Thank you for stopping by. You will find news about child welfare, foster care, termination of parental rights, supreme court cases, lawsuits, sex crimes and much more. Be sure to check back often.
First << 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 >> Last
Number of Kids in Foster Care Cut 44 Percent Amid City Policy Change
MANHATTAN - The number of children placed in foster care in New York City has been cut nearly in half in recent years, statistics show.
Data from the city's Administration for Children Services show a steady decline in the number of children who were sent to foster homes as the city strives to deploy an array of social services to troubled families to keep them whole.
CPS apologizes to Dallas mom about child
Last October, Gibson was caught with drugs. The state's Child Protective Services agency took custody of her nine-year-old daughter.
Gibson cleaned up, and for months has tried to get her child out of foster care. "I was stunned, actually, to get this letter," she said holding two sheets of paper with an apology from CPS.
Caged Child Abuse Survivor Speaks Out
CAMARILLO, Calif. - A child kept in a cage by the foster mother who adopted her more than a decade ago is now in a unique position to help other children like her.
Cynthia Vasquez,19, works at Casa Pacifica in Camarillo, the same center that helped her when she was an abused and neglected 9-year-old. Casa Pacific CEO Steve Elson said she was one of the worst cases they've seen. " It was horrendous what she and her sister went through," Elson said. Cynthia still remembers what it was like when she first arrived at the shelter. She remembers being asked if she was hungry and getting something sweet to eat.
#SAFE on phone makes reporting child abuse, neglect easy
Reportings of suspected child abuse and neglect have ticked up nearly 20 percent in the wake of last month's brutal killing of 10-year-old Victoria Martens and a campaign by the state.
If the calls about abuse or neglect involve a parent, guardian or someone in the household, it is screened in for investigation by CYFD; if the call involves someone outside the household, such as a coach, teacher or neighbor, then CYFD cross-reports the call to local law enforcement for investigation, Jacobson said.
Panel's child welfare role debated
The co-chairman of the legislative panel dedicated to uncovering wrongdoing by state government said Thursday that lawmakers should have oversight over individual child welfare cases.
Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, didn't explain what he meant by oversight at the meeting, in which a lawyer said Clark was on the cusp of breaking state law and a fellow Republican said Clark was badgering state employees.
Critics say Arizona is cheaping out on child-welfare services
Social-service providers are warning that children could linger longer in foster care if the state of Arizona follows through with a new round of contracts they say will cut rates, lower standards and deter qualified applicants.
The complaints arise as the state is on the verge of awarding new contracts for services the Department of Child Safety insists will get kids out of foster care and into permanent homes more quickly, without increasing costs to the state. The complaints are also bringing to the forefront criticisms usually made in quieter tones about Gov. Doug Ducey's intent to shrink state government and run it "at the speed of business."
Nebraska is failing children depending on it for survival
An in-depth analysis of Nebraska's child welfare system released Wednesday shows that despite increased funding and regulatory changes during the past few years, there was an increase between January 2013 and June 2015 in cases of children in the system.
Children are not being served adequately because of large caseloads for state employees. Again and again, we are hearing of state facilities and departments that aren't measuring up because of a lack of adequate staffing.
Why we're afraid to leave our children alone
Parents don't not leave their kids alone because they fear something might happen to them. They fear the moral disapproval. Only in the past decade or so has "no child left alone" become the social and legal norm in the U.S.
News reports and crime shows feed exaggerated fears. But Thomas and her co-authors note that legal norms needn't follow inaccurate beliefs about risks. "The fact that many people irrationally fear air travel does not result in air travel being criminalized," they write. "Parents are not arrested for bringing their children with them on airplanes. In contrast, parents are arrested and prosecuted for allowing their children to wait in cars, play in parks, or walk through their neighborhoods without an adult."
Rep. Tammie Wilson accuses state of 'legal kidnapping'
A North Pole legislator is accusing the state of "legal kidnapping" for the rise in the number of children in state protective custody.
Rep. Tammie Wilson, R-North Pole, this week called for a grand jury investigation into the Office of Children's Services, alleging the agency has ignored state and federal law in order to put more children into state custody and keep them there.
Baby Braelon has a high fever and was throwing up and his mother had to BEG the workers at her group home to take the baby to the local hospital first and then he was transferred around midnight last night to Children's Hospital because of the severity.
The negligence on the part of a group that is supposed to protect children is outrageous! Even though the baby had a dr's appt the day after he was discharged from the hospital it wasn't til TEN DAYS LATER that they took the baby to be checked!!
