Man accused of stomping foster baby to death scheduled to appear in court

Antonio Lopez was at the El Paso County Courthouse for a bail hearing Friday morning. Lopez is accused of stomping his 11-month-old foster daughter to death in 2012.

More >> Man accused of stomping foster baby to death scheduled to appear in court

Decision expected in custody of 18-month-old foster child

The lawsuit filed against Child Protective Services by a foster couple over the custody of an 18-month-old child is expected to go to the jury on Monday.

More >> Decision expected in custody of 18-month-old foster child

Unsafe Sleep Leading Cause Of Infant Death In Washington’s Child Welfare System

The stories are heartbreaking. An infant rolls off a bed and suffocates on a plastic bag. A one-month-old dies while sleeping between two adults.

More >> Unsafe Sleep Leading Cause Of Infant Death In Washington’s Child Welfare System

INDIGENOUS SURVIVORS OF CHILD WELFARE RALLY

The Indigenous Adoptees-Ottawa group held a rally on Parliament Hill today in solidarity with Indigenous people affected by Canada’s Native Child Welfare System. Many speakers recounted their experiences of the Sixties Scoop, where between the 1960s and ’80s an estimated 20,000 indigenous children were taken from their parents by child welfare services and placed with mostly white families. April 29, 2016.

More >> INDIGENOUS SURVIVORS OF CHILD WELFARE RALLY

• Indigenous Sixties Scoop adoptees rally on Parliament Hill
• Justin Trudeau: 'We Have Discriminated Against Indigenous Children for Generations'

NO CHARGES EVER LAID UNDER ALBERTA'S DUTY-TO-REPORT CHILD WELFARE LAW

Alberta's Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act says anyone with "reasonable or probable grounds to believe that a child is in need of intervention" must report it, and that anyone who fails in their duty can be fined up to $2,000 or jailed for up to six months.

More >> NO CHARGES EVER LAID UNDER ALBERTA'S DUTY-TO-REPORT CHILD WELFARE LAW

From Complaint to Resolution: Understanding the Child Welfare Grievance Process

This factsheet provides parents (birth, foster, and adoptive) and other caregivers with information about the best way to resolve their differences with a service provider or other child welfare professional. Since child welfare agency policies and procedures are State-specific, this factsheet presents information from a national perspective and points to additional resources about where to find information related to a particular State. The information and resources provided in this factsheet address the majority of complaints associated with the child protective services system.

More >> From Complaint to Resolution: Understanding the Child Welfare Grievance Process

Fix Texas’ broken foster care system

After just four months in the system, S.A. said an older child in foster care sexually abused her — a common occurrence. There was a nominal investigation, but no evidence S.A. was ever interviewed or even examined. Remember, she was 5 years old.

More >> Fix Texas’ broken foster care system

Father says fighting with child welfare system is a losing battle

We’ve all heard the saying “innocent until proven guilty,” but when it comes to child neglect and abuse cases, it appears to be the opposite.

More >> Father says fighting with child welfare system is a losing battle

Officials: Overwhelmed Child Welfare Case Managers In Phila. Resort To Falsifying Documents

State officials say overworked child welfare case managers in Philadelphia have resorted to falsifying documents, because they cannot keep up with the case loads they’ve been assigned. Case loads have grown as a result of a huge change in the way the city handles child welfare cases, in response to the 2006 starvation death of Danieal Kelly while under city protection.

More >> Officials: Overwhelmed Child Welfare Case Managers In Phila. Resort To Falsifying Documents

Authorities locate four runaway girls from Brandon foster facility

Law enforcement agencies said Friday evening that they had located four — ages 4 to 13 — who were discovered missing from a private foster facility early that morning.

More >> Authorities locate four runaway girls from Brandon foster facility

• The Latest: 4 Girls Found Safe Trying to Sneak Into Facility
• Deputies: 4 Brandon girls found after running away from foster care
• 4 girls missing from Brandon foster care facility found
• A $5,000 reward is being offered for information about the whereabouts of four girls who apparently ran away from a facility for foster children near Tampa.

Toddler's death could lead to spike in CFS apprehensions: children's advocate

Manitoba’s deputy children’s advocate is concerned that the death of another child in care — one that has drawn comparisons to the slaying of Phoenix Sinclair — will cause social workers to boost child apprehensions.

More >> Toddler's death could lead to spike in CFS apprehensions: children's advocate

Information sharing, duty to report child abuse among inquest recommendations

A coroner's jury is recommending that Ontario's child protection agencies merge to help prevent the miscommunication that allowed a seven-year-old Toronto girl to slip through the cracks until she was beaten to death by her guardians.

More >> Information sharing, duty to report child abuse among inquest recommendations

TEN PERCENT OF DUTCH KIDS IN CHILD WELFARE

More than 356 thousand kids received some form of help from child welfare last year. That is 10 percent of all kids in the Netherlands, according to Statistics Netherlands on Friday. This help ranged from counseling for kids with mental health problems to educational guidance for kids with learning disabilities.

More >> TEN PERCENT OF DUTCH KIDS IN CHILD WELFARE

Mom Slams Nosey Neighbor Who Reported Her To Child Protective Services

After a long, chilly winter in Canada, Jacqui and Kyle Kendrick’s children understandably couldn’t wait to get outside and play in their backyard this spring, but the parents were devastated when a neighbor tried to get them in trouble for giving their kids that freedom.

More >> Mom Slams Nosey Neighbor Who Reported Her To Child Protective Services

Hotdesking ‘increases social worker burnout risk’

Social workers should have their own desk and the space to have conversations with colleagues about cases without being overheard, the government’s leading adviser on child protection has declared.

More >> Hotdesking ‘increases social worker burnout risk’

Watch tear-jerking moment daughter reunites with mother 20 years after she was given up for adoption

Jeremy Kyle fans were in tears after watching a daughter reunite with her mother 20 years after giving her up for adoption.

More >> Watch tear-jerking moment daughter reunites with mother 20 years after she was given up for adoption

Immigrants Can Adopt Relatives from Foster Care Despite Immigration Status

In recent weeks there have been reports of the crumbling infrastructure of the state’s Child Protective Services – an agency responsible for the well-being of 12,000 of the most neglected and abused kids in Texas.

More >> Immigrants Can Adopt Relatives from Foster Care Despite Immigration Status

CPS Workers, Investigator Out After 4-Year-Old Child's Death

Two Texas Child Protective Services workers were fired and a third resigned following the death of a 4-year-old girl in Grand Prairie, the agency confirms.

More >> CPS Workers, Investigator Out After 4-Year-Old Child's Death

Texas Teen Sells Artwork, Does Side Jobs to Fund Rescue of Two Boys in Shelter

Austin Cook is a big-hearted 14-year-old that lives in Cleburne, Texas with his parents and 6 of his 7 siblings. In 2013 he unfortunately lost his beloved baby brother who was only 4 years old at the time.  Austin says:

More >> Texas Teen Sells Artwork, Does Side Jobs to Fund Rescue of Two Boys in Shelter

DCS caseworker threatened

Cocke County authorities are investigating a Wednesday incident in which a caseworker with the Department of Children's Services was allegedly threatened by a parent. Caseworker Josh Roberts told Cocke County Sgt. David Crum that he went to the home of Timmy Seay on Robert E. Lee Drive, "to do a home visit." Roberts said when he pulled into the driveway, Seay came out of his home and started threatening him. "You better get out of here, you don't need to be here. One of these days I will catch you out, you know what I will do, I will break you. You took everything I had," Seay allegedly told the caseworker. Roberts says Seay followed him to his vehicle as he was leaving.

More >> DCS caseworker threatened

DHS licensing director demoted amid foster care scandal

The director of licensing and regulatory oversight at the Oregon Department of Human Services is being demoted amid a scandal over agency management of foster care providers.

More >> DHS licensing director demoted amid foster care scandal

• Foster care scandal: Top state regulator demoted amid criticism
• DHS licensing director demoted amid foster care criticism

Nurse accused of sex crime against 2-year-old in Simpsonville

A woman has been accused of a sex crime with a 2-year-old, according to Simpsonville Police.

More >> Nurse accused of sex crime against 2-year-old in Simpsonville

Bill Clinton's Immigration Laws Ripped Apart Families

Clinton-era immigration laws “have subjected hundreds of thousands of people to arbitrary detention, fast-track deportations and family separation,” Human Rights Watch says in a new report.

More >> Bill Clinton's Immigration Laws Ripped Apart Families

Record number of AZ children waiting for foster family

Translation to Reality: Arizona CPS is stealing so many kids, they can't possibly care for them all.

With a record number of children who are waiting for a foster family, the Arizona foster care system is in a crisis.

More >> Record number of AZ children waiting for foster family

• Arizona Group Homes Face New Rules As Number Of Foster Children Grows

Foster child's nurse accused of abuse

A foster child's nurse was arrested and charged with abuse, Simpsonville police said.

More >> Foster child's nurse accused of abuse

Children's aid office in eastern Ontario facing $75M suit over privacy breach

An eastern Ontario children's aid society is facing a $75 million lawsuit after a cyber attack resulted in a list of client names being stolen and shared on local Facebook groups.

More >> Children's aid office in eastern Ontario facing $75M suit over privacy breach

Why do CPS workers quit? Because our child welfare system abuses them

The indignation surrounding the awful shortcomings in our state’s child-welfare system is well-founded. It’s a mess, and children pay the price.

More >> Why do CPS workers quit? Because our child welfare system abuses them

Note: The poor things...

Bill for visitation rights signed into Georgia law

A bill extending visitation and intervention rights to family members was signed into law by Gov. Nathan Deal Tuesday morning.

More >> Bill for visitation rights signed into Georgia law

Many children in care denied mental health treatment, says report

Children in care are being denied access to mental health services in some cases because they have not got a stable placement, according to a report.

More >> Many children in care denied mental health treatment, says report

R.I. House bill seeks disclosure when child dies in state care

Legislation requiring the state's child welfare agency to publicly disclose any time a child dies in state care has begun to move through the House shortly after a similar measure saw Senate approval.

More >> R.I. House bill seeks disclosure when child dies in state care

Norway vows to change child welfare practices

On Thursday, the state said that a ratification of the Hague Convention 1996 on parental responsibility would result in changes in how the agency handles cases in which a child has connections to more than one country.

More >> Norway vows to change child welfare practices

• Changes to be made in Norwegian child welfare practice

Foster parents sue CPS to adopt child

A former military couple who became foster parents said they are suing Child Protective Services in order to adopt a little girl in their care since she was five days old.

More >> Foster parents sue CPS to adopt child

Authorities accuse ex-foster parent of providing children to soldier for sex

Explosive allegations involving two lovers - one a former foster parent, the other an active-duty soldier - are surfacing in Sierra Vista, located 90 miles southeast of Tucson.

More >> Authorities accuse ex-foster parent of providing children to soldier for sex

Failure to investigate child abuse led to deaths, advocate says

Saskatchewan's children's advocate says the deaths of two children can be linked to a failure by officials to adequately report and investigate suspected child abuse.

More >> Failure to investigate child abuse led to deaths, advocate says

Mt. Vernon principal charged with failure to report abuse

A teacher's aide admitted she shared explicit photos with a 17-year-old boy and had sex with him, court records state.

More >> Mt. Vernon principal charged with failure to report abuse

Fired CPS supervisor says case workers overwhelmed by work load

The former CPS supervisor involved with Leiliana Wright said case workers were overwhelmed and drowning in work when the Grand Prairie girl’s case arrived.

More >> Fired CPS supervisor says case workers overwhelmed by work load

Queens Foster Mom Sentenced to 13 Years for Burning 19-Month-Old Boy

A Queens woman was sentenced Wednesday to 13 years in prison after she was convicted of burning her 19-month-old foster son with scalding hot water until his skin peeled off, the Queens District Attorney announced.

More >> Queens Foster Mom Sentenced to 13 Years for Burning 19-Month-Old Boy

• Queens foster mom sentenced to 13 years in prison for scalding toddler

Foster kids missing out on the basics

Shaking hands when you meet someone for the first time or looking someone in the eye when you speak to them are manners many of us take for granted.

More >> Foster kids missing out on the basics

Foster Care in Texas: Horrifically Worse Than You Could Imagine

Children drugged into submission, tied up and put into dank basements, and sexually abused by adults and other children. These are not scenes from a gory television series, or tales we tell about other people in other countries to make ourselves feel smugly superior.

More >> Foster Care in Texas: Horrifically Worse Than You Could Imagine

Court: Mom should not have lost son

The Michigan Court of Appeals provided a glimmer of hope to a Livingston County mother, whose parental rights were terminated after her 3-year-old son was found unsupervised.

More >> Court: Mom should not have lost son

Kansas lawmakers reject audit request to probe allegations of DCF bias

Lawmakers rejected an effort Tuesday to audit the Department for Children and Families over possible discrimination against same-sex couples, ending a lengthy battle over the proposed inquiry.

More >> Kansas lawmakers reject audit request to probe allegations of DCF bias

• Lawmakers again reject call to audit for LGBT discrimination in Kansas foster care

Soldier, former foster parent arrested for child sex crimes

Two local men, one a soldier stationed on Fort Huachuca and the other a former foster parent, have been taken into custody following an investigation into alleged sexual activity with children.

More >> Soldier, former foster parent arrested for child sex crimes

Social worker struck off after disclosing case details by using a personal laptop

Care Council for Wales' fitness-to-practise committee finds actions of social worker breached confidentiality and could have put children at risk

More >> Social worker struck off after disclosing case details by using a personal laptop

Mother claims Social Services didn't do enough ahead of 5 children being killed

The former wife of the man accused of brutally killing his five children then dumping their bodies in a ditch in rural Alabama has filed a lawsuit against the state and Lexington County Department of Social Services for failing to protect the children from their murders.

More >> Mother claims Social Services didn't do enough ahead of 5 children being killed

Group home runaway problem persists

Enough is enough.

So say city councilors who are concerned about the amount of time police spend responding to runaways from group homes in the city.

More >> Group home runaway problem persists

Fee plan could harm young leaving foster care

I thank The Dispatch for Friday’s article “Opponents: Medicaid fee plan would hurt poorest.” Alumni of Care Together Improving Outcomes Now Ohio (ACTION Ohio) is dedicated to helping current and former foster-care youths. We attempt to create lasting change through access to resources, ally support and alumni expertise.

More >> Fee plan could harm young leaving foster care

Gunshots fired at children’s services building in 'targeted attack' on social worker

Gunshots have been fired into the door of a children’s services building in a suspected 'targeted attack' directed at a social worker.

More >> Gunshots fired at children’s services building in 'targeted attack' on social worker

Former foster children sue DSHS, Sound Mental Health

She's 28 now. But for a moment, she was 5 years old again, living a nightmare in this South Seattle foster home.

More >> Former foster children sue DSHS, Sound Mental Health

Teenager taken back into custody after escape from state Training School

An 18-year-old male escaped from the state Training School through a hole in a fence Saturday night.

More >> Teenager taken back into custody after escape from state Training School

This mom's visit from CPS is about to make your head explode

Even if you happen to be one of those people who believe the world is just one giant bear trap waiting to snap shut on the children who live in it, it's hard to imagine that there's a much safer place for kids than their own backyard, particularly if you can glance out your window and easily see them.

More >> This mom's visit from CPS is about to make your head explode

More kids in Kentucky have parents behind bars than any other state

Imagine growing up without a parent, because that parent is in jail or prison. That is the reality for millions of children across the nation. A new Kids Count report shows Kentucky has more children with incarcerated parents than any other state.

More >> More kids in Kentucky have parents behind bars than any other state

Letter: Foster care task force idea missing key input

Our foster care system is broken and must be fixed. With nearly 50 percent of Kansas children in foster care, proper oversight is not optional. As a student pursuing my master’s in social work and a former child care provider of 15 years, the recent cases of abuse and neglect within the foster care system in Kansas are of extreme concern.

More >> Letter: Foster care task force idea missing key input

Teachers accused of 'improperly restraining' elementary students

Two Osceola County elementary school teachers have been reassigned to another location after allegations surfaced that students had been "improperly restrained" in the classroom.

More >> Teachers accused of 'improperly restraining' elementary students

JUDGE TO PAY FOR INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT VIOLATIONS

South Dakota Judge Jeff Davis agreed to pay $50,000 to plaintiffs from the Oglala Sioux and Rosebud Sioux Tribes for attorneys’ fees after a 2015 ruling found he had violated the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) on numerous occasions.

More >> JUDGE TO PAY FOR INDIAN CHILD WELFARE ACT VIOLATIONS

Exclusive: U.S. agencies split over fingerprinting parents of child immigrants

U.S. immigration enforcement officers are proposing that fingerprints be taken from all people claiming custody of children who have entered the United States illegally without an adult relative, a measure that opponents said could keep thousands of families apart.

More >> Exclusive: U.S. agencies split over fingerprinting parents of child immigrants

Gay couple win custody battle with Thai surrogate mother after 15 months in hiding with baby

A gay American-Spanish couple have won custody of their surrogate-born daughter in Thailand 15 months after her birth mother blocked her departure because they are homosexual.


More >> Gay couple win custody battle with Thai surrogate mother after 15 months in hiding with baby

• Thailand court grants foreign gay couple full custody of surrogate baby after legal battle with mother

Commission says DCYF needs more case workers

Lawmakers examining the Department for Children, Youth and Families said Monday that a staff shortage at the agency is a crisis for the state.

More >> Commission says DCYF needs more case workers

• Child abuse panel alarmed at DCYF staffing levels

Spriggs: Texas’ child protection system is failing our children

Texas is in the midst of a crisis that, if not addressed with the highest urgency, will create lasting damage for generations to come. Every 30 minutes, a child in Texas is removed from his or her home due to evidence of abuse or neglect. These children are placed in a structurally unsound and overburdened system that is meant to protect them; in reality it often subjects them to further trauma, abuse and neglect.

More >> Spriggs: Texas’ child protection system is failing our children

• Off-Topic: Why I Work for CPS

Kids taken by Norway government still not returned to Christian parents despite reports

The four children of Marius and Ruth Bodnariu taken in November by Barnevernet, Norway's child welfare service, have not yet been returned despite reports that say otherwise. An official statement posted on bodnariufamily.org, translated via Google Translate, says that there is no indication that the family will be reunited before July.

More >> Kids taken by Norway government still not returned to Christian parents despite reports

16,000 PINWHEELS FOR CHILD ABUSE DESTROYED IN WARREN

A sign of prevention and awareness in Warren is missing from the lawn of city hall.More than 16,000 pinwheels were put up to raise awareness for child abuse earlier in the month, but they have been removed.Letters from Warren's Human Resources Department addressed to a Mr. Celestino Divieste say he failed to remove the pinwheels before mowing the grass at city hall. As a result, the pinwheels were destroyed.

More >> 16,000 PINWHEELS FOR CHILD ABUSE DESTROYED IN WARREN

Infant assaulted with 8 vaccine doses at six months old... collapses into state of brain damage... doctors blame the parents!

Desperate to share her story, a Texas mother is speaking out about the traumatic injuries her young daughter sustained after being injected at six months old with a total of eight vaccine doses.

More >> Infant assaulted with 8 vaccine doses at six months old... collapses into state of brain damage... doctors blame the parents!

30 kids escape from govt remand home

Around 30 inmates of city's children remand home being run by department of woman and child welfare escaped from the premises on Sunday around 9 pm. They blinded the guard by throwing chili powder at him while escaping. The children range from 7-8 years of age to just under 18. Till filing of the reports, police had nabbed 10 while nine returned on their own.

More >> 30 kids escape from govt remand home

Kids struggle with parents behind bars

A nationwide Kids Count policy report indicates an alarming trend for children across the state.

More >> Kids struggle with parents behind bars

• When Parents Go to Jail, Children Suffer

Missouri foster child raises money for his adoption through lemonade stand

The weather’s just right for lot of yard sales in Springfield, Missouri, this weekend, including one with a very special purpose.

More >> Missouri foster child raises money for his adoption through lemonade stand

Prescription of drugs to foster youth under scrutiny in Sonoma County and statewide

When she was 9 years old, Angelica De La Torre saw her mother fall from her pedestal of strength and virtue into a place torn apart by methamphetamine addiction. Unable to deal with the loss of the single most important person in her life, De La Torre herself fell into depression and helplessness.

More >> Prescription of drugs to foster youth under scrutiny in Sonoma County and statewide

Nine-year-old opens lemonade stand to pay for his own adoption

The weather is just right for lot of yard sales this weekend including one with a very special purpose. A nine-year-old in north Springfield is raising money for a family of his own.

More >> Nine-year-old opens lemonade stand to pay for his own adoption

Tackling hostile parents part of child protection work

Parents are often hostile when the Ministry of Social and Family Development's (MSF) Child Protective Service (CPS) steps in to stop them from abusing their child.

More >> Tackling hostile parents part of child protection work

Sask. father struggling with PTSD after son's death in foster care

Chris Martell said he needs immediate help.

Ever since his son's death in 2010, Martell says he has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Now homeless, Martell said he needs immediate counselling.

More >> Sask. father struggling with PTSD after son's death in foster care

Dauphin County child welfare agency's second downgraded license shows strides, repeat violations

Documents involving Dauphin County Children and Youth's second downgraded license have been released to the public.

More >> Dauphin County child welfare agency's second downgraded license shows strides, repeat violations

Mother Left ‘In Tears’ After Being Investigated for Letting Her Kids Play in Backyard

One Canadian mother was left in tears after being investigated by Child and Family Services for allowing her children to play in her own backyard.

More >> Mother Left ‘In Tears’ After Being Investigated for Letting Her Kids Play in Backyard

• Canadian mom investigated for letting kids play alone in backyard: Report
• Winnipeg mom investigated by child services for letting her kids play in their backyard

Oregon’s poor performance on 2016 Federal Child Welfare Review

On Wednesday, April 20, 2016, Oregon Department of Human Services Director Clyde Saiki informed members of the Legislature of Oregon’s performance on the 2016 Federal Child Welfare Review (CFSR). The review, which states receive approximately every six years, seeks to assess the overall ability of the child welfare system to serve and protect vulnerable children.

More >> Oregon’s poor performance on 2016 Federal Child Welfare Review

Two Manitobans hope to launch class-action lawsuit over Sixties Scoop

Two Manitobans want to take the Canadian government to court in a class-action lawsuit for the government's role in the Sixties Scoop, which saw First Nations children in the 1960s to '80s removed from their homes and placed in non-Aboriginal foster homes or put up for adoption.

More >> Two Manitobans hope to launch class-action lawsuit over Sixties Scoop

Officer gave ride to runaway later charged in Texas slaying

An off-duty police officer in Central Texas gave a teenage runaway a ride to Austin about 10 days before the youth was charged in the killing of a college student.

More >> Officer gave ride to runaway later charged in Texas slaying

Australian mother, TV crew jailed in botched child ‘recovery’ return from Lebanon

Australian mother Sally Faulkner just wanted to bring her two young children home again, but she instead wound up in a Lebanese jail and embroiled in a controversy involving an current affairs program and a man hired to snatch her kids off a Beirut street.

More >> Australian mother, TV crew jailed in botched child ‘recovery’ return from Lebanon

Parents who let their children become obese are committing 'child abuse', according to a doctor

Parents who let their children become obese are committing “child abuse” and the authorities should take them into care, one of Wales’ leading doctors has claimed.

More >> Parents who let their children become obese are committing 'child abuse', according to a doctor

Florida man slaughters his own family after social workers ignore wife’s warning

A Florida man who slaughtered his entire family and who critically injured the paramedic who came to his ex-wife’s aid as she lay dying was declared to pose no “impending danger” by child-welfare services just four months before the horror.

More >> Florida man slaughters his own family after social workers ignore wife’s warning

Texas’ foster care, child protection system confronts an urgent crisis

Texas is in a crisis that, if not addressed with the highest urgency, will create lasting damage for generations to come.

Children removed from their homes are placed in a structurally unsound system that is meant to protect them, but in reality it often subjects them to further trauma, abuse and neglect.

More >> Texas’ foster care, child protection system confronts an urgent crisis

• Uncut: Time for action for CPS in Texas
• Texas Child Protective Services Hemorrhaging Caseworkers, Supervisors, Executives
• Texas’ foster care, child protection system confronts an urgent crisis

Kids Play in Backyard While Mom Does Dishes. An Investigation Ensues

I’m thrilled and worried when these stories make the news (via CTV): A Winnipeg mom was doing the dishes while her three kids, 10, 5 and 2 , played in their fenced-in backyard.

More >> Kids Play in Backyard While Mom Does Dishes. An Investigation Ensues

Your Views: Let's alter Child Protective Services System to keep dads in kids’ lives

Children desperately need fathers in their lives. However, the current Child Protective Services System of the state and federal governments is no more than a bounty-hunting network to hound, harass and incarcerate mostly poor fathers. The debtor’s prison is alive and well; but only for noncustodial parents; not for any other debt does the law require incarceration for nonpayment.

More >> Your Views: Let's alter Child Protective Services System to keep dads in kids’ lives

Want to Keep Kids Out of Foster Care? Vote for Gentler Criminal Justice Laws

It’s well-established that a prison sentence doesn’t just impact the individual sent behind bars; it affects the family too. Now, a new study hints at yet another path through which harsh criminal justice laws, including policies that send many to prison, hurt families and kids. Children living in states that have “extensive and punitive criminal justice systems” are more likely to be placed in foster care, the study finds. Children living in states that have “broad and generous welfare programs,” on the other hand, are less likely to be removed from their homes.

More >> Want to Keep Kids Out of Foster Care? Vote for Gentler Criminal Justice Laws

Neighbors say group home has been a problem for years

Neighbors are fed up after a seven hour stand off involving a 16-year-old boy with a gun turned a Southwest Bakersfield neighborhood into a cordoned off police zone.

More >> Neighbors say group home has been a problem for years

Congressman: Unaccompanied Alien Children Entering U.S. Illegally ‘Just Like Our Children’

Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) said on Tuesday that the children crossing into the United States illegally without a parent or guardian are no different then American children.

More >> Congressman: Unaccompanied Alien Children Entering U.S. Illegally ‘Just Like Our Children’

For Years, Tribes Were Left Out Of Federal Foster Care Funding. That's Finally Changing.

Foster parent Alyssa Preciado describes her day to day as a bit of a zoo.


"I have two adopted sons and I currently have three foster children," said Preciado.

More >> For Years, Tribes Were Left Out Of Federal Foster Care Funding. That's Finally Changing.

Social workers delay entering pleas in case involving 8-year-old boy's torture and death

Four L.A. County social workers on Wednesday asked to postpone entering pleas to felony charges in connection with the 2012 death of Gabriel Fernandez, the 8-year-old tortured and killed even though authorities had numerous warnings of abuse in his home.

More >> Social workers delay entering pleas in case involving 8-year-old boy's torture and death

Winnipeg mom in hot water after kids play in backyard

A Winnipeg woman says she was reported to and investigated by Child and Family Services simply for letting her children play in her backyard.

More >> Winnipeg mom in hot water after kids play in backyard

Same-Sex Adoption: Sacrificing the Welfare of Children to Adult Political Correctness

On the last day of March 2016, a U. S. District Court judge in Mississippi issued an injunction forbidding state officials from enforcing a state law that prohibited adoption by same-sex couples.  Judge Daniel P. Jordan III ruled that the Executive Director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, which oversees adoption and foster care services in the state, must allow same-sex married couples to adopt children the same as heterosexual married couples. Campaign for Southern Equality v. Mississippi Department of Human Services, S.D. Miss., No. 3:15-cv-00578-DPJ-FKB, March 31, 2016.

More >> Same-Sex Adoption: Sacrificing the Welfare of Children to Adult Political Correctness

How Will Texas Find the Resources Needed to Fix Child Protective Services?

The state agency in charge of preventing and investigating child abuse in Texas is in turmoil. Child Protective Services recently lost a slew of investigators in Dallas. A four-year-old child that was on the state’s radar because of abuse was beaten to death. As a result, Governor Greg Abbott announced changes in leadership at the agency, but state lawmakers on Wednesday discussed even more possible changes.

More >> How Will Texas Find the Resources Needed to Fix Child Protective Services?

• Is the New Head of Texas's Broken Foster Care System Really Interested in Reform?
• Texas' Foster Care System Faces $40M Shortfall

Oregon child welfare system failing to keep kids safe, federal report says

The study found caseworkers are taking too long to check on allegations of abuse and neglect and that the state has struggled to keep abused children from being harmed again. At the same time, the number of available foster homes has declined.

More >> Oregon child welfare system failing to keep kids safe, federal report says

• Oregon child welfare system ‘broken’
• Child welfare system stumbles on foster family services
• Federal report: Oregon child welfare system struggling

Kids Under Age 11 Slapped In Handcuffs At Tennessee School Over Video Of Fight

Several children between the ages of 6 and 11 were led out of a Tennessee elementary school in handcuffs Friday after video surfaced online of a schoolyard tussle, WKRN reported.

More >> Kids Under Age 11 Slapped In Handcuffs At Tennessee School Over Video Of Fight

Reuniting families with community support

For most children who enter foster care, the ultimate goal is to reunite them with their families. But getting to that point takes a lot of work. Parents have to follow case plans set up by the Office of Children’s Services and meet requirements like getting substance abuse treatment.

More >> Reuniting families with community support

Punitive Justice Systems May Increase Foster Care Rates

States with more punitive judicial systems may see a higher increase in the number of children in foster care versus states with more generous welfare programs, according to a study published in American Sociological Review.

More >> Punitive Justice Systems May Increase Foster Care Rates

The adoption laws in Northern Ireland belong to a different generation

This is the reality of what life can be like for many of those who have been children in care, who have had to be taken into care due to family issues.

More >> The adoption laws in Northern Ireland belong to a different generation

Children cuffed, arrested, charged in Tenn.; parents outraged

Police handcuffed multiple students, ages 6 to 11, at a public elementary school in Murfreesboro on Friday, inspiring public outcry and adding fuel to already heightened tensions between law enforcement and communities of color nationwide.

More >> Children cuffed, arrested, charged in Tenn.; parents outraged

State to pay $250K to newspapers over child abuse records

The state will pay a $250,000 penalty to Kentucky's two largest newspapers to settle a lawsuit over obtaining records of child abuse deaths and serious injuries.

More >> State to pay $250K to newspapers over child abuse records

85 per cent of Saskatchewan children in foster care are indigenous: Stats Can

Recent numbers from Statistics Canada show nearly 48 per cent of foster children across the country are aboriginal and the number in Saskatchewan is even more striking.

More >> 85 per cent of Saskatchewan children in foster care are indigenous: Stats Can

Oregon’s child welfare system fails federal standards

Oregon’s child welfare system failed to meet all of the standards in a recent federal assessment, Department of Human Services director Clyde Saiki told lawmakers in an email Wednesday.

More >> Oregon’s child welfare system fails federal standards

• Foster care crisis: Oregon failing in every area possible in federal review
• Report: Ore. DHS fails all federal child care standards
• Study: Oregon's Foster Care System Failing in Every Way

A disturbing new case of ‘legal kidnapping’ has cast a spotlight on Norway’s child protection laws

IF YOU stopped by for a visit, you wouldn’t think there was anything out of the ordinary about the Bodnariu family.

More >> A disturbing new case of ‘legal kidnapping’ has cast a spotlight on Norway’s child protection laws

State's 'broken' foster care system running into funding woes, lawmakers told

An increase in the number of Texas kids with mental illnesses needing Child Protective Services has fueled an unexpected budget shortfall that soon could reach $40 million, adding to the state's problems in fixing a foster care system a federal judge deemed "broken."

More >> State's 'broken' foster care system running into funding woes, lawmakers told

• Lawmakers Wrangle Over Fix for ‘Broken’ Foster Care System
• Texas foster care facing budget shortfall as problems mount
• Lawmakers Hear Litany of Foster Care Woes
• Texas foster care facing budget shortfall as problems mount
• Senators joust over whether to fix CPS with higher pay or better management
• State reports increase in foster children with trauma & mental illness
• State Lawmakers Demand Answers for Child Abuse Deaths in Texas
• How Will Texas Find the Resources Needed to Fix Child Protective Services?
• Senate Committee Scrutinizes Foster Care System
• Texas Re-Examines Foster Care System As Issues Mount

'Almost unheard of': York County child welfare agency receives third downgraded license

York County's child welfare agency has received its third strike from the state.

More >> 'Almost unheard of': York County child welfare agency receives third downgraded license

N.Y. family services agency sued over abuse of special needs child in Bronx

The troubled agency that placed foster care children into the care of an alleged sexual predator was slapped with a multi-million dollar lawsuit for allowing a worker to abuse a special needs resident.

More >> N.Y. family services agency sued over abuse of special needs child in Bronx

Failings in foster care system

An inspection of two statutory and two private foster care services last year found there were delays in assessing carers.

More >> Failings in foster care system

Fletcher woman pleads guilty to killing foster child

A Fletcher woman accused of killing a foster child in her care pleaded guilty to the crime.

More >> Fletcher woman pleads guilty to killing foster child

Number of MT Foster Kids Has Nearly Doubled in Just Five Years

The Montana Prevents Child Abuse and Neglect Conference will occur tomorrow (April 19) in Missoula, and many state officials will be in town to discuss the shocking growth of Montana’s Foster Care system.

More >> Number of MT Foster Kids Has Nearly Doubled in Just Five Years

Social worker left children at risk of sexual abuse and harm

A senior social worker who left vulnerable children open to abuse has been struck off. Brian Stevenson, a senior resource manager in Dundee city council’s social work department, failed to report allegations that a seven-year-old girl was being sexually abused by her father. He also overlooked claims that she was attending school tired, hungry and smelling of urine.

More >> Social worker left children at risk of sexual abuse and harm

Boy alleging rape by father says also abused in foster care

A boy who was removed from the family home after allegedly being raped by his father and forced to have sex with his mother was further sexually abused while in foster care, a trial has heard.

More >> Boy alleging rape by father says also abused in foster care

• Boy who alleges parents abused him was abused while in foster care, court told
• Boy Raped By Parents, Then Sexually Abused In Foster Care
• BOY ‘FORCED INTO SEX WITH MOTHER’ WAS LATER ABUSED IN FOSTER CARE, COURT HEARS

Attorneys: Seattle foster parents abused kids on state’s watch

Five former residents of a now shuttered Seattle foster home say state officials failed to protect them from physical and sexual abuse.

More >> Attorneys: Seattle foster parents abused kids on state’s watch

Foster parents found guilty of second-degree murder in child's death

Six years after they left the battered, lifeless body of 3-year-old Serenity Gandara on their living room floor and fled to Mexico, the child’s foster parents Wednesday were held accountable in her death.

More >> Foster parents found guilty of second-degree murder in child's death

• Couple guilty of murder in death of 3-year-old girl

Foster mum loses to real mother

A foster mum lost her appeal against a lower court’s decision to grant custody of a six-year-old girl to her biological mother.

More >> Foster mum loses to real mother

Biological Dad Angry Son Nearly Drowned At Foster Home

The biological father of an orphaned 16-month-old boy is furious that his son, Riley Crawford, nearly drowned under the care of foster parents.
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More >> Biological Dad Angry Son Nearly Drowned At Foster Home

The woman who fought to get her baby back

"Annie" had already had several children taken into care by social services when she had her fifth. But after her newborn was taken into foster care at birth, she decided to fight to regain custody of him.

More >> The woman who fought to get her baby back

Foster parent accused of knowing about alleged child abuse

A city man who is a foster parent was arrested Wednesday after investigators said he witnessed two young children being injured by an adult and never reported the abuse.

More >> Foster parent accused of knowing about alleged child abuse

Group Home Workers Are Charged With Falsifying Records

One current and two former employees of a nonprofit that ran group homes in Brooklyn were arraigned on Wednesday on charges of falsifying records, the New York City Investigation Department said. The homes were closed last year after three teenagers sneaked out during the night and raped a woman in Manhattan.


More >> Group Home Workers Are Charged With Falsifying Records

Runaway boy and girl, both 12, returned to Pasadena group home

A boy and girl who ran away from a group home in Pasadena returned home safely, police reported today.

More >> Runaway boy and girl, both 12, returned to Pasadena group home

Elementary students arrested at school for off-campus incident in Murfreesboro

Elementary school students were arrested at school, handcuffed, and hauled off to juvenile detention for not breaking up a fight off school property.

More >> Elementary students arrested at school for off-campus incident in Murfreesboro

Oklahoma DHS Cuts Mean End Of School Social Worker Program

In Western Heights, one of the Oklahoma City metro area’s poorest school districts, Superintendent Joe Kitchens depends on school social workers to help his students, but come next year they won't be there.

More >> Oklahoma DHS Cuts Mean End Of School Social Worker Program

California Orange County CPS Sued for Kidnapping More than 5,000 Children

The Law Office of Shawn A. McMillan has filed a class action lawsuit against Orange County Child Protective Services alleging that the agency has seized more than 5,000 children without obtaining warrants as required under the 4th and 14th Amendments to the United States Constitution.

More >> California Orange County CPS Sued for Kidnapping More than 5,000 Children

Caseworkers, Kids Trapped in Collapsing Foster System

Daniel Hernandez, an investigator for the state’s Child Protective Services agency, left his South Austin home at dawn on a recent Thursday holding a stack of folders. Their contents detailed troubles facing the children and families Hernandez was scheduled to check on that day: a starving infant, parents using drugs in front of a child and a teenager's suicide attempt.

More >> Caseworkers, Kids Trapped in Collapsing Foster System

• Investigation highlights need for foster care in Central Texas
• The foster-care fiasco in Texas
• HORRORS OF TEXAS FOSTER CARE ARE NOT MATERIALLY UNLIKE BETTER KNOWN ATROCITIES
• Texas can’t hold its head high until it fixes broken, corrupt child welfare system
• Texas re-examines its foster care system as problems mount

Texas CPS Accused of Falsifying Records, Abused Children Died

Children’s Protective Services (CPS) Workers across Texas are accused of falsifying records of visits to endangered children. At least two children died after workers failed to visit home.

More >> Texas CPS Accused of Falsifying Records, Abused Children Died

• CPS workers didn’t check on endangered kids but filed records showing they did
• Reviews find several CPS workers falsified case reports
• The foster-care fiasco in Texas

Number of foster kids at record high, caseworkers overloaded

Nearly 3,000 children are in out of home care in Alaska – an all time high – and as a result case workers are overburdened and can’t give foster kids or foster families the attention they need.

More >> Number of foster kids at record high, caseworkers overloaded

A 6-year-old is at the center of a contentious adoption case

Catherine Gana arrived at CYF offices Downtown in 2014 with chocolates to share and hopes of finally meeting in person the niece she wanted to adopt.

More >> A 6-year-old is at the center of a contentious adoption case

Will Maine step backward on foster care?

When Congress and the Clinton Administration ended “welfare as we know it” in 1996, they replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children with a program called Temporary Assistance for Needy Families. As families were removed from the welfare rolls, states were allowed to keep any “surplus” that resulted. But the surplus funds were supposed to go toward helping poor families become self-sufficient.

More >> Will Maine step backward on foster care?

California courts step up oversight of psychotropic medication use in foster care

California's judicial leaders on Friday took a major step toward reversing the foster care system's rampant use of psychiatric drugs, approving a slate of new safeguards to make juvenile courts here the country's most careful and inquisitive monitors of psychiatric care for abused and neglected children.

More >> California courts step up oversight of psychotropic medication use in foster care

Foster father's rape charges mark rare exception, advocate says

The foster care system is reeling after a Johnson County foster father is charged with sex crimes against children in his care.

More >> Foster father's rape charges mark rare exception, advocate says

Foster carers warn cuts threaten children's welfare

The wellbeing of thousands of children in care is under threat because of budget cuts in England, a charity says.

More >> Foster carers warn cuts threaten children's welfare

More than 450 foster children have no social worker

The acting chief executive of the Irish Foster Care Association, Breda O’Donovan, has warned that seven per cent of children (451) in foster care do not have a social worker.

More >> More than 450 foster children have no social worker

AMBER ALERT CANCELED AFTER GARY TODDLER TAKEN AT GUNPOINT FOUND SAFE

A 15-month-old boy who was taken at gunpoint Monday night from his foster home in Gary, Indiana, has been found safe.

More >> AMBER ALERT CANCELED AFTER GARY TODDLER TAKEN AT GUNPOINT FOUND SAFE

GLOBAL CPS PROTEST "barnevernet" OTTAWA CANADA, April 16th 2016

Police Find Father They Say Fled With 10-Month-Old, Believe Baby Safe In Colorado

Police said a Lowell man they claim took off with a baby before the Department of Children and Families could take custody of her is cooperating with officers looking for the child.

More >> Police Find Father They Say Fled With 10-Month-Old, Believe Baby Safe In Colorado

Indiana foster child found safe after abduction by gunpoint

A pair of gun-wielding kidnappers stormed into an Gary, Ind., foster home late Monday and took a 15-month-old boy.

More >> Indiana foster child found safe after abduction by gunpoint

• Toddler found safe after abduction from Gary foster home
• UPDATE: Baby abducted at gunpoint found, Gary police say
• 15-Month-Old Taken From Gary Foster Home at Gunpoint Found After Amber Alert Issued

Child-sex abuse charge levied against former foster families respite worker already facing child-porn charges

A former respite-care provider for Tulsa foster families who was previously charged with a slew of child pornography complaints has been arrested again on a new child sexual abuse charge.

More >> Child-sex abuse charge levied against former foster families respite worker already facing child-porn charges

Children ‘left with foster family’ despite abuse claims

A number of children were left in the care of a foster family in the west of Ireland for several years despite sexual abuse allegations against one of the family members, an RTÉ Investigations Unit programme has said.

More >> Children ‘left with foster family’ despite abuse claims

• Child protection groups want investigation into foster care failings after child abuse case
• Children left in foster home despite alleged abuse
• CLAIMS OF ABUSE AT FOSTER HOME
• Investigation finds children left in foster care despite sex abuse allegations
• Children left with foster family for years after serious sex abuse allegations
• Fresh case of alleged foster sex abuse
• Children remained with foster family despite sex abuse allegations

Anchorage woman arrested for abusing, starving three adopted children

An Anchorage woman has been arrested for starving and abusing three adopted children for over a year, the District Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

More >> Anchorage woman arrested for abusing, starving three adopted children

Former San Mateo County social worker sentenced for sex with minors

A former San Mateo County Child Protective Services social worker who was convicted of having sex with three teenage girls was sentenced Tuesday to nine years in prison.

More >> Former San Mateo County social worker sentenced for sex with minors

• Former social worker gets nine years for sexual relations with minors

Two IPS employees to face charges over delay in reporting child abuse

Two Indianapolis Public Schools employees are expected to face criminal charges Wednesday that accuse them of failing to report sexual abuse allegations involving a school counselor.

More >> Two IPS employees to face charges over delay in reporting child abuse

Child abuse: Dysfunctional system stuck in fire-fighting mode

Tusla, the State’s child and family agency, is to carry out a review of why children who were neglected, abused and traumatised were left with their mother for five years after first coming to the attention of social services.

More >> Child abuse: Dysfunctional system stuck in fire-fighting mode

Anti-Norwegian CPS message by Jitka Fialová from Czech Republic

With Every day that passes more incriminating evidence piles up against Barnevernet.

More >> Anti-Norwegian CPS message by Jitka Fialová from Czech Republic

Five leave Texas child protection agency in rare regime change

For years, when something went wrong at the state’s child welfare agency, it was the low-level employees who took the fall.

More >> Five leave Texas child protection agency in rare regime change

• More must be done to protect Texas children, lawmakers demand
• Travis County Child Protective Services Scrutinized Following Resignations In Dallas
• Two more leaders resign amid problems with CPS and foster care
• More top ranking resignations from embattled CPS
• 
  

Falkenberg: Texas' foster care system needs more than new leadership

Plenty of stomach-churning and tear-inducing findings fill the pages of U.S. District Judge Janis Graham Jack's 255-page December opinion that declared Texas' foster care system abusive to the point of unconstitutionality.

More >> Falkenberg: Texas' foster care system needs more than new leadership

Kansas foster father charged with rape, child pornography

A Johnson County foster parent has been charged with crimes against five children, including rape and child pornography.

More >> Kansas foster father charged with rape, child pornography

Editorial: Turmoil at Texas’ child-welfare agency is unconscionable

If meaningful change demands a period of disruption, Texas’ child-welfare agency is the throes of revolution. From top to bottom, this is an agency in turmoil.

More >> Editorial: Turmoil at Texas’ child-welfare agency is unconscionable

• Two more leaders resign amid problems with CPS and foster care
• Texas Governor Addresses CPS Horrors and Abuses: ‘Status Quo’ at CPS ‘Unacceptable’

Maddy Downman inquest: DCF admits it failed in care of teenager who took her own life

There were failures in the care of 17-year-old Maddy Downman who took her own life two years ago while in the care of the Northern Territory Department of Children and Families (DCF), a senior official has acknowledged.

More >> Maddy Downman inquest: DCF admits it failed in care of teenager who took her own life

DCS makes 'massive turnaround,' nears end of 15-year case

More than 15 years of federal court oversight of Tennessee's foster care system is nearing an end, with the Department of Children's Services demonstrating in court Monday that it has complied with all orders.


More >> DCS makes 'massive turnaround,' nears end of 15-year case

Austin attorney: State failed UT murder suspect

The teen accused of killing UT freshman Haruka Weiser on April 3 faces life in prison if convicted of killing her.

More >> Austin attorney: State failed UT murder suspect

• Chilling Footage of Teenager Just Moments Before He Murdered a Dance Student

Mansfield couple sues CPS over ‘unjust' removal of foster child

A North Texas couple with a passion for helping special needs children has filed a lawsuit against Child Protective Services after the agency removed a foster child from their home, the family says, for no reason.

More >> Mansfield couple sues CPS over ‘unjust' removal of foster child

British ‘child recovery’ agent to face Lebanese judge over kidnapping claims

A British “child recovery” specialist is expected to go before a Lebanese judge on Tuesday accused of kidnapping two children in partnership with their Australian mother, a journalist and a television crew.

More >> British ‘child recovery’ agent to face Lebanese judge over kidnapping claims

Drugging Our Kids: Foster care bill targets excessive prescribing of psychiatric drugs

The voices of foster youth and their advocates overcame the powerful physicians lobby in the Capitol on Monday, as a bill to identify and investigate California doctors who overprescribe psychiatric drugs to traumatized foster children won a key Senate vote.

More >> Drugging Our Kids: Foster care bill targets excessive prescribing of psychiatric drugs

After adoption, alleged abuse, ex-orphan facing uncertain future

Denis Flynn sat in the front room of his home, its wall of windows looking out over the garage holding a Rolls-Royce and beyond it, the tree-rimmed Lexington Reservoir at the base of the Santa Cruz Mountains.

More >> After adoption, alleged abuse, ex-orphan facing uncertain future

DCF under fire over LGBT rule change

The Florida Department of Children and Families is under fire for backing off part of a proposal that would protect LGBT kids who live in group homes from discrimination — including so-called “conversion therapy” aimed at changing their sexual orientation.

More >> DCF under fire over LGBT rule change

Hundreds of Migrant Teens Are Being Held Indefinitely in Locked Detention

As Pablo Aguilar was waking up in his cell in Yolo County’s juvenile hall in rural Northern California one recent Sunday morning, a white minivan was making its way toward him, up Interstate 5.

More >> Hundreds of Migrant Teens Are Being Held Indefinitely in Locked Detention

Foster care bill tells the state to never give up on finding families for kids

Finally, at age 19, Anchorage’s Rachel Bedsworth is tight with foster parents.

More >> Foster care bill tells the state to never give up on finding families for kids

Palestine: Israeli Police Abusing Detained Children

Israeli security forces are abusing Palestinian children detained in the West Bank. The number of Palestinian children arrested by Israeli forces has more than doubled since October 2015.

More >> Palestine: Israeli Police Abusing Detained Children

UT murder suspect spoke of foster care abuse in article Financial Spots

An unnamed 17-year-old male is in custody in relation to the death of University of Texas student Haruka Weiser, Austin police said Friday.

More >> UT murder suspect spoke of foster care abuse in article Financial Spots 

• Child Protective Services questioned after UT homicide

Overnight at CPS: Need for foster families outpaces local supply

Note: Translation to Reality:  They're stealing so many kids that they can't house them all.

Behind a series of hallways and closed doors at the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services center in Sherman, an air mattress sits on a floor. A child might be found borrowing a laptop to listen to music, playing with a toy or reading a book left in the room. But this is not a bedroom. It’s another room in the CPS offices, but this is where Grayson County children sleep when they’ve been removed from their families in an emergency situation and foster families cannot be found to take them in.

More >> Overnight at CPS: Need for foster families outpaces local supply 

Caseworkers, Kids Trapped in Collapsing Foster System

Daniel Hernandez, an investigator for the state’s Child Protective Services agency, left his South Austin home at dawn on a recent Thursday holding a stack of folders. Their contents detailed troubles facing the children and families Hernandez was scheduled to check on that day: a starving infant, parents using drugs in front of a child and a teenager's suicide attempt.

More >> Caseworkers, Kids Trapped in Collapsing Foster System

• Sad Failures of Dallas Child Protective Services

Israeli fathers sue judges over custody rulings – in US courts

A number of divorced Israeli fathers are suing Israeli judges who presided over their custody proceedings in US courts for millions of dollars over unfavorable rulings.

More >> Israeli fathers sue judges over custody rulings – in US courts

When 4-year-old Leiliana Wright needed Dallas CPS most, it failed at every turn

Social workers had been warned that Leiliana Wright might be in danger two months before a police officer jotted down the harrowing details of how the 4-year-old had been beaten to death: tied up by her wrists, choked, thrown in a closet, force-fed until she vomited, her head slammed into a wall.

More >> When 4-year-old Leiliana Wright needed Dallas CPS most, it failed at every turn

• Grandparents Call On Governor To Overhaul CPS After Granddaughter’s Death

Kinship eases foster child placement across Pennsylvania

When a family friend asked Rhianna Diana and her husband, Robert, to become foster parents of a 3-year-old boy whom the friend was temporarily fostering, the Bridgeville couple did not hesitate.

More >> Kinship eases foster child placement across Pennsylvania

Foster child murder trial

A man accused of murdering his 3-year-old foster child in 2010, took the stand again Friday, changing his story, saying he had a difficult time remembering what he witnessed six years ago.

More >> Foster child murder trial

Hartlepool foster mother Norma Bell death: Murder accused in court

A man has appeared in court charged with the murder of a foster mother, whose body was found in the burnt remains of her home in Hartlepool.

More >> Hartlepool foster mother Norma Bell death: Murder accused in court

Despite reforms, Texas child abuse deaths rise, investigations lagging

Last March, Gov. Greg Abbott told Child Protective Services to mend its ways and gave the agency an extra $38 million to do it.

More >> Despite reforms, Texas child abuse deaths rise, investigations lagging

Why is it harder to fire an L.A. County employee than charge him with a crime?

The actions and ineptitude of four Los Angeles County social workers in connection with the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez were apparently bad enough for the employees to be charged with crimes, as they were on Thursday — yet still not bad enough for one of them to lose his county job. There can hardly be a clearer example of dysfunction in L.A. County government, especially in the Civil Service Commission, which last year reinstated one of the workers who has now been charged with a crime.

More >> Why is it harder to fire an L.A. County employee than charge him with a crime?

State aims to end court monitoring

A quarter-century has passed since the settlement of a landmark federal lawsuit aimed at forcing Connecticut to take better care of its abused and neglected children.

More >> State aims to end court monitoring

Spike in Fla. foster care numbers causes concern

An alarming number of Florida children have been ripped from their home and placed in foster care.

More >> Spike in Fla. foster care numbers causes concern

Foster Care Teen Arrested in UT Student's Death

Meechaiel Criner, the 17-year-old arrested in connection with the death of University of Texas at Austin student Haruka Weiser is in the care of the Texas foster youth system, an official said Friday.

More >> Foster Care Teen Arrested in UT Student's Death

Pill Dangers for Kids

A foster grandparent is arrested after a one-year-old dies in her care.

4 LA County DCFS Workers Charged With Child Abuse in Death of 8-Year-Old

Four Los Angeles County social workers are charged with child abuse and falsifying public records in the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez three years ago.

More >> 4 LA County DCFS Workers Charged With Child Abuse in Death of 8-Year-Old

• Four Social Workers Charged With Child Abuse

Why a Conservative Legal Organization Is Desperately Trying to Kill the Indian Child Welfare Act

The Spirit Lake Sioux tribe used the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) to remove Laurynn Whiteshield and her twin sister from the foster family that had raised them for two years. They were sent to live on the reservation.”


More >> Why a Conservative Legal Organization Is Desperately Trying to Kill the Indian Child Welfare Act

Kids staying longer in foster care

A potential consequence of the area’s heroin crisis is that children are enduring longer stays in foster care because unification efforts with their families have failed, interviews with child welfare experts and data compiled by this newspaper suggest.

More >> Kids staying longer in foster care

Husband testifies to witnessing wife's abuse of foster child who died

Attorneys finished presenting evidence Friday in the murder trial of a husband and wife accused of beating a 3-year-old girl to death after a week in which each defendant took the witness stand and blamed the other.

More >> Husband testifies to witnessing wife's abuse of foster child who died

Arizona foster parents quitting; families urge DCS to focus on retaining families

As social service workers focus on recruiting new families to address Arizona's foster kid crisis, an astounding number of existing families are quitting the foster system.

More >> Arizona foster parents quitting; families urge DCS to focus on retaining families

Are Some Divorcing Parents Brainwashing Their Children? The Controversial Idea of Parental Alienation

In heated custody battles, a particularly explosive conflict can arise. One parent accuses the other of abusing their child. The accused parent, however, will sometimes say the child was brainwashed into making false accusations.

More >> Are Some Divorcing Parents Brainwashing Their Children? The Controversial Idea of Parental Alienation

Medical marijuana patients reunited with son after lengthy court battles, unfounded drug charges

After 18 months, a Spring Lake family's son is out of foster care and reunited with his parents.  Yet the fight to be together, through court battles and serious drug charges despite being card-carrying medical marijuana patients, still haunts them.

More >> Medical marijuana patients reunited with son after lengthy court battles, unfounded drug charges

Foster Shock, Documentary on Florida's Broken Foster Care System, Debuts at Film Festival

A few years ago, a teenager approached Mari Frankel, a local documentarian, saying she'd been abused at Pembroke Pines' Center for Adolescent Treatment Services, which houses boys and girls ages 14 to 18 who have emotional, behavioral, or mental-health issues. The girl claimed she'd been drugged by staff there. But Frankel was struggling to confirm any aspect of the girl's story — until former New Times reporter Kyle Swenson began covering the center on his own.

More >> Foster Shock, Documentary on Florida's Broken Foster Care System, Debuts at Film Festival

Foster parents on trial

Alberto Garcia gave his account of what happened the day his niece Serenity Gandara was killed.

DCF retreats from protections for LGBT foster kids

The state Department of Children and Families has repealed proposed protections for gay and transgender foster youth — including one that would have banned the highly controversial practice of conversion therapy intended to make gay teens heterosexual.

More >> DCF retreats from protections for LGBT foster kids

• FL Department of Children and Families to remove LGBTQ-inclusive language from rules

Guardians speak out after DCF managers were fired

A sex offender and someone accused of child abuse are speaking out about how they were able to become the guardians of two children.

More >> Guardians speak out after DCF managers were fired

Families claim they were falsely accused of child neglect or abuse

An activist group claims some families have been falsely accused of child abuse and neglect. State and hospital officials responded that they have to balance protecting children with respecting family rights.

More >> Families claim they were falsely accused of child neglect or abuse

Report Examines "Child Care Crisis" in America

Some Ohio families pay more than half of their salaries to cover the cost of child care, according to a new report that examines solutions to what it calls a child care crisis in America. 

More >> Report Examines "Child Care Crisis" in America

Christian Parents Regain Custody of Infant Son Taken by Norwegian Child Services

The Romanian Pentecostal parents of five children who were seized by Norwegian child services last November due to spanking allegations have finally regained custody of their infant son following a court ruling, the family's spokesman announced.

More >> Christian Parents Regain Custody of Infant Son Taken by Norwegian Child Services

Social workers charged with child abuse in case involving torture and killing of Gabriel Fernandez, 8

Gabriel Fernandez

Four Los Angeles County social workers have been charged with felony child abuse and falsifying public records in connection with the 2012 death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who was tortured and killed even though authorities had numerous warnings of abuse in his home.

More >> Social workers charged with child abuse in case involving torture and killing of Gabriel Fernandez, 8

• 4 social workers charged after boy's beating death
• ​4 California social workers charged in boy's beating death
• Social workers charged with child abuse in death of 8 year old