Corruption trials shed light on blood money flowing through Massachusetts DCF, Courts

Corruption trials shed light on blood money flowing through Massachusetts DCF, Courts

This month, dozens of high level Massachusetts politicians enjoyed immunity in exchange for their testimony in the corruption, bribery, and racketeering trials of various legislators and family court probation officers charged with running an organized crime right through their State offices. Several co-conspirators have been convicted and jailed, leaving Massachusetts leaders with important questions to answer about the human toll organized crime may have taken on the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable families? Are the Probation Department’s ineffective “offender rehabilitation” programs paid for with the blood of Massachusetts taxpayers?

Group home counselor accused of drug possession with intent to sell

Group home counselor accused of drug possession with intent to sell

A group home counselor and driver for ChildFirst Services faces numerous drug and weapon-related charges after state troopers found suspected heroin, cocaine and raw marijuana at his home, the Wayne County district attorney’s office said Friday.

Alberta judge calls for investigation into funding for aboriginal youth in care

Alberta judge calls for investigation into funding for aboriginal youth in care

An Alberta judge says there should be an investigation into whether funding for aboriginal youth in the child welfare system is less than funding for non-native youth.

AZ Week: Foster Parents, Child Advocates Demand Better System

AZ Week: Foster Parents, Child Advocates Demand Better System

Daniela Preciado grew up in the foster care system. Now an adult, mother and wife, Preciado's been giving back as a foster parent for about six years.

Trial in foster child death postponed again

Trial in foster child death postponed again

The trial of a former Cullom woman charged in the 2011 death of a foster child has been postponed until September.

Baby in Coma After Police ‘Grenade’ Dropped in Crib During Drug Raid

Baby in Coma After Police ‘Grenade’ Dropped in Crib During Drug Raid

A Georgia toddler has been put into a medically induced coma after he was badly burned by a police “flash bang” grenade that landed in the crib where the boy was sleeping during a drug raid, his mother told ABC News today.

Note: Stupid cops.  

Woman charged with domestic battery towards foster child

Woman charged with domestic battery towards foster child

A teacher's aide in Greenbrier County has been accused of striking one of her foster children in the face.

The real story of the 'baby with no name’

The real story of the 'baby with no name’

A stressed father had to leave his £90k job after his son was sent for adoption - but the public were not told the full story

Friday, May 30, 2014

Former foster mom charged with murder now in Catoosa County jail

Former foster mom charged with murder now in Catoosa County jail

Former Ringgold foster care mother Clara Louise Edwards was extradited back to Catoosa County Wednesday night, May 29.

Dr. Phil: “Foster Care is a Social Circumstance, Not a Mental Illness”

Dr. Phil: “Foster Care is a Social Circumstance, Not a Mental Illness”

The House Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources heard testimony yesterday on the disproportionate use of psychotropic medications on foster youths, and the president’s $750 million proposal to address the issue.


Child Protective Services nearing end of Willow Smith investigation

Child Protective Services nearing end of Willow Smith investigation

Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith have always had an unorthodox way of raising their three kids. Their parenting methods went from being seen as odd and free spirited to dangerous earlier this month, when Child Protective Services opened up an investigation on the family, after a photo of 13-year-old Willow Smith lying in bed with shirtless 20-year-old actor Moises Arias hit the Web. Now, after weeks of interviews, reports claim that the investigation is nearing its end.

Catholic Roma parents say they are frightened as children placed with gay couple

Catholic Roma parents say they are frightened as children placed with gay couple

A Catholic Roma family whose two youngest sons are to be placed with a gay couple are “frightened” by the move that they believe will sever the children from their faith.

Wakefield Runaway Who Fled DCF Home Found Safe in Chelsea

Wakefield Runaway Who Fled DCF Home Found Safe in Chelsea

14-year-old Wakefield runaway was found in Chelsea on Wednesday, according to Wakefield Police.

One Breakdown Can Mean Losing Your Kid Forever

One Breakdown Can Mean Losing Your Kid Forever

State governments are permanently taking hundreds of children from their parents—under a bizarre theory that they might, in the future, be too mentally ill to care for the young.

Thursday, May 29, 2014

Abused Dana Baker killed herself after 'breakdown with foster carers'

Abused Dana Baker killed herself after 'breakdown with foster carers'

A teenager who killed herself after she was sexually abused by her karate instructor also had a troubled history in foster care, an inquest has heard.

Congress Asks Why Foster Children Take More Mental Health Meds Than Other Kids

Congress Asks Why Foster Children Take More Mental Health Meds Than Other Kids

Foster children are medicated with psychotropic drugs at a rate much higher than are other kids, and lawmakers want to know what's to blame: more mental health needs or a problem of overmedication, as advocates and former foster kids have alleged.

Dr. Phil says foster kids given meds to 'control and suppress' them

Dr. Phil says foster kids given meds to 'control and suppress' them

Celebrity psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw has joined the hundred-plus advocacy groups asking Congress to help reduce overprescribing psychotropic drugs to children in foster care.

Note: F*** Dr Phil!  He's a system suck.  He's just doing this for publicity.

Mom accused of threatening son, says it's a misunderstanding

Mom accused of threatening son, says it's a misunderstanding

A New Vineyard mother accused of choking and threatening her son and husband is denying she hurt anyone.

Australia – 14,000 stolen children – today

Australia – 14,000 stolen children – today

Former Government worker for the NSW Department of Families and Communities, Debra Swan on National Sorry Day joined one of the 15 protests happening across the continent to not only remember the Stolen Generations but to point out that they are continuing. In NSW, one in 9 Aboriginal children is ripped from their families into “out of home care”.

Child Threatens Parents "tell school to call CPS" after CPS Investigation. Can we hold school accountable for false reporting?

Child Threatens Parents "tell school to call CPS" after CPS Investigation. Can we hold school accountable for false reporting?

Teen child is acting out at home and school. When reprimanded him and younger sister continue to threaten parents to have school call CPS. School reported our family for spanking back in January 2014. After 8 Hour investigation of our home and trip to emergency room for examination, the case was closed. The after effects months later is kids think they can have the school call the law on parents for disciplining them. As a parent scared to discipline them due to my home being violated unexpectedly back in Jan. My opinion and the opinions of other adults who have heard this "threat" from kids feel it is being prompted at school. We have nothing to hide here. How can we hold the school accountable for the permanent damage they have done. Son Age 11 is a documented special education student.

Children Abused, Forced to Watch Pornography, Eat Faeces at Maharashtra Shelter Home

Children Abused, Forced to Watch Pornography, Eat Faeces at Maharashtra Shelter Home

Two people have been arrested after an NGO complained to police that children, aged between five and 15, were being sexually abused and forced to eat faeces, at a shelter home in Maharashtra.

Aboriginal kids in care not about race: NT

Aboriginal kids in care not about race: NT

The over-representation of Aboriginal children in foster care has nothing to do with race, the Northern Territory attorney-general says.

UK may approve three-parent pregnancies to end several genetic diseases

UK may approve three-parent pregnancies to end several genetic diseases

Later this year, legislators in the UK will vote on (and almost certainly pass) a bill to begin human testing on a new technique of so-called “three-parent” in-vitro fertilization. To understand why this might be helpful, and how a third parent can be medically useful, you need to understand the basics of genetic inheritance. The most important single insight is this: an egg is the factory of human life, while a sperm is just a nucleus with an outboard motor.

Note: Kind of like Dr Frankenstein attempting to perfect the human race, eh?

Two dead children among 10 youngsters 'failed' by city social services

Two dead children among 10 youngsters 'failed' by city social services

Southampton social services have been condemned in fresh reports into deaths and abuse of vulnerable children in their care

Connecticut fails to meet deadline on Sandy Hook mental health gun bill

Connecticut fails to meet deadline on Sandy Hook mental health gun bill

The problem with instituting sweeping, costly and invasive mental health legislation is that there always are unintended consequences.

Two held for sexually abusing children at shelter home

Two held for sexually abusing children at shelter home

Two officials of a children's shelter home in Karjat taluka of Maharashtra's Raigad district were arrested on charges of sexually abusing five minor inmates, police said on Thursday.

Doctor concerned burned foster child at risk

Doctor concerned burned foster child at risk

A veteran Strathmore emergency room doctor fears a vulnerable foster child may be in peril after she was returned to a foster home where she suffered serious burns to her face five months ago.

Suit says DCF violated parents’ rights

Suit says DCF violated parents’ rights

A Walpole couple have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the Department of Children and Families of illegally doing the bidding of doctors at Boston’s Children’s Hospital, which the suit alleges threatened to strip the mother and 
father of their parental rights if their daughter was not committed to the hospital’s mental facility.

Officials: Cost of new DCF social workers won't hurt other programs

Officials: Cost of new DCF social workers won't hurt other programs

State officials Thursday provided more details on how the governor plans to pay for an additional 18 social workers at the Department for Children and Families.

Social Workers Picket To Demand Lower Caseloads At Child Welfare Agency

Social Workers Picket To Demand Lower Caseloads At Child Welfare Agency

Social workers and investigators at the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families picketed outside the agency’s Holyoke office today to call attention to what they say are skyrocketing caseloads.  At the same time, the results of an independent review of the troubled child welfare agency were released in Boston.

Note: Perhaps if they weren't screwing with so many families and snatching so many kids, their caseloads wouldn't be so high.

DCF failures didn’t lead to Jeremiah Oliver’s death, report finds

DCF failures didn’t lead to Jeremiah Oliver’s death, report finds

A report released Wednesday found the Department of Children and Families was not responsible for the death of Jeremiah Oliver, sparking sharp criticism from lawmakers who said the finding downplayed the agency’s failure to properly monitor the boy’s troubled family.

Review of child welfare agency finds deep flaws in system

Review of child welfare agency finds deep flaws in system

While the Department of Children and Families mishandled the case of 5-year-old Jeremiah Oliver, a new independent review of the child welfare agency absolved the department of direct responsibility for the boy’s death in a report outlining systemic staffing, policy and technology shortcomings.

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

TX: SUNSET COMMISSION REPORT RELEASES INCLUDE FAMILY, PROTECTIVE SERVICES

TX: SUNSET COMMISSION REPORT RELEASES INCLUDE FAMILY, PROTECTIVE SERVICES

Last week the Texas Sunset Commission released the first of its staff reports on the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS) along with four other agencies currently under review. These are the result of the agency’s self-evaluation last September and public written input last December. The Sunset Commission is requesting public input to these staff reports through the Public Input Form for Agencies Under Review page on or before June 6, 2014.

Aging Out of Foster Care in SF without Documents, Verenice’s Story

Aging Out of Foster Care in SF without Documents, Verenice’s Story

I went to foster care system when I was 17. They placed me in a foster home in the Bayview district with an African-American family. The foster home had only two rooms and a basement where our foster mom’s son stayed, but we never saw him.  I had four roommates there, most were younger than me, but all of us were foster youth. Nikia, also on CTAB, was my first roommate.

Let’s Blow Up American Child Welfare and Start Over

Let’s Blow Up American Child Welfare and Start Over

You know the look. You’ve finally managed to get out of the office like your family and friends said you should. You’ve dressed up a bit and made it to a social event where you’ll meet some engaging and smart people who do things other than represent stigmatized, deeply challenged children and parents. You’re swapping stories and chuckles, and actually starting to believe that there’s life out there beyond the confines of your caseload. And then someone asks what you do, and you tell them, and you get that look. Not rolling their eyes exactly, as these are sensitive folks who know they should consider what you do important. Instead, it’s a slump of the shoulders, a tilt of the head, and a weak, wan smile in the eyes and on the lips that says, “Oh, you poor thing.” An esteemed public policy professor once gave me that look after I told her what I wanted to do with my life, as she said, “Oh, God. Talk about your intractable social problems…”

Social worker suspended from register after undermining child protection order application

Social worker suspended from register after undermining child protection order application

A social worker who derailed a local authority’s application for an emergency protection order in court has been suspended from the social work register for 12 months.

Tuesday, May 27, 2014

Justina Pelletier’s Friends Surprise Her With a 16th Birthday Party

Justina Pelletier’s Friends Surprise Her With a 16th Birthday Party

Justina Pelletier, the teen at the center of a legal battle between the Pelletier family and Boston Children’s Hospital over custody and proper medical treatment, received a surprise 16th birthday party from her friends over the weekend.

Social workers overburdened

Social workers overburdened

A review of the workload imposed on social workers has found they've been given too much work to do.

Social worker fined for death of addict's son

Social worker fined for death of addict's son

The court in Leipzig decided on Monday that the social worker had to take some responsibility for the death of the toddler in June 2012, after his mother, 26, died.


Pope declares 'zero tolerance' on child abuse

Pope declares 'zero tolerance' on child abuse

Pope Francis said Monday he will meet with a group of sex abuse victims next month at the Vatican and declared "zero tolerance" for any member of the clergy who would violate a child.

Gov. Brewer: Trust me with $60 million for child welfare system

Gov. Brewer: Trust me with $60 million for child welfare system

Gov. Jan Brewer said Monday that lawmakers should believe her plan to fix the state’s child welfare system is right “because I’m behind it.”

Legislative leaders OK with Brewer's CPS spending

Legislative leaders OK with Brewer's CPS spending

Top Republican leaders in the Arizona Legislature seem to be mainly on board with Gov. Jan Brewer's plan to give a new child welfare agency another $60 million in funding when lawmakers convene for a special session Tuesday.

Ontario social worker killed in building fire

Ontario social worker killed in building fire

The Sudbury, Ontario community is mourning the loss of Children’s Aid worker Nicole Belair, who died on May 13 after succumbing to burn injuries from a building fire that happened the previous day.

Note: I wonder how many of her victims are morning her loss.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Maine mom in abduction case back in jail for violating bail

Maine mom in abduction case back in jail for violating bail

A Fairfield woman charged with abducting her two children in August is back in jail after violating her bail conditions by visiting the children at a church function the day before Easter, police said.

Kids in care are still in danger

Kids in care are still in danger

An inquest report on the death of a 20-month-old girl returned to her drug-addicted mother goes through a litany of numerous critical details where a child-welfare agency failed in its duty to keep her safe. The stunning lack of attention to the risk posed to the child by her mother, ignorance of the mother's drug use, the return of the child to the woman without evidence it was safe to do so.

Five-month-old baby to be put up for adoption because father gets angry with social workers

Five-month-old baby to be put up for adoption because father gets angry with social workers

A five-month-old baby who has still not been given a name will be put up for adoption because of his father’s hostility to social workers, a High Court judge has ruled.

Teen who died after being Tased at hospital laid to rest

Teen who died after being Tased at hospital laid to rest

George King seemed to always be hungry, occasionally pestering the staff at his group foster home for chicken or brownies. If someone was being picked on, he would stand up for them, his loved ones recalled. Though he had made some missteps in life, he had recently joined a church, enrolled in community college and seemed to be getting on the right path.

Former Ontario foster kids launch $110M lawsuit against province

Former Ontario foster kids launch $110M lawsuit against province

At five years old, Carole Chretien-Rankin was taken from her family in Ottawa’s Lowertown neighbourhood — she's never known why, she says — and her identify was erased.


Doctor concerned burned foster child at risk

Doctor concerned burned foster child at risk

A veteran Strathmore emergency room doctor fears a vulnerable foster child may be in peril after she was returned to a foster home where she suffered serious burns to her face five months ago.


CFD: Juvenile arrested in suspected arson

CFD: Juvenile arrested in suspected arson

Investigators said a juvenile has been arrested in connected to a suspected arson of a foster home in Charlotte. Officials with Charlotte Fire said the juvenile has been charged with first degree arson.

Forced adoptees are not alone

Forced adoptees are not alone

Latrobe Valley residents meeting to talk about the often painful impacts of forced adoption have been given an opportunity to see things from another perspective.

After 1950s Forced Adoption New Yorker Is Reunited

After 1950s Forced Adoption New Yorker Is Reunited

“philomena’s” story is just one example of the forced adoption of irish children (video), It’s about an irish mother who becomes pregnant and is more or less forced by local nuns to give up the child for adoption he also longed to be reunited with his irish mother. as the new york times noted this week, “as he was dying of aids in.

Children in care 'a new stolen generation'

Children in care 'a new stolen generation'

Aboriginal people who live a traditional lifestyle are being punished with the removal of their children by child protective services in what's being called a new stolen generation, a researcher says.

State Overturns 1 Out Of 3 CPS Child Abuse, Neglect Claims

State Overturns 1 Out Of 3 CPS Child Abuse, Neglect Claims


The state is overturning far more cases in which Child Protective Services initially ruled that a child was abused or neglected.

Sorry Day rallies call for changes to state child-protection regimes

Sorry Day rallies call for changes to state child-protection regimes

Number of Indigenous children removed from their families has increased fivefold since Bringing Them Home report of 1997

More child abuse claims by CPS being overturned

More child abuse claims by CPS being overturned

The state is overturning an increasing number of cases in which Child Protective Services initially ruled that a child had been abused or neglected, according to a newspaper report Sunday.

Saturday, May 24, 2014

Poloncarz admits bumpy ride in Child Protective Services

Poloncarz admits bumpy ride in Child Protective Services

Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz Friday acknowledged that serious problems remain in Child Protective Services, with 33 disciplinary actions taken against workers over the past year, including five firings and nine suspensions.

Willow Smith Tells CPS She Did “Nothing Inappropriate” with Moises Arias

Willow Smith Tells CPS She Did “Nothing Inappropriate” with Moises Arias

The investigation that Child Protection Services have started regarding the photo scandal of Willow Smith, daughter of famous actors Jada Pinkett and Will Smith, has seen workers interview the 13-year-old Willow twice already, trying to determine if something inappropriate had taken place at the time.

Fighting to protect youth in foster care from sex trafficking


When I became Chairman of the Ways and Means Subcommittee on Human Resources at the beginning of this Congress, I had already seen more victims of the horrors of sex trafficking than most people see in several lifetimes. For 33 years, I worked in law enforcement, including as the lead detective on the Green River Killer serial murder case and later becoming King County Sheriff in Washington state. For twenty years, I tragically collected the bodies of young women, girls really, who had become victims twice over – once from their circumstances which had pushed them into the arms of pimps and life on the streets, and the second time from crossing the path of an evil and sadistic man who took their lives. When we closed the case on the Green River Killer, Gary Ridgway pled guilty to 49 murders and likely killed at least 20 more. So for me, sex trafficking isn’t just something I have chosen arbitrarily to combat, it is extremely personal.

Chile Investigating Gerardo Joannon, Catholic Priest Accused Of Stealing Babies For Adoption

Chile Investigating Gerardo Joannon, Catholic Priest Accused Of Stealing Babies For Adoption

Chile's child welfare service is investigating reports that a Catholic priest was involved in giving babies up for adoption in the 1970s and 1980s without their parents' knowledge, telling the biological mothers that their child had died.

Academics worried by proposals to privatise children’s services

Academics worried by proposals to privatise children’s services

A group of child protection experts have declared themselves “very concerned” by government plans to privatise most child protection services.

As homelessness plagues kids too old for foster care, state lifts age limits for some

As homelessness plagues kids too old for foster care, state lifts age limits for some

A handful of young adults from Brown County who are about to be too old to benefit from foster care can now stay in their foster homes a few years longer.

Foster mom charged in Catoosa County tot's death

Foster mom charged in Catoosa County tot's death

A foster parent has been charged with murder in the death of a 2-year-old girl who died on New Year's Day from injuries suffered while in foster care in Catoosa County, Ga.

Goodyear foster father sentenced in child abuse case

Goodyear foster father sentenced in child abuse case

A Valley foster father accused of severely injuring a 15-month-old girl in October 2013 has been sentenced to 3 1/2 years in prison and lifetime probation.

Patrick out of town for release of CWLA report on DCF

Patrick out of town for release of CWLA report on DCF

A report by the Child Welfare League of America is set to be released sometime next week, it appears, when Governor Deval Patrick is out of town.

Siblings get $9M in ‘horrific’ abuse case

Siblings get $9M in ‘horrific’ abuse case

What is the price tag for “ritualistic, sadistic and horrific abuse” of six children?

The social cost is incalculable, because research on the effects of child abuse says victims carry psychological scars for the rest of their lives.

Key to the modern world – the sinister power of groupthink

Key to the modern world – the sinister power of groupthink

Those affected do not think for themselves, they take on their belief-system from others

Note: This is one of the many problems that we face when trying to wake people up to the fraud and abuses that take place within the wide spectrum of the Child Protective Industry.

Friday, May 23, 2014

Crimes spark foster home review

Crimes spark foster home review

Dakota Ojibway Child and Family Services says it has initiated a review of Specialized Foster Homes after confirming a second high-profile crime has been linked to youths who live at the group homes.

Jim Porter: Child support for mother hiding children?

Jim Porter: Child support for mother hiding children?

“This is another frivolous family law appeal. As we shall explain, given well-known appellate rules, it was ‘dead on arrival’ at the appellate courthouse.”

Transgender child ‘too dangerous’ for DCF, judge says

Transgender child ‘too dangerous’ for DCF, judge says

The transgender child who has been transferred from the state Department of Children and Families to the Correction Department is “too dangerous” to be housed at DCF detention facilities for boys or girls, according to the Superior Court judge who heard six days of testimony on the issue.

Birmingham Children's Services 'inadequate' says Ofsted

Birmingham Children's Services 'inadequate' says Ofsted

Serious failures in Birmingham's Children's Services are continuing to leaving young people at risk, Ofsted has found.

Children in foster care vulnerable to identity theft

Children in foster care vulnerable to identity theft

Identity theft is a serious crime. Child identity theft happens when someone uses a minor’s personal information to commit fraud. A minor’s identity may be stolen for the purposes of getting a job, government benefits, medical care, utilities, car loans, or a mortgage. Avoiding, discovering, and undoing the damage resulting from the theft of a young person’s identity can be a challenge.

Willow Smith Investigation Widens — Child Protective Services Officials Want To Interview 20-Year-Old Man Pictured In Bedroom Shoot With The Teen

Willow Smith Investigation Widens — Child Protective Services Officials Want To Interview 20-Year-Old Man Pictured In Bedroom Shoot With The Teen

Days after Child Protective Services in Los Angeles questioned Will Smith‘s 13-year-old daughter, Willow about a controversial picture of her in bed with an older man, RadarOnline.com has learned that investigators are now turning their attention to the individual in the photo, actor Moises Arias, 20, and are now hoping to interview him about the incident.

Mother killed son amid probe by CPS

Mother killed son amid probe by CPS

Erie County Child Protective Services had been investigating a complaint concerning the welfare of 8-year-old Jacob T. Noe but failed to remove the boy from his home before his mother allegedly killed him last week.

20 kids removed from children's home


The Department of Human Services is investigating a children's home in Cross County for allegations of child abuse.

Gov. Brewer convenes special session on child safety reform

Gov. Brewer convenes special session on child safety reform

Governor Jan Brewer today signed a Proclamation calling the Arizona Legislature into Special Session on Tuesday, May 27, to pass her critical child safety reform proposal to fundamentally overhaul the state’s child safety system.

Thursday, May 22, 2014

Miss. again in talks over child welfare lawsuit

Miss. again in talks over child welfare lawsuit

Mississippi officials are negotiating a third settlement with a group that sued over Mississippi's child welfare system, after the state failed to meet the terms of two previous legal settlements over the course of six years.

Where foster kids live affects school performance, report says

Where foster kids live affects school performance, report says

Foster youth perform worse in school depending on where they are placed, such as group homes, and how long they stay there, according to a new report that reveals the impact of living conditions and other factors on the academic achievement of foster children.

Misdemeanor charge dropped against mom who kept DCF out of house

Misdemeanor charge dropped against mom who kept DCF out of house

A misdemeanor charge against a 35-year-old mother, accused of not allowing state Department of Children and Families workers into her house, was dropped, but her attempt to get the most serious charges against her dismissed failed Wednesday at Norwalk Superior Court.

Mother can visit kids who were left in hot car

Mother can visit kids who were left in hot car

A court commissioner decided Thursday that a Phoenix mother can have supervised visits with the young sons that she told police were left in a hot car when she couldn't find a baby sitter during a job interview.

Veteran civil rights activist weighs in on foster fight

Veteran civil rights activist weighs in on foster fight

A longtime civil rights activist is now weighing in on a racially-charged foster care battle in southwest Florida. It's the case of a little white girl living with a black foster mom. Tomorrow, a Charlotte County judge could decide to send her to live with her sister in a white foster family's home.

Brewer expected to call special legislative session on CPS today

Brewer expected to call special legislative session on CPS today

State lawmakers expect to be called back to the Capitol next week to fix the state’s embattled Child Protective Services.

DCF exodus: Social workers bail on troubled agency

DCF exodus: Social workers bail on troubled agency

Note: Not nearly fast enough...

Social workers have been jumping ship at Massachusetts’ embattled child welfare department this year faster than the agency has replaced them, suggesting DCF is barely treading water in its struggle to safeguard the state’s most vulnerable children, according to state data and union officials representing DCF staffers.

School reported alleged rape to DCF, not police

School reported alleged rape to DCF, not police

Walpole police say a major DCF foster care contractor running a school for children with behavioral problems failed to contact local authorities about a sexual assault allegation two weeks ago — and has been uncooperative in cases involving missing kids and assault and battery on the facility’s campus.

PARENTS JAILED FOR HURTING CHILD'S FEELINGS?

PARENTS JAILED FOR HURTING CHILD'S FEELINGS?

A Christian organization in the United Kingdom is warning parents of a proposed law that could send them to prison for 10 years if they harm their child’s “physical, intellectual, emotional, social or behavioral development.”

Warning to the Parents of Massachusetts

The Massachusetts Child Protective Industry is using their failures and fuck-ups as a growth opportunity.  Now they're taking more kids.

Child welfare agency's caseload grows as scrutiny continues

The state child welfare agency's caseload has continued to grow even as it has come under intense scrutiny following the deaths of children in its care.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Problems in OC Child Welfare System Get Statewide Scrutiny

Problems in OC Child Welfare System Get Statewide Scrutiny

A high-profile case, a judge’s stern warning and a critical state audit have made Orange County a recent statewide example for critics who say child welfare systems suffer from chronic mismanagement and poor oversight.

Mayor says bullied kids need to ‘grow a pair’

Mayor says bullied kids need to ‘grow a pair’

The mayor of Porterville, Calif. in the center of the state recently sparked controversy over his suggestion that victims of bullying “grow a pair”.

Birth mother speaks out in NAACP foster fight

Birth mother speaks out in NAACP foster fight

The biological mother of a child involved a racially charged foster care battle is speaking out.

Epitome Of Bad Parents? Child Protective Services Investigating Will And Jada Over Photo Of Willow In Bed With 20-Year-Old “Friend”

Epitome Of Bad Parents? Child Protective Services Investigating Will And Jada Over Photo Of Willow In Bed With 20-Year-Old “Friend” 

Will Smith and his wife, Jada Pinkett Smith have seen their parenting skills come under fire after a picture of their daughter, Willow, 13, in bed with actor Moises Arias, 20, was posted on social media. Now, RadarOnline.com has exclusively learned that the Los Angeles Department of Children & Family Services has officially opened an investigation into the incident.

Note: Of course the newsfeeds are flooded with this story this morning.


I could continue but they all say the same thing.

Attn" Will and Jada Smith!  You tell them babystealing social wreckers to go f*** themselves!

Report finds racial disparity in Michigan's foster care system

Report finds racial disparity in Michigan's foster care system

Michigan’s minority children are more than twice as likely as their white counterparts to age out of the foster care system without being adopted or returned to their families, a new report shows.

Children with guardians often forgotten by courts

Children with guardians often forgotten by courts

Court oversight of many Ohio children placed in a legal guardian’s care ends almost as soon as it begins.

Relatives Get Paid Less To Foster Children Than Strangers Under California Policy

Relatives Get Paid Less To Foster Children Than Strangers Under California Policy

Research has shown foster children do better in a home with relatives than strangers.  But relative foster parents are often given a fraction of the funding to raise those kids, than a stranger foster care parent would receive.

Judge: DCF Provided ‘Ample Evidence’ of Violence By ‘Jane Doe’

Judge: DCF Provided ‘Ample Evidence’ of Violence By ‘Jane Doe’

Kaplan filed the 22-page memorandum on May 6. It provides some details on the case that have not been publicly available because Department of Children and Families and juvenile court records are typically sealed.

Ok so we had this case...

Boy,15, Accused Of Beating Foster Mother

now we have this...

Boy, 11, charged with beating 78-year-old foster parent with metal pipe

A 78-year-old Mt. Pleasant Township man is recovering from a broken arm after he said he was beaten by an 11-year-old foster child he and his wife were raising.

Both from Pennsylvania.  What's up with that?

Tuesday, May 20, 2014

Nancy Grace: ‘Will Smith should sue CPS!’

The Talking Heads Speak.  That's what they do best.

Nancy Grace: ‘Will Smith should sue CPS!’

Radar Online reports Will Smith and his wife Jada Pinkett Smith are under investigation by child protective services over a photo of their 13-year-old daughter Willow lying in bed with her 20-year-old male friend.

Will & Jada Smith Under Investigation By Child Protective Services — Report

Will & Jada Smith Under Investigation By Child Protective Services — Report

Uh oh — we’re not the only ones who thought that Willow Smith’s pic was odd and inappropriate. Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith are reportedly under investigation by Child Protective Services their 13-year-old daughter’s relationship with Moises Arias.


Foster youth was Tased five times at Good Samaritan Hospital


A city police officer used his Taser five times to subdue a heavily medicated 19-year-old man who was fighting staff at Good Samaritan Hospital and later died, according to his family's attorney and an account from a law enforcement source.

Ex-foster parent sentenced in child sex case

Ex-foster parent sentenced in child sex case

A Ludlow Falls man and former foster parent convicted of attempted gross sexual imposition involving a girl under age 13 was sentenced Monday to eight months in prison. 

Michelle Bachmann interview on Home & Family

"I'm holier than thou because I was a foster parent."

Monday, May 19, 2014

Cops: Teen beat foster parent, crashed stolen SUV

Cops: Teen beat foster parent, crashed stolen SUV

GREG JENKINS was awakened early Monday morning by a "loud thump" against the side of his rowhouse in West Philly.

Child welfare money Nebraska owes reduced to $15M

Child welfare money Nebraska owes reduced to $15M

State officials have reduced the amount that Nebraska owes the federal government for child welfare services that weren't properly documented, but could still end up paying $15 million.

After bin Laden backlash, CIA promises: No more vaccination campaigns for spying

After bin Laden backlash, CIA promises: No more vaccination campaigns for spying

Amid a deadly backlash again vaccinations and a resurgence of polio in Pakistan, the White House has promised that the CIA will never again use an immunization campaign as a tool of spycraft.

Welfare Ministry report: Increase in violence against social workers

Welfare Ministry report: Increase in violence against social workers

In 2013, 180 cases of violence against social workers were reported, an increase of 180% since 2004 according to a report released Tuesday by the Welfare Ministry regarding violence towards welfare workers.

Father drowns saving his son, 4, from the sea

Father drowns saving his son, 4, from the sea

A British social worker has drowned while trying to save his young son from being swept out to sea during a family holiday in Jamaica.


Guest Commentary: Foster children need more unconditional care, fewer psychiatric medications

Guest Commentary: Foster children need more unconditional care, fewer psychiatric medications

The public would be stunned to know the extent to which young people in foster care are prescribed psychiatric medications. For some children, this includes being administered multiple medications that are sometimes prescribed at higher doses than what is allowable by law.

Sisters separated by foster care reunited after 47 years

Sisters separated by foster care reunited after 47 years

It was a reunion 47 years in the making.

Two sisters that were placed in separate foster homes in Nova Scotia nearly five decades ago were reunited this weekend.

Abuse victim wins $1 million settlement in lawsuit against state

Abuse victim wins $1 million settlement in lawsuit against state

State caseworkers didn't see the honey bucket in the little boy's room or the lock on the outside of his bedroom door. When workers gave Patrick and Sherry Kelley a fifth child for adoption in July 2000, they never looked back.

The Serial Removal of Children from Young Mothers – is this right?

The Serial Removal of Children from Young Mothers – is this right?

On 3rd December 2012 the Family Justice Council met for its 6th annual debate, held at Central Hall, Westminster. It was chaired by Rt. Hon. Lord Justice Thorpe, the then Deputy Chair of the Family Justice Council. This was an especially important debate, coming as it did at a time when reforms of the family court system were being formulated, because it touched on a subject that simply is not addressed by the reformers or anywhere else in the Child Protection system. The Council met to debate this motion: Women who have children removed to care, year after year, are being failed by a system unable to respond to them as vulnerable adults needing support in their own right". A transcript of the debate is here.

Foster care: US moves to phase out group care for foster kids

Foster care: US moves to phase out group care for foster kids

Multiple states are making strides to cut down the use of residential facilities for foster care youth. There has been significant progress in finding placements for foster care youth with extended families. Can the US end the use of group homes entirely?

DCF's Katz: No Kids in Group Care Without My Say So

DCF's Katz: No Kids in Group Care Without My Say So

The state's child-protection agency is ratcheting up its efforts to radically cut the number of young people in institutions, even as advocates raise concerns over whether the state's foster care system is ready to handle the influx of children.

Utah Supreme Court issues stay on same sex adoptions



A new court order is now stopping adoptions in Utah for same sex couples. The Utah Supreme Court is granting a stay on petitions that would've required those adoptions to go through. It’s essentially putting adoptions on pause.

New agency, new name: State seeks new moniker for CPS

New agency, new name: State seeks new moniker for CPS

Gov. Jan Brewer is expected to call the Legislature back to work soon to create a new child-welfare agency.

Note: All this hype and still they won't get it right.  How much do you want to bet?

Child welfare records kept secret

Child welfare records kept secret

Minnesota’s privacy laws shroud child welfare cases and abuse deaths in secrecy, making it difficult for the public to ­evaluate how well the state protects children.

Drug Firms Have Used Dangerous Tactics to Drive Sales to Treat Kids

Drug Firms Have Used Dangerous Tactics to Drive Sales to Treat Kids

There is big money to be made in prescribing medications to kids – especially when those medications are intended to be taken for life, as many psychotropic drugs are.

Ten dirty tricks used by child protection to steal your children

Ten dirty tricks used by child protection to steal your children

They definitely lie and as my grandsons said..."They tricked us with lies and lollies, but we didnt get the lollies.

Saturday, May 17, 2014

Adoption battle in court

Adoption battle in court

It was a rough day in court today in Dickson, Tennessee for Dave and Kim Hodgin. They are the adoptive parents of a 9-year-old girl named Sonya, who desperately want her back. She was removed from their home and returned to her biological father after living with them for nearly 8 years.

Note: Pay extra attention to the bottom video.  The father has received a death threat from the foster father.  Interseting.

Judge blocks foster parents' push to regain custody of 9-year-old; she'll stay with dad in Omaha

Note: This is a continuation of the this story where that asshole Anderson Cooper from CNN got all holier than thou over these adoptive child stealers.

Judge blocks foster parents' push to regain custody of 9-year-old; she'll stay with dad in Omaha

A judge has blocked an attempt by Middle Tennessee foster parents to get back physical custody of the child they raised for eight years.

Note: The poor adoptive parents.  I honor them with this song.


Chile probing reports that priest stole babies for adoption

Chile probing reports that priest stole babies for adoption

Chile's child welfare service is investigating reports that a Catholic priest was involved in giving babies up for adoption in the 1970s and 1980s without their parents' knowledge, telling the biological mothers that their child had died.

Many wanna-be adoptive parents are so desperate for your child of their very own, that they don't care where they come from.

Minnesota Legislature passes bill to make foster homes smoke-free

Minnesota Legislature passes bill to make foster homes smoke-free

Late last night, the Minnesota Legislature passed the Health and Human Services (HHS) Policy Omnibus Bill, which included a provision making Minnesota's foster homes smoke-free.

Should CPS seize children because their mother is ill?

Should CPS seize children because their mother is ill?

It's now been 421 days since Jessyca and Bradon Peterson lost their three children. Fourteen months since Child Protective Services decided the kids were better off with strangers than with their parents or grandparents.

Foster Care Agency Reacts To Child Death

Foster Care Agency Reacts To Child Death

"Influenced by the private agency case manager"-- This line found in Saharah Weatherspoon's case summary is one of the only clues as to why the state would leave her in home where abuse had been reported.

Advocates want DCF case workers to have more authority after toddler's death

Advocates want DCF case workers to have more authority after toddler's death

A Department for Children and Families caseworker visited 14-month-old Peighton Geraw at his Winooski home about an hour before his death.

DCF Faces Scrutiny Over Two Toddlers' Deaths

DCF Faces Scrutiny Over Two Toddlers' Deaths

The recent homicides of two Vermont toddlers have fueled emotion and criticism of the Department for Children and Families. DCF had caseworkers in contact with both families before the deaths. Monday on Vermont Edition, the DCF Commissioner David Yacavone is our guest to discuss how child abuse is investigated, and what authority caseworkers have when abuse is suspected. We also hear from Senator Dick Sears, who is co-chairing a Senate panel that is reviewing state policies and practices in protecting children from abuse.

Family Court Official Slammed For Selling Alcohol to Minors...While on the State Payroll

Family Court Official Slammed For Selling Alcohol to Minors...While on the State Payroll

You remember me telling you about the battle over Jugs and Mugs? All the prog types came out against having an establishment with such a vulgar name in their community…so, naturally, I supported David Cardona’s right to establish a business with any old name he wants anywhere he wants.

Woman suspected of stealing her kids during supervised Victorville visit is nabbed in Las Vegas

Woman suspected of stealing her kids during supervised Victorville visit is nabbed in Las Vegas

A woman suspected of stealing her children during a supervised visit here Wednesday was found and arrested Thursday night in Las Vegas, according to the San Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department.

It's all in the wording

Opinions are like Anderson Cooper, oops I mean assholes (same thing), everybody's got one.

Adoptive parents fight for custody of 9-year-old Sonya

The last time Sonya's adoptive parents heard her voice, the girl was begging to return to the only home she'd ever known.

Note: I really want you to pay attention to how the wording in this article and understand how the video shows media bias favorable towards the wanna-be adoptive parents without as much as a look at the home of the real father.  

DCF caseworker still on the job after baby's death, investigation underway

DCF caseworker still on the job after baby's death, investigation underway

Gov. Peter Shumlin launched another investigation into the Department for Children and Families after two toddlers died within two months of each other.

Stockton foster girl's cause of death ruled as homicde

Stockton foster girl's cause of death ruled as homicde

Investigators determined that homicide was the cause of death for a 10-month-old girl who died from alleged abuse while in the care of a Stockton foster father, officials said Wednesday.

DCF Inadequately Preparing Child Welfare Workers

DCF Inadequately Preparing Child Welfare Workers

With the ongoing crisis of abuse and neglect-related deaths in the commonwealth, it’s a miserable time to be a child welfare worker in Massachusetts. Truth is, it’s rarely a good time, anywhere. Several other states are in the middle of full-blown child welfare crises; nationwide, 30 to 50 percent of all children who die from maltreatment were previously known to child protective services.

Woman Accused of Starving Her Adopted Children



A woman in Estill County has been charged with starving her adopted 6-year-old son until he had to be hospitalized for more than two weeks.

Police: 3 men helped 5 girls leave foster home

Police: 3 men helped 5 girls leave foster home

State police say three men with helped five girls run away from a western Pennsylvania foster home, though police haven't said how the men know the girls.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

NewsChannel 9 Presses Officials In Foster Child Death

NewsChannel 9 Presses Officials In Foster Child Death

Jennifer Jones had never laid her eyes on these public documents until NewsChannel 9 got them for her. She says the Department of Family and Children Services was stonewalling and she had no idea how to proceed.

NAACP backs foster mom's fight to keep white child

NAACP backs foster mom's fight to keep white child

There's a racially-charged fight in southwest Florida. A foster mother is fighting the system to keep caring for the little girl in her home. The NAACP is backing the foster mom, who's black. The little girl is white.

Young Children Are Working One of America's Most Dangerous Jobs – And It's Totally Legal

Young Children Are Working One of America's Most Dangerous Jobs – And It's Totally Legal

If you're a 7-year-old in the U.S., you are by law too young to buy a cigarette at the counter — but you are old enough to work in the tobacco fields as a day laborer.

Inquest into death of Dana Baker hears about her heartbreaking final message to social workers

Inquest into death of Dana Baker hears about her heartbreaking final message to social workers

TEENAGER Dana Baker phoned a foster care agency boss just before she was found hanged - to say 'goodbye' because he had 'taken away' the foster family she desperately wanted, an inquest heard.

Missouri bill lengthens child abuse investigations

Missouri bill lengthens child abuse investigations

Missouri lawmakers have given final approval to legislation that would give social workers more time to complete investigations into child abuse and neglect.

Note: That makes 15 more days that a social worker can be up the ass of an innocent parent.

Deal reached to drop manslaughter charge against 12-year-old

Deal reached to drop manslaughter charge against 12-year-old

Prosecutors plan to drop a felony manslaughter charge against a 12-year-old Fairfield girl accused of killing a 3-month-old infant in July 2012.

Mom petitions for Landry's law to protect breastfeeding babies

Mom petitions for Landry's law to protect breastfeeding babies

A Region 8 mom wants to enact a nationwide law protecting nursing children in the midst of child custody cases.

Note: I do not support this law.  I support every parents right to a safe and healthy relationship with their child.  This includes both mothers and fathers.  Breastfeeding should not be an excuse to deny custody or visitations to a father, however denying custody or visitations to a father should be an excuse to pull her right to breastfeed.  These mothers need to stop being so freekin selfish.

Maine Beefs up Day Care Investigation Staff

Maine Beefs up Day Care Investigation Staff

The number of child care investigators in Maine will more than double beginning next week. The Department of Health and Human Services today announced the addition of 16 field investigators to ensure high quality and safety at day cares. That brings the total number to 28. As Patty Wight reports, DHHS has come under fire recently for failing to follow through with investigations into alleged physical abuse at certain day cares.

Rosin: Rich dads get their day in court

Rosin: Rich dads get their day in court

Last week the actor Jason Patric went to court to "fight ‘til I’m dead," as he put it, to see his 4-year-old son. Patric and his girlfriend conceived the child through in vitro fertilization, and a judge earlier denied Patric any paternal rights. Since then, Patric has become a hero to frustrated fathers everywhere who are alienated from their ex-wives and girlfriends.

Biological parents never told what killed their son in foster care

Biological parents never told what killed their son in foster care

When a 5-year-old Gretna boy died in foster care, his biological parents wanted answers about what happened to their son.

More than a year later, they're still struggling to find out how he died. They haven't even been able to have a funeral because they say his body was cremated without their permission.

Hayre: No quick solutions exist for DCF problems

Hayre: No quick solutions exist for DCF problems

Looking ahead, what can be done? I would urge anyone interested to read the report released in March by the Children’s Welfare League of America.

New Placement gives DCF hostage Justina Pelletier more privileges

New Placement gives DCF hostage Justina Pelletier more privileges

Last Monday, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts moved 15-year old Justina Pelletier across state lines to her new placement at the JRI Susan Wayne Center for Excellence in Thompson, Connecticut. According to the Pelletier family, the move comes as a welcome, but not ideal, change of circumstances for their child, who was removed from their care under highly questionable circumstances last year by the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF). Yesterday, the family emerged hopeful from a meeting with the Wayne Center, after learning that their daughter would have more privileges, education time, and access to her family in the Connecticut facility.


Gov. Shumlin Concerned About Slow Investigation into DCF

Gov. Shumlin Concerned About Slow Investigation into DCF

Governor Peter Shumlin says he's concerned about how the state handles child abuse cases. Two toddlers have died in the span of a few months.

The Attachment Crisis in Oklahoma Foster Care



Oklahoma's foster care crisis is contributing to another huge problem that goes well beyond those children.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Trans Teen Girl Is Still in Adult Prison Despite Not Being Charged With A Crime

Trans Teen Girl Is Still in Adult Prison Despite Not Being Charged With A Crime

A 16 year-old transgender teenage girl has been locked up in an isolated mental health unit of the York Correctional Institution since April, despite not being charged with any crimes. She was recently moved to another building that the Connecticut Department of Children and Families hopes will better suit her needs. However, advocates for the girl say that the new location isn’t any less isolated and still isn’t a suitable place for her. Additionally, the fact remains that Jane Doe, as she is known because she’s a minor, hasn’t been charged with any crimes, has mental health needs that aren’t being met and has been locked up in an adult prison since last month. Some documents suggest that DCF may even be misleading the press and the public as to their treatment of Doe, and wish to cover up the fact that they tried (and failed) to have Doe transferred to a men’s prison.

School Board backs teacher accused of mishandling autistic child

School Board backs teacher accused of mishandling autistic child

The School Board on Tuesday overturned Superintendent of Schools George Tomyn's recommendation to fire a teacher accused of tussling with, dragging and grabbing a 10-year-old autistic child to get him to follow class rules.


Note: The schools are getting to be just as bad as CPS.  Protecting their own and mishandling special needs kids are two clear cut examples.

Justina Pelletier Transferred To Her Home State – But Still A Long Way From Home

Justina Pelletier Transferred To Her Home State – But Still A Long Way From Home

Nearly a year and a half after she was stripped from her family by state officials in Massachusetts, 15-year-old Justina Pelletier has been relocated to a facility in her home state of Connecticut.

Tuesday, May 13, 2014

Audit finds state overpaid some foster families

Audit finds state overpaid some foster families

A new audit found serious lapses in how reimbursements were paid out to foster families, though state social workers say the problems have since been corrected.

The suspension of critical thinking about CPS reform

The suspension of critical thinking about CPS reform

The governor vows to fix Arizona's child protective services system once and for all. She hauls a reluctant Legislature into special session and bends it to her will, adopting her reforms and providing the additional funding she demanded. After the session concludes, the governor proclaims a victory for Arizona children.

Foster adoptions may be reducing foster parent pool

Foster adoptions may be reducing foster parent pool

An effort that started a few years ago to help children languishing in state care may be diminishing the pool of foster parents, according to Irene Clements, president of the National Foster Parent Association based in Minnesota.


From DCF to Prison, an Update on Jane Doe; Connecticut's "Berlin Wall"; Teens Talk Fashion

From DCF to Prison, an Update on Jane Doe; Connecticut's "Berlin Wall"; Teens Talk Fashion

The story of an inmate at York Correctional Facility, known simply as Jane Doe, has caught the attention of Governor Dannel Malloy. She’s a 16-year-old transgender female at the center of a rare transfer of custody from the Department of Children and Families to the Department of Corrections.

Justina Pelletier moved to Conn. facility

Justina Pelletier moved to Conn. facility

A teen at the center of a custody battle that has made national headlines was moved to a facility in her home state Monday.


Pasco parents still fighting to get their kids back

Pasco parents still fighting to get their kids back

Despite being cleared of abuse allegations, a Pasco couple haven’t seen their kids in almost eight years.

Monday, May 12, 2014

Emily Sparkes in Spain



Running away from the UK so you can keep your kid today.

Sex abuse fears driving men from teaching

Sex abuse fears driving men from teaching

Fear of false child-sex abuse accusations is driving Australian men away from a career in teaching, according to high-profile education officials.


Your Say: DFCS must be held accountable

Your Say: DFCS must be held accountable

Division of Family and Children Services intake workers can now take a child from their parent or guardian and place the child in foster care even in non-emergency situations, without any prior consideration from a judge or court.

Social services caseworker assaulted, threatened with knife by 12-year-old boy, Penbrook police say

Social services caseworker assaulted, threatened with knife by 12-year-old boy, Penbrook police say

A 12-year-old boy was criminally charged last week after Penbrook police said he assaulted a social services caseworker and threatened her with a knife.

Note: Poor kid, probably didn't want to be taken from his parents or something.  Perhaps the Social Wrecker should be reprimanded for getting the poor sweet child all worked up.

Pelletier family: DCF denied us Mother's Day visit

Pelletier family: DCF denied us Mother's Day visit

Protesters gathered outside the Framingham facility where 15-year-old Justina Pelletier is living Sunday after the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families reportedly denied her family a visit.

Reports: Another Child Under DCF Watch Dies

Reports: Another Child Under DCF Watch Dies

Another child under the state Department of Children and Families watch has died, according to media reports.

Saturday, May 10, 2014

Action News Investigates changes at DCF

Action News Investigates changes at DCF

Florida is one of the few states that puts the majority of its federal dollars toward providing services to keep Florida families together instead of spending the money on fostering children and removing the children from the home permanently.

Happy Foster Care Month - Social worker fired over foster children's claims of sexual behavior

Social worker fired over foster children's claims of sexual behavior

A longtime employee of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has been fired after an internal affairs investigation concluded that he sexually propositioned foster children under his care.

Child died under watch of DCF

Child died under watch of DCF

A 2-month-old girl, who died after she stopped breathing in her family’s Weymouth motel room, was under the watch of the state Department of Children and Families, a spokeswoman for the embattled agency confirmed yesterday.

Phantom Caseworkers On DSS County Roster


Phantom Caseworkers On DSS County Roster

Fifty days before 5 month old baby Bryson Webb died in Richland County, a medical professional called The South Carolina Department of Social Services to warn them the baby was in trouble.

Friday, May 09, 2014

'Disgraced' Birmingham fails to recruit social workers

'Disgraced' Birmingham fails to recruit social workers

More than a quarter of Birmingham's frontline social worker posts are unfilled, city council figures show.

Sensitivity training for educators on foster youth issues needed, advocates say

Sensitivity training for educators on foster youth issues needed, advocates say

Under the new school finance system, the state will soon be sending districts lists of their foster students so schools can direct more resources to them. Although the students will benefit, they fear their personal lives may be widely exposed and they may be stigmatized if educators don’t handle the information sensitively.

Man arrested for sexually harassing foster daughter

Man arrested for sexually harassing foster daughter

A 12-year-old girl was sexually harassed by her foster father in Ashoka Garden locality here. A case was registered at Ashoka Garden police station on Tuesday.

Foster dad ordered to stand trial for murder


A judge Tuesday found probable cause to hold a Rantoul man for trial on charges that he murdered his foster son last month.

Foster carers cleared of abuse

Foster carers cleared of abuse

A family of Child, Youth and Family carers found not guilty of abusing their foster children still had their statuses revoked after CYF's own investigations were "substantiated".

Teens beat foster mom, assault cops

Teens beat foster mom, assault cops

Three teenage girls face a slew of charges after a liquor-fuelled rampage at their foster home late Monday night.

Foster Kids Can Be Torn Between Worlds On Mother's Day

Foster Kids Can Be Torn Between Worlds On Mother's Day


Children across the country will be rolling out the breakfast trays and handmade cards for Mother's Day. But the holiday brings up mixed feelings for many foster mothers and their children.

"It can be really confusing for a child when there's Mother's Day and the child is supposed to celebrate their 'new mom,'" says Cris Beam, author of To The End of June: An Intimate Life of American Foster Care. "The child is still really attached, and it's a complicated holiday, and they need sometimes a new way to think about this other parent."

Lompoc foster mother arrested for child abuse

Lompoc foster mother arrested for child abuse

Lompoc police arrested a 37-year-old woman last week for physically abusing a boy she was raising as a foster child.

Governor Brewer defends DES director, against claims by fired workers

Governor Brewer defends DES director, against claims by fired workers

Governor Jan Brewer defended keeping Department of Economic Security director Clarence Carter in his role, Thursday, after fired Child Protective Services employees say 6,500 child abuse reports were not being investigated under his leadership. Brewer says the state investigation shows Mr. Carter did not know about the negligence.


Maine Legislators Spar Over Judicial Appointee, Corruption in Family Courts

Maine Legislators Spar Over Judicial Appointee, Corruption in Family Courts

Maine legislators have called for a review of the State’s family courts following the complaints of parents dismayed by the news of the recent promotion of family court Judge Jeffrey Moskowitz to the position of Deputy Chief Judge of the Maine Districts Courts.  Legislators say the appointment comes as a shock to many members of the public, who consider Judge Moskowitz “the least likely candidate” for appointment to this very important, pivotal office within the Judicial Branch operations.

Thursday, May 08, 2014

Foster parent guilty of child abuse

Foster parent guilty of child abuse

Twenty-nine-year-old, Lan Le, will be sentenced September 10 on charges of second-degree cruelty to a juvenile. Judge Ron Ware found Le guilty of the charges yesterday. 

Lawyers for Justina Pelletier family blast Massachusetts officials in letter

Lawyers for Justina Pelletier family blast Massachusetts officials in letter

Lawyers for the family of a 15-year-old girl at the center of a custody battle triggered by differing diagnoses by two Massachusetts hospitals roundly criticized state officials in a letter Thursday for releasing their "reunification" plan to the media prior to consulting the family on the matter.