Virginia has high percentage of youth aging out of foster care

Dominique Bryant became homeless when she was 17.

Now 23, Bryant was placed in foster care in New York immediately after she was born. She was adopted when she was 10 and moved to Charlottesville with her adoptive mother. But when Bryant was 17, the mother terminated her parental rights.

More >> Virginia has high percentage of youth aging out of foster care

Man sues ACS for ‘abomination’ case that ruined his life

A young man is suing the city, claiming it ruined his life by removing him and his younger brother from their parents’ home and forcing them to live with their grandparents.

Matthew Rizzuto was 3 and his brother Peter less than 1 when the younger child hit his head while learning to walk — and was taken to Long Island Jewish Hospital, which reported the injury to the Administration for Children’s Services, according to the lawsuit.

More >> Man sues ACS for ‘abomination’ case that ruined his life

Seattle settles sexual-abuse lawsuit with Ed Murray accuser

The city has agreed to pay $150,000 to settle a lawsuit brought by one of five men who this year publicly accused the former mayor of paying for or forcing them to have sex with him decades ago when they were teenagers.

More >> Seattle settles sexual-abuse lawsuit with Ed Murray accuser

Child protection: a creaking system

The Government’s decision to introduce mandatory reporting of child protection concerns will be regarded by many as a landmark development. After decades of promises, there is now a legal duty on professionals who work with or have contact with children to report to social services any concerns they may have regarding a child’s welfare. The move sends a message to society that child welfare is of the utmost importance. However, there are growing concerns about whether the system is ready to cope with an expected surge in child protection reports.

More >> Child protection: a creaking system

Children in foster care deserve better say MPs

The government should conduct a thorough review of the overstretched care system, the Commons Education Committee has claimed.

In a new report, the MPs also call for children in foster placements to be given more information on their placement and for greater efforts to be made to keep siblings who have been taken into care together in single placements.

More >> Children in foster care deserve better say MPs

Kansas child welfare official has no answer when state senator asks about ‘shredding of notes’

Members of a task force meeting on child welfare issues Tuesday had just about completed their morning session when a state senator had one more question.

“I think everybody in this room is fully aware of ,” said Sen. Laura Kelly, a Topeka Democrat. “And one of the issues that came up in there was the (the Department for Children and Families).

More >> Kansas child welfare official has no answer when state senator asks about ‘shredding of notes’

Separating immigrant families is unconstitutional

Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was recently presented with a proposal to enact a policy of separating immigrant children from their parents as an alleged way of halting immigrant families from coming to the United States. If approved, this policy would give the stamp of approval to a horrible and unconstitutional practice that families my organization works with in Texas are already experiencing.

The Obama administration tried something similar to deter immigrant families from coming to the U.S. In August 2014 the government began a policy of not issuing bonds to families with the stated aim of forcing them to remain in detention to discourage future immigrant families from coming to the U.S. 

More >> Separating immigrant families is unconstitutional

Memorable story: Intensely personal account of '60s Scoop reached wide audience

As 2017 came to a close, StarPhoenix staff reflected on the stories that struck a personal chord with them this year.

I awoke on the morning of Saturday, April 29, to the sound of a cell phone ding indicating an email.

More >> Memorable story: Intensely personal account of '60s Scoop reached wide audience

Have a Low IQ? The Government Can Take Your Child.

Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler of Redmond, Oregon, did something this Christmas that many parents take for granted: they celebrated it with their child.

The couple’s 10-month-old son Hunter had been in foster care almost since the day he was born. But last week, The Oregonian reports, a judge declared that the state had not proven that it was in Hunter’s best interests to remain under the care of the Oregon Department of Human Services.

More >> Have a Low IQ? The Government Can Take Your Child.

CALIFORNIA WON'T JAIL CHILDREN FOR BEING POOR. WILL OTHER STATES FOLLOW?

On Monday, California will stand up to the Trump administration and become the first state to stop jailing poor children who can’t afford to pay court fines and fees. The state will scrap juvenile administrative fees altogether in an effort to protect low-income families and children from what can only be described as a neo-debtors' prison.

When youth are arrested and fail to pay administrative fees, they can be incarcerated. But these fees impose enormous financial burdens on some of America’s most vulnerable families, and generate little to no revenue for the government.

More >> CALIFORNIA WON'T JAIL CHILDREN FOR BEING POOR. WILL OTHER STATES FOLLOW?

Lawmakers call for major reform in Kansas after Star series on state’s culture of secrecy

Kansas lawmakers from across the political spectrum said they will push to fix the state’s culture of secrecy in the wake of a Kansas City Star series in state and local government.

They cautioned, however, that the next governor will have to champion the issue for the Sunflower State to have truly transparent government.

More >> Lawmakers call for major reform in Kansas after Star series on state’s culture of secrecy

Opinions mixed on discrimination among child welfare officials

After several allegations Kansas’ child welfare system discriminates against same-sex couples who want to foster and adopt children, state auditors found guardians had mixed opinions on the system’s fairness.

Kansas auditors found most guardians at litem, or court-appointed attorneys who represent children, it surveyed did not believe LGBT parents were treated differently from heterosexual parents in a report released Dec. 15. Former Kansas Department for Children and Families Secretary Phyllis Gilmore criticized the audit in a written response.

More >> Opinions mixed on discrimination among child welfare officials

Lincoln senator calls for more oversight of Nebraska child welfare

A Lincoln state senator is calling for more oversight of Nebraska's child welfare system to address child sexual abuse of state wards and those adopted from foster care.

The Department of Health and Human Services responded quickly, balking at the idea of more legislative oversight, saying that already falls to the Legislature's Health and Human Services Committee.

More >> Lincoln senator calls for more oversight of Nebraska child welfare

• Senator calls for more oversight of child welfare system

Fathers separated from children at border join other families in formal complaint

SAN DIEGO — While federal policymakers debate a controversial proposal that would separate asylum-seeking families after they reach the U.S. as a deterrent to future migrants, some immigrant rights advocacy groups say they’re already seeing increases in parents separated from children along the southwest border.

More >> Fathers separated from children at border join other families in formal complaint

Number of foster care children in Wisconsin on the rise

The number of foster care children in Wisconsin reached a 10-year high last year, an issue that will come into sharper focus in the new year as the Legislature takes up 13 bipartisan bills on the topic.

More >> Number of foster care children in Wisconsin on the rise

State of Nebraska responds to child welfare report on sex abuse

The Department of Health and Human Services said Wednesday it was the source of initial sexual abuse reports provided to Inspector General of Child Welfare Julie Rogers, and it responded to all additional requests for information, and actively participated in meetings to provide feedback and interpretation of data and policies for the report, according to HHS spokeswoman Jennifer Brantley.

More >> State of Nebraska responds to child welfare report on sex abuse

Judge Overrules State’s Seizure of Child from Couple It Deemed Not Smart Enough to Be Parents

A holiday happiness story to share: The Oregon couple who had their two children taken away because the state determined they weren't smart enough to be parents has gotten one of them back.


More >> Judge Overrules State’s Seizure of Child from Couple It Deemed Not Smart Enough to Be Parents

Healing Families Destroyed by CPS (FamilyProtection Series -- Anna's Family Story Part II)

May this Christmas 2017 be a time of healing for this dear family that has been terrorized and left in shattered pieces by the government-funded Terrorists widely known as "Child Protection Services."

More >> Healing Families Destroyed by CPS (FamilyProtection Series -- Anna's Family Story Part II)

Secrecy inside child welfare system can kill: ‘God help the children of Kansas’

Clint Blansett’s 10-year-old son had been dead just a few days when a social worker from the state knocked on the family’s door in south-central Kansas.

She wasn’t there to offer condolences after Caleb’s death or ask about his sister, Blansett said.

She wanted him to sign a form saying he wouldn’t talk about his son’s death or the Kansas Department for Children and Families. No details about the agency had with the family before Caleb’s mom smashed his head with a rock while he slept and then stabbed him seven times.

“It was a gag order,” Blansett said. “She was there for DCF; she wasn’t there for me, she wasn’t there for my daughter. She was there to ensure that I wouldn’t speak to the press. That was her only concern.”

More >> Secrecy inside child welfare system can kill: ‘God help the children of Kansas’

At least 50 state wards — some as young as 4 — have suffered sex abuse while in care, new report says

At least 50 Nebraska children, some as young as 4 years old, have suffered sexual abuse while in the state’s care or after being placed in an adoptive or guardianship home.

That’s according to an investigative report released Wednesday by Julie Rogers, the inspector general of Nebraska child welfare

More >> At least 50 state wards — some as young as 4 — have suffered sex abuse, new report says

• Inspector general: 50 victims of sex abuse verified in 3 years in Nebraska child welfare, juvenile justice systems

Two best friends from Hawaii learn they are actually brothers after 60 years

Two men who have been friends since childhood recently learned they are brothers.

Alan Robinson and Walter Macfarlane were born in Hawaii 15 months apart, KHON-TV reported. The duo met in 6th grade and have been friends for 60 years. While they've shared a very close bond, they never thought they were related, until a DNA website revealed their relationship.

More >> Two best friends from Hawaii learn they are actually brothers after 60 years

Deterring Illegal Immigration by Separating Parents and Children

A proposal to stem the flow of migrants trekking to the southern border is revealing the limitations of deterrence policy.

More >> Deterring Illegal Immigration by Separating Parents and Children

I told the CPS worker I wouldn't let her in without a warrant

Someone called CPS on me because they are concerned about my grandson. My grandson does not live with me and never has. He lives 4 hours away in another state with my daughter and her husband. I am not sure who called and for what reason but they wanted to do a check of my house.

I explained that he doesn't even live there. The worker didn't care and said she needed to see for herself. I told her to get a warrant. You would have thought I told her to smoke some meth or something by the look on her face. She said it would be better for me to just let her in.

More >> I told the CPS worker I wouldn't let her in without a warrant

Oklahoma soldier could lose custody of his son while deployed overseas

A Calera, Oklahoma, soldier fears he might lose custody of his son because he’s being deployed overseas.

More >> Oklahoma soldier could lose custody of his son while deployed overseas

WHY IS TRUMP RUSSIA PROBE INVESTIGATING AN ADOPTION GROUP?

Russia probe special counsel Robert Mueller has set his sights on what may seem an unlikely suspect—a non-governmental organization that seeks to "help restart American adoption of Russian children.”

Apparently, the Human Rights Accountability Global Initiative Foundation is not what it claims to be on its website, which features images of hugging and smiling families.

More >> WHY IS TRUMP RUSSIA PROBE INVESTIGATING AN ADOPTION GROUP?

Judge rules Oregon parents with low IQs can take youngest son home

Four days before Christmas, a Redmond couple received their miracle.

Amy Fabbrini and Eric Ziegler's 10-month-old son Hunter will spend his first Christmas at home after a judge found the couple's limited cognitive abilities did not make them unfit to parent.

More >> Judge rules Oregon parents with low IQs can take youngest son home

Indiana's struggling child welfare system to test Holcomb

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb has remained largely silent as children's advocates, including a member of his own cabinet, say bean counting by his administration has starved Indiana's child welfare agency amid a soaring number of cases fueled by the opioid epidemic.

The number of children placed in foster care because their addict parents can't care for them has surged across the U.S. But the problem is particularly acute in a handful of states including Indiana.

More >> Indiana's struggling child welfare system to test Holcomb

Trump Administration Considers Tearing Families Apart In New Immigration Crackdown

In a renewed push to clamp down on the influx of illegal crossings along the southern U.S. border, the Trump administration is reportedly weighing a policy that would separate parents from their children in detention centers.

The measure could also penalize migrants who live in the U.S. illegally and try to bring their children into the country, The Washington Post first reported Thursday.

More >> Trump Administration Considers Tearing Families Apart In New Immigration Crackdown

'She died coming to try to find me:' Sixties Scoop adoptee pieces together tragic story of separation

Robert Kalkman's memory of the woman standing outside the window is like the frame from a negative burned too hot by light.

More >> 'She died coming to try to find me:' Sixties Scoop adoptee pieces together tragic story of separation

Results of Investigation Into Iowa DHS Show Overworked, Undertrained Employees

IOWA --  The deaths of two teenage girls sparked an investigation of Iowa's Department of Human Services--one the DHS asked for.

On Friday, the 106 pages of documented results released by the Child Welfare Policy and Practice Group paint a picture of overworked, under-trained employees in a department with low morale.

More >> Results of Investigation Into Iowa DHS Show Overworked, Undertrained Employees

A man facing charges he raped one of his foster children is back in jail

A Bradenton man has been arrested again in connection to allegations that he raped one of the girls in his care during his more than 12 years as a foster father.

Albert Ferrell, 65, was arrested again on Thursday after the State Attorney’s Office filed an amended charge of sexual battery on a victim between the ages of 12 and 18 by someone in custodial authority. He is being held at the Manatee County jail on a $250,000 bond.

More >> A man facing charges he raped one of his foster children is back in jail

Man accused of threatening judge, DCS workers

INDIANAPOLIS -- An Indianapolis man faces new charges of intimidation and harassment for allegedly sending threatening messages to Department of Child Services (DCS) workers and a Marion County judge.

Indiana State Police arrested 28-year-old Christopher Peacock on Wednesday on preliminary charges of intimidation. According to police, Peacock is accused of sending threatening messages implying violence toward several people involved with a child welfare case, including a judge.

More >> Man accused of threatening judge, DCS workers

Crisis in Ohio's Foster Care System Worsens

COLUMBUS, Ohio – One thousand more Ohio children will be spending their holidays in foster care this year compared with 2016 as the opioid crisis continues to take an unprecedented toll in breaking families apart. Ohio's foster-care system is bursting at the seams with an alarming trend, showing abused and neglected children left hoping to be placed in forever homes throughout the holidays.

According to the report by the Public Children Services Association of Ohio, more than 15,500 children are in the custody of Ohio's child-service agencies. The organization's assistant director, Scott Britton, says that's a 23 percent increase over 2016.

More >> Crisis in Ohio's Foster Care System Worsens

'This is our natural disaster': Advocates say Indiana's child welfare system is drowning

Several people in Indiana's child welfare system — including Marion Juvenile Court Judge Marilyn Moores — told IndyStar the state is in the middle of a crisis, and "this system is drowning."

The comments came amid virtual silence from Gov. Eric Holcomb's administration on several issues raised in a strongly worded letter of resignation from the director of the Indiana Department of Child Services.

DCS Director Mary Beth Bonaventura, who submitted her resignation last week but remains in charge of the agency until Dec. 27, said cuts to DCS' funding and services are systematically putting children at risk. The director warned Holcomb that a continuation of his office's policies will "all but ensure children will die."


More >> 'This is our natural disaster': Advocates say Indiana's child welfare system is drowning

Amarillo-area Boys Ranch apologizes for decades of physical, sexual abuse of at-risk youths

Leaders of a Texas institution for at-risk kids have acknowledged and apologized for decades of physical and sexual abuse, the Amarillo Globe-News reported.

More >> Amarillo-area Boys Ranch apologizes for decades of physical, sexual abuse of at-risk youths

Lawsuit alleges inadequate treatment for mentally ill children in state care

A disability rights organization has filed a lawsuit alleging Pennsylvania's Department of Human Services is failing to provide adequate child welfare services to children with mental health disabilities.

The litigation, brought by Disability Rights Pennsylvania, concerns the treatment of children who are found to be “dependent” — those who can't safely live at home due to abuse or neglect. Their care falls to the state's Office of Children, Youth and Families and county child welfare programs, which are responsible for making sure the youths have a place to live and planning for “a permanent family connection for the child either through family reunification, foster care or adoption.”

More >> Lawsuit alleges inadequate treatment for mentally ill children in state care

For Foster Teens, Accessing Birth Control Is an Uphill Battle

As an attorney with the Bronx Defenders, Kara Wallis routinely attends permanency hearings, which occur when a foster youth is either being returned to their home, placed with adoptive parents, or beginning independent living. As part of these hearings, judges read a set of directives for the guardian overseeing custody, such as providing the youth with a passport or a driver’s license. For foster youth transitioning to independent living, these directives include things like job counseling.

More >> For Foster Teens, Accessing Birth Control Is an Uphill Battle

Photos from federal audit show unsafe conditions at Massachusetts group foster homes

Multiple group homes for foster children in Massachusetts have broken furniture, overflowing trash cans, foul-smelling bedding and a lack of windows, according to a federal audit released Monday that identified numerous health and safety violations at the homes.

More >> Photos from federal audit show unsafe conditions at Massachusetts group foster homes

Teen sexually assaulted in foster care files lawsuit

GREENWOOD, S.C. (WSPA) — A federal lawsuit alleges that a special needs teenager in foster care was sexually assaulted by a driver who worked for the South Carolina Youth Advocacy Program.

The teen’s attorney, Heather Hite Stone, said the boy was being transported from a visit to Greenwood to a foster home in Columbia when the driver took the teen home and sexually assaulted him in March 2016. The victim was 17 years old at the time.

More >> Teen sexually assaulted in foster care files lawsuit

Calgary foster father breaks down after being found not guilty of sexually assaulting girl in his care

In the moments after the judge acquitted him on Tuesday, a former Calgary foster father who was accused of sexually assaulting a young girl in his care began sobbing uncontrollably.

In the prisoner's box, Fortunanto Jinon collapsed into a chair with his face buried in his hands after hearing the words "not guilty." His wife cried from her seat in the gallery of the courtroom.

More >> Calgary foster father breaks down after being found not guilty of sexually assaulting girl in his care

A Ramsgate foster carer raped children and told them they would be in 'trouble' if they reported his crimes to the police

A foster carer who sexually abused five children, including rape, has been jailed for 22-and-a-half years.

Sick Gary Teague, 58, from Ramsgate assaulted his victims over 11 years and told them they would be in "trouble" if his crimes were reported to the police.

More >> A Ramsgate foster carer raped children and told them they would be in 'trouble' if they reported his crimes to the police

Only 3% of former foster children graduate college. Here’s how universities are working to change that

“When I was here at Cal State, I was homeless for three months,” Sharon Luisjuan said, looking west across the Cal State San Bernardino campus.

“I would go to the bottom of the bridge, right there,” she said. “There were a couple of other homeless people who I made friends with, and they’d try to help me out. They’d say, ‘Hey, go to school, go to school, go to school.'”

More >> Only 3% of former foster children graduate college. Here’s how universities are working to change that

Woman convicted over false Facebook post

A South Hutchinson woman who posted comments on Facebook falsely suggesting a Nickerson teacher was a child predator -- while the educator was actually providing foster care for the woman’s son -- was convicted Monday in an online harassment case that may be one of the first of its kind in the nation.

Magistrate Cheryl Allen found Melissa Wadkins guilty of two counts of harassment by a telecommunications device and two counts of criminal false communication, exposing another to public hatred, contempt or ridicule. Allen’s ruling followed a bench trial, during which the woman, the teacher and her son all testified.

More >> Woman convicted over false Facebook post

Lawsuit alleges teen was sexually assaulted by a DSS contractor while in foster care

GREENWOOD - A 17-year-old with special needs was sexually assaulted by an employee of a foster-care services provider that contracts with the state’s child welfare agency, according to a lawsuit filed in federal court this month.

The complaint, filed this month in a U.S. District court, alleges that the teen, now 18, was sexually assaulted in March 2016 by a driver with the S.C. Youth Advocate Program. The driver, the lawsuit alleges, was taking the boy from Greenwood, where he was visiting his family, back to the Columbia-area foster home he was living in at the time.

More >> Lawsuit alleges teen was sexually assaulted by a DSS contractor while in foster care

It’s not hard for foster kids to just disappear. One Traverse City author is trying to change that.

There are nearly 13,000 children in foster care in Michigan, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. Across the country, there are around 400,000 kids in foster care on any given day.

More >> It’s not hard for foster kids to just disappear. One Traverse City author is trying to change that.

Audit finds unsafe conditions at group homes for foster children

A moldy mattress, a broken handrail, a dirty toilet, mildew in the shower, and a bathroom door that didn’t close all the way were among the unsanitary and unsafe conditions found last year during inspections of 30 group homes for foster children in Massachusetts, according to a federal audit released Monday.

More >> Audit finds unsafe conditions at group homes for foster children

Mother Says Son's Drowning at Kansas Foster Home Was Neglect

FORT SCOTT, Kan. (AP) — The mother of a 22-month-old boy who drowned in a fish pond at his foster parents' home in Fort Scott said she believes the death resulted from neglect, despite a decision from the state and local law enforcement that the drowning was an accident.

More >> Mother Says Son's Drowning at Kansas Foster Home Was Neglect

Judge: Lawsuit over group foster home abuse can proceed

CENTRALIA, WASH. - A Thurston County judge says a lawsuit alleging misconduct at a group foster home in Centralia can proceed against the Kiwanis International and two local clubs.

More >> Judge: Lawsuit over group foster home abuse can proceed

Children in care criminalised for ‘minor issues’

Children living in care are being criminalised for ‘minor issues’, new report from a penal reform charity warns.

The Howard League for Penal Reform today published its research into the policing of children’s homes, which revealed the police are receiving a high number of call-outs from some homes.

More >> Children in care criminalised for ‘minor issues’

Foster child sexually assaulted by SCYAP driver

GREENWOOD, S.C. (WCBD) –  A lawsuit filed in federal court alleges that in March of 2016 a seventeen-year-old special needs foster child was sexually assaulted by a South Carolina Youth Advocacy Program driver. According to the complaint, the boy was being transported alone by the driver from a visit to Greenwood back to the Columbia area foster home where he was living at the time.

Instead of taking the boy straight back to his foster home, the driver took the boy to the driver’s own home. There, there driver sexually assaulted the boy.

More >> Foster child sexually assaulted by SCYAP driver

Austin mother who abducted children from foster care released from Florida jail

PENSACOLA, Fla. (KXAN) — The mother who triggered a multi-state search after taking her 10-year-old daughter from Oak Hill Elementary in west Austin without authorization is heading back to Central Texas.

Sarah Jordan has been in the Escambia County Jail in Pensacola, Fla., since her arrest in mid November.

More >> Austin mother who abducted children from foster care released from Florida jail

Mother says her toddler’s death in foster care was neglect. The state disagrees.

Conner Hawes drowned in a moss-covered decorative fish pond at his foster parents’ home near Fort Scott on Aug. 18, two months shy of his second birthday.

His foster father was inside watching television while Conner and three other foster children played outside, a sheriff’s report says. Under state foster care regulations, such ponds are hazards, and young children aren’t supposed to have unsupervised access.

More >> Mother says her toddler’s death in foster care was neglect. The state disagrees.

Aerosmith star Steven Tyler opens home for abused girls in metro Atlanta

In 1989, Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler wrote the song “Janie’s Got a Gun,” which described a harrowing story of a girl’s abuse by her father. Nearly 30 years later, Tyler has created a place abused girls to come to for help and safety in metro Atlanta.

More >> Aerosmith star Steven Tyler opens home for abused girls in metro Atlanta

DCF took kids without court order or warrant

Hi, I have a family member who has encountered DCF as a result of a domestic dispute with her husband. After the police filed the report, DCF got involved and put a safety plan in place for the mother and children so the father was not able to stay at the home or see the kids until they went to court and saw a judge...

More >> DCF took kids without court order or warrant

Israel Demands That Lesbians Seeking to Adopt Children Declare They Are Not Sex Offenders

Nadia Eisner Horesh, a mother of five from Jerusalem, discovered after the birth of her sixth child that she is liable to be a dangerous person. When she and her partner Lena Horesh turned to the Family Court in Jerusalem asking to arrange her legal status as the mother of their mutual daughter, to whom Lena gave birth, the state requested an affidavit from her to the effect that she hasn’t been convicted in the past for crimes of sex or violence. “If there’s a chance that I’m a danger to children, where were the authorities when it came to my five biological children, the oldest of whom is already 21?” asks Nadia.

More >> Israel Demands That Lesbians Seeking to Adopt Children Declare They Are Not Sex Offenders

‘Will They Take Me, Too?’

More than a thousand children are counting on Nora Sándigo to become their guardian if their undocumented parents are deported. How many of those promises will she now have to keep?

More >> ‘Will They Take Me, Too?’

When I Was 28 My Parents Told Me I Was Adopted and I had Siblings I Never Knew Existed

“Lord, if there’s any bitterness within me, please remove it”—this was the prayer I had found myself praying for several weeks in March 2014. I didn’t know why I was incorporating these prayers into my life. From my viewpoint, I had no enemies or anyone that I had ill will towards.

More >> When I Was 28 My Parents Told Me I Was Adopted and I had Siblings I Never Knew Existed

Foster Care: How a California Politician Bent an Entire Child Welfare System to His Will

Meet Matt Rexroad. He is an ex-Marine who describes himself as “an influential part of California politics for more than 25 years.” The Sacramento Bee calls him “A no-nonsense political consultant who works to elect Republicans.” His clients have included the state Republican Party, the McCain presidential campaign and the Koch brothers-funded Americans for Prosperity. He’s also a former mayor of the city of Woodland, in Yolo County, near Sacramento, and a current member of the Yolo County Board of Supervisors.

More >> Foster Care: How a California Politician Bent an Entire Child Welfare System to His Will

School Maintenance Worker Charged With Assaulting Foster Children

ST. CHARLES COUNTY, Mo. (KMOX) – A longtime maintenance worker at the St. Charles School District has been charged with sexually assaulting two foster children in his home.

Samuel Sanchez-Mora, 39, of St. Peters is charged with one count of statutory sodomy and fourth-degree assault.

More >> School Maintenance Worker Charged With Assaulting Foster Children

• Former St. Charles School District employee charged with sexually abusing foster children

Manatee man accused of sexually abusing adopted daughter

Albert Ferrell, 65, was charged with sexual battery. Officials said he bonded out of jail this week.

The probable cause affidavit states the victim was taken into the Ferrell's home when she was 13-years-old. It stated she started sleeping with Ferrell two years later when she was officially adopted by the family.

More >> Manatee man accused of sexually abusing adopted daughter

Sheriff: Child protection investigator fired for helping a friend try to win bitter custody battle

PINELLAS COUNTY, Fla. — Cortney Warren said a Pinellas County Child Protection Investigator made her believe she was the center of an investigation into alleged abuse against her children. 

Sheriff Bob Gualtieri fired Jayne Johnson, 56, on Friday after a review board found, “Johnson misused her position as a child protection investigator.”

More >> Sheriff: Child protection investigator fired for helping a friend try to win bitter custody battle

Philly Child Protection Agency Contractor Charged in Child Porn Case

A longtime contractor with the Philadelphia Department of Human Services has been arrested and charged in New Jersey with possession of child pornography.

More >> Philly Child Protection Agency Contractor Charged in Child Porn Case

Task Force Hears That Some Issues With Kan. Foster Care System Aren’t New

Descriptions of an underfunded, under-resourced foster care system short on child placement options sounded familiar to Kansas lawmakers and child welfare advocates at a task force meeting this week.

More >> Task Force Hears That Some Issues With Kan. Foster Care System Aren’t New

Child sex dolls, the newest outlet for pedophiles, must be banned so that they have to target real kids

It’s a uniquely vile person who preys on children to fulfill horrific pedophilic urges. During my 20 years as a prosecutor, I put away animals who played out their disgusting fantasies on innocent children. What I saw and heard was enough to make anybody sick.

Now, as a legislator in Congress, I’m introducing a bill to ban the newest outlet for pedophiles: child sex dolls. These lifelike, anatomically accurate recreations of young children include “accessories” such as false eyelashes, wigs, warming devices, and cleaning tools.

More >> Child sex dolls, the newest outlet for pedophiles, must be banned

Pinellas child protection supervisor fired for not reporting child abuse

ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. - A child protection supervisor with the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office was fired Friday and is under criminal investigation for failing to report suspected child abuse.

Jayne Johnson, 56, is also being investigated for conducting unauthorized family evaluations and making improper recommendations to family court, the sheriff's office said.

More >> Pinellas child protection supervisor fired for not reporting child abuse

DCFS: High caseloads hinder face-to-face visits with foster kids

Despite recent improvements in Arkansas’s overloaded foster care system, the state Department of Human Services’ Division of Children and Family Services is struggling to reduce the average caseload of its field staff, DCFS monthly data indicates.

More >> DCFS: High caseloads hinder face-to-face visits with foster kids

DCF/CPS Kidnaps Kids. Be Aware of Their Dirty tricks....My story

We don't have CPS here in Florida. We have a similar bloated bureaucratic cesspool called DCF. DCF standing for Department of Children and Families. I have plenty of experience dealing with local type law enforcement agencies but, this was my first time dealing with this type of state agency. I am writing this so people can learn from my experience and arm themselves with knowledge and know their dirty tricks to look for if they ever find themselves in a similar situation. Remember, they don't call it an agency for a reason, agency sounds cold and invasive so they say "department" or "services"but, it is an agency run by agents just like any other law enforcement agency, it is a family law agency though, not a criminal law agency. You must remember that all your constitutional rights apply and you need to use them just like you were being accused of murder. Don't let them in the house and lawyer up immediately.

More >> DCF/CPS Kidnaps Kids. Be Aware of Their Dirty tricks....My story

Four Kids Faced With Choosing Between Foster Care or Following Their Deported Father to Mexico

After their father and sole caretaker was recently deported to Mexico, his four children—the oldest of whom is just 10—will be forced to enter the foster care system in Kentucky if they can’t come up with the money to be reunited with their father.

More >> Four Kids Faced With Choosing Between Foster Care or Following Their Deported Father to Mexico

4 Marion County Schools employees disciplined after alleged failure to report abuse to DCF

MARION COUNTY, Fla. - Four Marion County Schools employees -- the former principal of Anthony Elementary School and three school officials -- have been reprimanded after an allegation that they did not report abuse to the Department of Children and Families after being notified by a parent that a developmentally disabled first-grader was alleged to have been touched inappropriately.

More >> 4 Marion County Schools employees disciplined after alleged failure to report abuse to DCF

Note: The bastards.

When a foster child runs away, answers are hard to find

Shantel French couldn’t keep her eyes off of her cellphone while we talked about her foster daughter.

The 15-year-old had been missing for nine days when we met at her South Philly home, and the first-time foster mom was frantic.

More >> When a foster child runs away, answers are hard to find 

Lawsuit settled over jailing of Arkansas foster child without warrant

A civil-rights case centered around the 2016 jailing of an Arkansas foster child without a warrant was settled last week in federal court.

Details about the settlement, which was approved Dec. 5, could not be determined Wednesday.

The lawsuit, first filed in March, asserted that the 14-year-old was deprived of his civil rights through false arrest and imprisonment and that the deputy prosecuting attorney who ordered the jailing routinely detained others without cause.

More >> Lawsuit settled over jailing of Arkansas foster child without warrant

State Settles Suit Claiming Abuse at Foster Home for $1.5M

CENTRALIA, Wash. (AP) — The state Department of Social and Health Services has settled the first lawsuit claiming abuse and negligence at a state-licensed foster home that closed in 1994.

The Lewis County Chronicle reported Thursday that the department agreed to pay $1.5 million to be split equally between the three plaintiffs listed in the 2015 lawsuit.

More >> State Settles Suit Claiming Abuse at Foster Home for $1.5M

Adoptive, biological families battle for control of Grace Packer's estate

Grace Packer’s biological parents believe her adoptive grandparents knew she was being beaten and verbally abused in the years before she was raped and killed.

More >> Adoptive, biological families battle for control of Grace Packer's estate

Justina Pelletier wasn't allowed home for Christmas

Millions of people head home each Christmas season. Some can’t make it due to a whole variety of reasons. But imagine that the reason you couldn’t be home, with your family, for Christmas was because the government took you from your parents, all over a dispute over medical care. That is exactly what happened to Justina Pelletier.

More >> Justina Pelletier wasn't allowed home for Christmas

HSLDA Sues Kentucky Officials for Forcibly Entering Family’s Home, Strip-Searching Six Children

A Kentucky social worker forced her way into a family’s home and strip-searched all six of their children in front of a male police officer, according to a lawsuit filed by Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA) against the social worker and the officer.

On December 5, 2017, HSLDA filed the complaint detailing how the two officials violated the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendment rights of Holly Curry and her children.

More >> HSLDA Sues Kentucky Officials for Forcibly Entering Family’s Home, Strip-Searching Six Children

'We ought to be embarrassed': Public outcry over 11-year-old handcuffed at gunpoint

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - Grand Rapids residents - many of which have never met an 11-year-old girl handcuffed by police at gunpoint last week - implored the city commission Tuesday night to bring justice to the situation and to hold the police accountable.

"When a little girl has a grown man pointing a gun at her, and she's seen hundreds of black men and women get killed on the internet - do you not think she thought she could get killed?" said Deborah Jandle, a clinical social worker, to the city commission. "I hope you get sued."

More >> 'We ought to be embarrassed': Public outcry over 11-year-old handcuffed at gunpoint

St. Charles foster parent and former school worker accused of fondling children

ST. CHARLES, MO – A former City of St. Charles School District maintenance worker has been charged with statutory sodomy and assault.  Court documents say that Samuel Sanchez-Mora, 39, of St. Peters was a foster care provider.  Police say he victimized two foster children in his home. The children are no longer in his care.  He is currently in police custody with a 100,000 bond.

The probable cause statement says that Sanchez-Mora was taking care of two girls between the ages of 8 and 10-years-old.   They were both under the supervision of other foster parents.  Sanchez-Mora was providing respite care. He is accused of violating the girls at the same time.

More >> St. Charles foster parent and former school worker accused of fondling children

Sisters at Catholic orphanage force-fed residents, child abuse inquiry hears

A former resident of a Catholic orphanage has told an inquiry how she was severely punished for wetting the bed.

More >> Sisters at Catholic orphanage force-fed residents, child abuse inquiry hears

Complaint Accuses DHS Of Increasingly Separating Families At The Border

Carlos Batres Aguilar refused to separate from his son after arriving at the US–Mexico border seeking asylum last November, despite days of pressure from immigration officials.

Days later, he said, on Nov. 16, an immigration official told him and a group of other fathers that he had orders to separate them. As Batres was taken out of a cell to identify his belongings, immigration officials took him and other fathers away from their kids. It was the last time he saw his 12-year-old son Dominic.

“They told us if we didn’t accept the rules they would take them by force,” Batres, who is from El Salvador, told BuzzFeed News. “I don’t understand why they’re treating us like this. It’s not like we committed a crime.”

More >> Complaint Accuses DHS Of Increasingly Separating Families At The Border

Dozens of Hillsborough kids land in foster care due to poverty, and You Pay For It

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. (WFLA) – Most kids land in foster care due to child abuse or neglect, but some are there only because their parents can’t provide adequate housing. In other words, because they’re poor.

“The only thing that’s keeping these children from their parents is an adequate living condition,” said child advocate Robin Rosenberg.

More >> Dozens of Hillsborough kids land in foster care due to poverty, and You Pay For It

ACLU fights to free mother serving 30 years for failing to protect children from abuse

OKLAHOMA CITY - The ACLU of Oklahoma is working to free a mother of three from a 30-year prison sentence. Civil rights advocates are headed to court Tuesday to try to right what they call a wrong.

“What our suit seeks is essentially to free her. It's called a writ of habeas corpus, and what it would do is essentially say she's done," said Brady Henderson, legal director with ACLU. "This sentence should have never have been anywhere near this long.”

It was back in 2004. Tondalo Hall was in an abusive relationship with a boyfriend, Robert Braxton Jr. He was beating her and then began abusing her children.

“On that particular night, she had to take her kids to the hospital because something was wrong and, when she did, what she found out was that the same man that was abusing her was abusing those kids,” Henderson said.

More >> ACLU fights to free mother serving 30 years for failing to protect children from abuse

2 children in state care spent hours in DCYF office because shelter wasn’t available

State had cancelled contract with Pawtucket emergency placement shelter in effort to reduce the number of children in group-home settings, said DCYF Director Trista Piccola.

More >> 2 children in state care spent hours in DCYF office because shelter wasn’t available

Governor, Auditor Spar Over Child Welfare Report

BOSTON (AP) — Gov. Charlie Baker and state Auditor Suzanne Bump, a Democrat, sparred Monday over a recently released audit that claimed Massachusetts' child welfare agency was unaware of or failed to report to prosecutors hundreds of injuries sustained by children in its care.

In a letter sent Monday to employees of the Department of Children and Families, Baker criticized Bump for basing her report on data from two or three years ago and discussing it "like it happened yesterday."

More >> Governor, Auditor Spar Over Child Welfare Report

• 'The Governor is denying a reality that DCF itself does not dispute,' Massachusetts Auditor Suzanne Bump says

Foster mom charged in 2016 homicide of teen with autism, family says

Lydia Whitford's foster mother has been charged in connection with the 18-year-old's death, the teen's family says.

Lisa Marie Campbell, 26, was arrested in Winnipeg on Thursday and charged with manslaughter in connection with Whitford's death in the rural municipality of Springfield, Man., in July 2016, RCMP said Monday.

More >> Foster mom charged in 2016 homicide of teen with autism, family says

Film depicts reality for young parents at risk of having a child taken into care

When you’re in care, having a baby is like walking through a door. On the other side, you’re not a kid who can ask for help any more; you’re an unfit mum getting ready to do what’s expected of you – fail.”

For Elise and Jocasta*, this line in a new animated film by children’s advocacy charity Just for Kids Law sets out the reality for young people who become pregnant while in foster care and discover their baby is at risk of being removed. Both women advised on the storyline and scripting of the film, drawing on the frustrations and fears they experienced while going through care proceedings themselves.

More >> Film depicts reality for young parents at risk of having a child taken into care

How The Army’s Flub Let A Felon Become A Foster Parent In Texas

But some important information didn’t show up in a state background check before a foster-care agency hired McQueen and his wife last March to care for abused and neglected children

Two years ago, former Army 1st Sgt. McQueen pleaded guilty to more than a dozen military charges for attempting to run a prostitution ring in Fort Hood. As part of the plea deal he was demoted to private, sentenced to 24 months in prison, was stripped of his retirement pay and received a dishonorable discharge.

More >> How The Army’s Flub Let A Felon Become A Foster Parent In Texas

Teen jailed for sexually abusing foster kids in his parents' care

A teenage boy has been jailed for more than four years for sexually abusing two young children who had been placed in his family's care by Child Youth and Family.

The youth's parents were also convicted of physically assaulting a child in their care.

More >> Teen jailed for sexually abusing foster kids in his parents' care

15 years for foster mother who burnt child to death

Pretoria - Anna Mahlangu, 64, sobbed loudly as she went down the stairs to the holding cells of the Gauteng High Court, Pretoria, after being sentenced to 15 years for the murder of her 13-year-old foster child.

Mahlangu, who was wearing a striped skirt, doek (scarf), tracksuit top and scarf, hugged her family members before disappearing from view.

More >> 15 years for foster mother who burnt child to death

Forced adoptions deserve a proper apology, too.

Anne Preston's story had a happy ending, but thousands of mothers who had their children stolen away by government-funded agencies live every day with a void in their hearts. Perhaps they deserve an apology and a commitment to help heal the wounds, Mr. Trudeau.

More >> Forced adoptions deserve a proper apology, too.

Protecting Our Children: Controversy lingers at Capitol over arming teachers in schools

HARRISBURG – As schools grapple with the challenge of ensuring that their students are as safe as possible, the push to clarify whether schools can allow educators to carry firearms will likely carry over into 2018.

The state Senate approved Senate Bill 383, a measure that would allow schools to give the OK for staff to carry firearms, in a 28-22 vote in June. The bill is currently under consideration by the House Education Committee.

More >> Protecting Our Children: Controversy lingers at Capitol over arming teachers in schools

Child protection worries spawn variety of bills

HARRISBURG – The struggle to help the state’s child protection safety net cope with the increased demands placed on it by the opioid crisis has spawned with at least seven bills in the General Assembly, but the process of moving them forward has so far been slow.

More >> Child protection worries spawn variety of bills

Indian-American toddler Sherin Mathews’ gravesite location released

After #Sherin Mathews’ body was discovered on October 22 in a culvert less than a mile from the Mathews’ family home, her 35-year-old mother, Sini Mathews, held a private burial service, which was attended by relatives and a gathering of family friends, the Asian Age reported. According to reports by a number of news agencies, the exact location where the Indian-American [VIDEO] toddler was buried was a closely guarded secret, attributed to the level of social media attention and “intense press,” the Age relayed.

More >> Indian-American toddler Sherin Mathews’ gravesite location released

"When I adopted three children I thought my life was complete, instead I was plunged into a dark despair"

When Fiona Dunn adopted her three children she thought her life was complete.

Fiona, 53, and her husband Neal, 52, always knew they wanted to be parents, but having met in their late 30s, they found themselves unable to conceive.


So nine years ago they adopted two girls and a boy, siblings who were part of a larger family, through an adoption agency.

But, despite her joy at finally becoming a mum, Fiona, a tax specialist from Rochdale, found herself plunged into a dark despair.

More >> "When I adopted three children I thought my life was complete, instead I was plunged into a dark despair"

Note: Boo hoo. 

Minnesota 2-year-old’s death in foster home investigated

After a 2-year-old girl died in a St. Paul residence this month, the state suspended the home’s foster care license.

Police said Tuesday they continue to investigate the circumstances of the child’s death on Nov. 13. No one has been arrested and police have not said whether they believe the girl’s death is suspicious.

More >> Minnesota 2-year-old’s death in foster home investigated

Child Protective Services Poses A Serious Threat to Our Children

The Huffington Post has released a report on Child Protective Services (CPS) by Child Advocate and contributor Patricia Mitchell, founder of Patricia’s Children, Inc. The report is filled with documented data that is important for all families to know, due to the threat that CPS poses to literally every family in America.

Some of the data in the report will come as no surprise to the families impacted by medical kidnapping. While children and parents are being destroyed behind closed agency and courtroom doors, the majority of the public remains blissfully ignorant of the reality, much like the citizens in Eastern Europe were unaware of the atrocities happening to their fellow citizens in the concentration camps under the Nazi regime.

More >> Child Protective Services Poses A Serious Threat to Our Children

180 orphanages want to shut down

With the state insisting on mandatory registration of orphanages under the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act by December 15, at least 180 institutions have informed the government that they are not willing to register and are planning to shut down their operations.

The orphanages are citing serious financial crunch and loss of decisionmaking powers with regard to the admission of children, if they are brought under the JJ Act. A couple of such applications sent by the orphanages to the government, accessed by TOI, says that they want the children to be shifted from their institutions to places that are deemed fit by the government.

More >> 180 orphanages want to shut down

Auditor General: PA Child Welfare System Beset By ‘Breathtaking’ Turnover

HARRISBURG, Pa. (CBS) — The auditor general has briefed a state House committee on a devastating report on Pennsylvania’s child welfare system, which concludes there is a lack of support for caseworkers on the front lines.

Auditor General Eugene DePasquale appeared before the state House Children and Youth Committee to discuss his “State of the Child” report issued in September. DePasquale painted a bleak picture: at-risk children ill-served by a system plagued by what he termed the ‘breathtaking’ turnover of overworked, underpaid, stressed employees.

More >> Auditor General: PA Child Welfare System Beset By ‘Breathtaking’ Turnover

Ballarat Orphanage abuse victim devastated by decision not to lay charges against former superintendent

A former resident of a children's home in Ballarat says she is devastated by a decision to drop sex abuse charges against her overseer, who is considered too ill to face court.

More >> Ballarat Orphanage abuse victim devastated by decision not to lay charges against former superintendent

Data mining program designed to predict child abuse proves unreliable, DCFS says

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is ending a high-profile program that used computer data mining to identify children at risk for serious injury or death after the agency's top official called the technology unreliable.


More >> Data mining program designed to predict child abuse proves unreliable, DCFS says

They say they suffered ‘cruel and sadistic’ abuse as kids at Ontario training schools — and the government paid them to keep quiet

The Ontario government has secretly settled hundreds of lawsuits alleging historic sexual, physical and emotional abuse by teachers and staff at provincially run schools for troubled youth, a Toronto Star investigation has found.

Staff and teachers were accused of sodomizing students, forcing them to perform oral sex, and pushing them to engage in "scrambles," a sort of fight club where students were encouraged to beat one another.

More >> They say they suffered ‘cruel and sadistic’ abuse as kids at Ontario training schools — and the government paid them to keep quiet

Don’t Give Kids Holiday Gifts That Can Spy on Them

During the holiday season, my husband and I tend to offer suggestions to those who are generous enough to insist on buying presents for our kids. Things like “Don’t spend more than $50” and “No guns.” Or, for those with whom we can be comfortably blunt, “Just cash, please.”

The idea is to make gift-giving less stressful and expensive and to make it less likely that the gift givers will waste money on things our kids don’t need — or that we simply would rather they didn’t have.

This year we’re adding a new rule to our list: No toys that can spy. The idea: to keep seemingly innocuous internet-connected devices that may compromise our privacy and security out of our home and especially out of our children’s hands.

More >> Don’t Give Kids Holiday Gifts That Can Spy on Them

Monster foster mother starves to death her son in order to get state benefits.

Lyubov Korokova a foster mother from Magadan a city that is located 5 900 km from Moscow is being accused of starving her son to death in order to claim state benefits. She was fooling doctors to believe that her foster son Valery Kondourov had s rare disease.

More >> Monster foster mother starves to death her son in order to get state benefits.

Heslam: Scathing report upsets foster mom

A couple of years ago, Barbara Papile got a call from a social worker asking her if she could take in a 1-month-old baby girl. Papile went to the hospital to see the baby, who had been abused by her teenage father and had 30 broken bones.

More >> Heslam: Scathing report upsets foster mom

Report: Pa.’s child welfare system broken

Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale thinks the state’s child welfare system is broken, and the head of McKean County’s Children and Youth Services doesn’t disagree.

Earlier this week, DePasquale briefed the state House Children and Youth Committee on a year-long review of the state’s child welfare system. His office prepared a report, “State of the Child,” which included a focus on learning how the opioid crisis in putting more of a strain on the CYS system “as they strive to keep Pennsylvania’s at-risk children safe.”

More >> Report: Pa.’s child welfare system broken

Caseworker turnover affecting Nebraska youth in foster care

LINCOLN, NEB. — An annual report on foster care shows more than half the juveniles in out-of-home care in Nebraska had three or more caseworker changes.

An unstable workforce makes it hard to ensure children are safe and getting what they need, said Julie Rogers, Nebraska's inspector general of child welfare. It can also affect caseloads and morale, she said.

More >> Caseworker turnover affecting Nebraska youth in foster care

Audit: DCF Missing Serious Injuries Suffered By Kids In Its Care

BOSTON (CBS) — The Department of Children and Families did not know about 260 serious injuries to kids under the agency’s care, including gunshot wounds, burns, broken bones and head contusions.

That is one of the glaring findings of a report released Thursday by State Auditor Suzanne Bump, who analyzed two years of DCF data in 2014 and 2015.

More >> Audit: DCF Missing Serious Injuries Suffered By Kids In Its Care

DCF faces high turnover of investigators, leaving new employees with caseload

(WEAR) — The Florida agency in charge of child welfare has a big problem with employee turnover. Channel 3 News has learned most Child Protective Investigators (CPI) with the Department of Children and Families (DCF) in the northwest district have not been in their positions more than a year.


More >> DCF faces high turnover of investigators, leaving new employees with caseload

Report: Massachusetts DCF Failed to Report Rapes, Abuse, Other Crimes Against Children

The Boston Globe is reporting that an audit scheduled to be released Thursday shows that the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families failed to report rapes and other crimes committed against children in their care.

More >> Report: Massachusetts DCF Failed to Report Rapes, Abuse, Other Crimes Against Children

Illinois Dumps George Sheldon's 'Failed' Predictive Analytics Program

The last of the legacy George Sheldon hoped for at the Illinois Department of Children and Families (DCFS) crumbled this week when Sheldon's successor ended a Florida company's high-profile program meant to identify children at risk for serious injury or death.

"We are not doing the predictive analytics because it didn't seem to be predicting much," new DCFS Director Beverly "B.J." Walker told the Chicago Tribune. The story was reported in Wednesday morning's edition.

More >> Illinois Dumps George Sheldon's 'Failed' Predictive Analytics Program

DCYF lawsuit reaches potential $1 million settlement

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Officials are predicting a settlement of more than $1 million in the near future in a decade-old civil rights lawsuit against Rhode Island's child welfare agency.

House Fiscal Advisor Sharon Reynolds Ferland told the House committee Tuesday to expect a legal settlement of $1.2 million. But she says the settlement might be "much larger."

More >> DCYF lawsuit reaches potential $1 million settlement

Foster father hid Sherin's body with trash, disposed corpse in tunnel

Houston: Police in Dallas have shared new details about the mysterious death of Indian toddler Sherin Mathews, alleging that her Indian-American foster father bundled her "stiff and cold" body in the back of his car with a bag of trash and hid her corpse in a culvert.

More >> Foster father hid Sherin's body with trash, disposed corpse in tunnel

• Sherin’s parents did not keep a photo of her in the house, as she was 'disfigured'
• Sherin's foster father removed her body along with a bag of trash: Detective

Mother of Runaway Teen Shot Sues Child Welfare Officials

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The family of a Tennessee teenager who was killed a month after he ran away from a foster home is suing the head of the Department of Children's Services and three of its employees.

News outlets report a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by 14-year-old Tirell Hill's mother says the state officials failed to find safe, stable and appropriate places for Hill to stay during his eight months in state custody.

More >> Mother of Runaway Teen Shot Sues Child Welfare Officials

Merry Christmas from Legally Kidnapped

I finished my Christmas Special early this year.

‘Political dirty trick’: False claim of child abuse alleged in Texas House race

Just days before the race for the 99th Texas House seat kicks into high gear, a lawsuit has been filed alleging a malicious “political ‘dirty trick’ ” in last year’s election.

The district, which has been represented by state Rep. Charlie Geren, R-Fort Worth, since 2001, is expected to feature a marquee Republican primary battle between Geren and former longtime family friend Bo French — a repeat of the political face-off voters saw in 2016.

More >> ‘Political dirty trick’: False claim of child abuse alleged in Texas House race

Lawsuit filed in shooting death of 14-year-old boy who ran from DCS custody

The family of a 14-year-old boy killed after he ran away from a foster home has filed a lawsuit against the head of the Department of Children's Services and three of its employees.

More >> Lawsuit filed in shooting death of 14-year-old boy who ran from DCS custody

Ten new charges in foster child death case specify dates, injuries

Special prosecutors have added 10 charges to the 39 leveled against Jennifer and Joseph Rosenbaum in the death of a 2-year-old foster child in their care, bringing the total criminal charges to 49.

Their case is specially set for trial in March, though defense attorney Corinne Mull told Henry County Judge Brian Amero Tuesday morning that the proceedings would need to stall given the new charges.

More >> Ten new charges in foster child death case specify dates, injuries

Arizona DCS disbands citizen-review panels, brings oversight in-house

The state’s child-welfare agency is disbanding citizen panels intended to bring an outside view on its work and is moving the effort in-house.

Critics, surprised by the Nov. 21 notification from Department of Child Safety Director Greg McKay, say they fear the move will further insulate DCS from outside oversight on its operations.

More >> Arizona DCS disbands citizen-review panels, brings oversight in-house

Mother of girl who died in kinship care fights for resurrection of Serenity's Law

The mother of Serenity, a four-year-old girl who died of horrific injuries after being placed in kinship care on a central Alberta reserve, hopes her daughter's death ushers in new protections for vulnerable children.

On Tuesday, the woman will sit in the gallery of the Alberta legislature as Calgary MLA Mike Ellis attempts to resurrect Bill 216, also known as Serenity's Law. She cannot be identified under provincial child welfare legislation so as not to identify her other children.

More >> Mother of girl who died in kinship care fights for resurrection of Serenity's Law

Former DCF official faces more child porn charges

A former Florida Department of Children and Families spokesman arrested last week on child pornography charges now faces additional charges, according to court records.

Thomas William Barnes, 67, of 3500 NW 38th St., on Thursday was charged with one count of possession of obscene material involving sexual performance by a child and one count of promoting a photo of a sexual performance by a child, according to a Gainesville Police Department arrest report.

More >> Former DCF official faces more child porn charges

NJ Atty Sued After Appeal Nixing $102M Child Abuse Verdict

A New Jersey lawyer has been slammed with a state court lawsuit alleging that he mishandled litigation in which a state appeals court tossed a $102 million verdict issued against the state’s child protection agency over severe injuries suffered by a boy at the hands of his father.

More >> NJ Atty Sued After Appeal Nixing $102M Child Abuse Verdict

Man accused of sexually abusing foster child in Rainbow City, more victims possible

RAINBOW CITY, Ala. (WIAT) —  A Rainbow City man is accused of sexually abusing a teenage foster child he helped care for, and police say there could be more victims.

Donald Eugene Kelley, 49, is charged with second-degree sodomy, but the investigation is ongoing and more charges are possible.

More >> Man accused of sexually abusing foster child in Rainbow City, more victims possible

Sudbury judge faces discipline over child welfare case: 'He's tearing my little girl apart'

A Sudbury judge facing a disciplinary hearing has failed in his bid to get text messages thrown out where he allegedly tries to interfere in a child protection matter.

Justice John Keast exchanged text messages with Lynda Cullain, a long-time friend who worked as a manager at the Children's Aid Society of the Districts of Sudbury and Manitoulin.

More >> Sudbury judge faces discipline over child welfare case: 'He's tearing my little girl apart'

Florida child protective services investigator arrested for falsifying interview records

The FDLA has arrested former Department of Children and Families child protective investigator Jason Robert Kent, 44, for falsifying records.

More >> Florida child protective services investigator arrested for falsifying interview records

Memorial held for children at orphanage who died in Halifax Explosion

HALIFAX – They came to the orphanage because their families could not care for them. Then, disaster struck.

The wards of the Halifax Protestant Orphanage were as young as three and as old as 13 when a massive explosion tore through Halifax in 1917.

More >> Memorial held for children at orphanage who died in Halifax Explosion

Father fights San Francisco CPS and kangeroo court system

Joseph Bartholomew has no memories of his mother other than knowing that he loved her with all his heart. She died suddenly when he was 5 years old. There is nothing more traumatic for children than suffering the loss of a parent. The sudden loss and heartache drove Joseph to exhibit behavior problems all through his childhood and adolescence.

At the age of 12, Joseph landed in juvenile hall for the first time – the Youth Guidance Center at 375 Woodside Ave. in San Francisco – for vandalism. After that he was in and out of San Francisco’s juvenile justice system. In the Mission District of his childhood, gangs were prevalent. By the age of 14, Joseph got mixed up in them and started committing crimes like robbery and petty theft and drug dealing.

More >> Father fights San Francisco CPS and kangeroo court system