,048
TAI , ERIC	GENERAL COUNSEL IV	ASIAN	$162,457
BUSH , JENNIFER	INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER	OTHER	$162,252

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About This Data

Employee payroll data from the Texas State Auditor's Office. Ethnicity classifications as recorded in state HR systems. No employee shown here has been identified as an H-1B visa holder. H-1B data from DOL LCA Disclosure Data, table 2026h1b_combined, SOURCE_QUARTER='Q3' — DOL's Q3 FY2026 quarterly extract is cumulative fiscal-year-to-date, so this single extract supersedes the separate Q1/Q2 files used in an earlier version of this report. Filtered to records listing DFPS or the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services as the secondary entity (worksite client agency) — this precise filter excludes a Nextgen Solutions petition naming Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services, which an earlier, looser search had wrongly attributed to DFPS. Research by GuestWorkerVisas.com.

Texas Dept. of Family and Protective ServicesWorkforce & H-1B Analysis

Texas Dept. of Family and Protective Services
Workforce & H-1B Analysis