Kentucky Will Use New Federal Law to Keep More Kids Out of Foster Care

Child advocates in Kentucky say a new federal law aims to help at-risk families and prevent youth from entering the foster care system.

While it doesn't provide any new funding, the Family First Prevention Services Act signed by President Donald Trump last year gives states more flexibility in how they spend federal money on child welfare.

More >> Kentucky Will Use New Federal Law to Keep More Kids Out of Foster Care

NEW FAMILY TREATMENT COURT A RESOURCE FOR REUNIFICATION

Last week, a long-awaited family treatment court officially opened its doors to Flathead County families impacted by dependency and neglect cases, offering support for program-elligible parents pursuing reunification with their children who have been placed into Child Family Services.

The court, known as Family Tree, aims to provide evidence-based treatment for families impacted by parental substance use, reduce child maltreatment and provide children with services they need to be raised in a healthy environment. Funding for the court was granted by the U.S. Department of Justice in October of 2018. The department gave $600,000 to support the program for its first three years.

More >> NEW FAMILY TREATMENT COURT A RESOURCE FOR REUNIFICATION

Lawsuit: Texas ranch didn't protect 2 boys from sexual abuse

A young man and a teenage boy filed a lawsuit last week accusing the staff at a Texas ranch for at-risk youth of not protecting them from sexual abuse by older residents, an advocate for child abuse victims said Wednesday.

In recent years, an increasing number of former residents have come forward to say they suffered physical and sexual abuse at Cal Farley's Boys Ranch near Amarillo decades ago. But too many years had passed for legal recourse.

More >> Lawsuit: Texas ranch didn't protect 2 boys from sexual abuse

Supreme Court Sides with Parents in Grandparent Visitation Case

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled against a grandmother who wanted more visitation time with her granddaughter, concluding grandma did not overcome a presumption that favors parental decisions concerning their kids.

Cacie Michaels and Keaton Lyons had a daughter together in 2009. They were never married and split up in 2011. As an infant and toddler, their daughter spent significant time with her grandmother, Jill Kelsey (Lyons’ mother), but the arrangement changed.

More >> Supreme Court Sides with Parents in Grandparent Visitation Case

Why are migrant children dying in U.S. custody?

At least seven children are known to have died in immigration custody since last year, after almost a decade in which no child reportedly died while in the custody of U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

The string of cases continue to raise questions around the conditions in which migrant children are being kept at a time when a growing number of migrants, many of them Central American parents with children, are presenting themselves at the border to seek asylum.

More >> Why are migrant children dying in U.S. custody?

• Why Do Children Keep Dying in U.S. Custody? Maybe Because Nobody Is Holding CBP Accountable.

Scoop: Trump's plan to let adoption agencies reject same-sex parents

The Trump administration will soon make it easier for adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples, senior administration officials told Axios.

Why it matters: President Trump is steadily rolling back Obama-era nondiscrimination policies across the entire federal government — including health care, housing and the military.

More >> Scoop: Trump's plan to let adoption agencies reject same-sex parents

8-year-old girl sexually abused by 73-year-old foster carer wrote heartbreaking note about repeated abuse

An eight-year-old girl wrote a disturbing note saying she was sad when she had "'sex with her granddad", referring to her foster carer who raped her repeatedly.

73-year-old Desmond Gore was slapped with 20 charges of sexual abuse—including the rape of three eight-year-old girls—after he pleaded guilty to the abuse at Perth District Court on Tuesday, Daily Mail reports.

More >> 8-year-old girl sexually abused by 73-year-old foster carer wrote heartbreaking note about repeated abuse

• ‘I FEEL SAD’ Abused girl, 8, wrote heartbreaking note saying she felt sad when she ‘had sex with granddad’

Single parent adoptions reach record high in the UK as family lawyers hail the “Jolie effect”

Single parent adoptions have reached a record high in the UK, new figures reveal, as family lawyers hail the “Jolie effect”.

The number of single parents adopting children hit its highest ever figure in 2018 at 962 - a rise from 904 in 2017.

More >> Single parent adoptions reach record high in the UK as family lawyers hail the “Jolie effect”

List of States Seeking Family First Act Delay is Up to at Least 27

Updated information from the federal Administration for Children and Families (ACF), obtained last week by Youth Services Insider, shows that the number of states intending to delay on the Family First Prevention Services Act is now at least 27 states.

YSI obtained an initial list of 17 states in mid-May, after multiple requests that began with a normal inquiry to ACF. After filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, we were denied again. Then, nearly four months after our appeal of that denial was filed, ACF provided a list of states that have requested a delay.

More >> List of States Seeking Family First Act Delay is Up to at Least 27

Arkansas supreme court judge stresses importance of reuniting foster children with family

Right now there are 4,326 children in Arkansas foster care. Why are these children coming into the foster care system?

DHS said primarily neglect and parental substance abuse are to blame, but one of our state supreme court judges is getting involved. For Justice Rhonda Wood, it's now a passion.

More >> Arkansas supreme court judge stresses importance of reuniting foster children with family

Wayne County judge accused of hiding abuse of grandson taken off family court

A family court judge accused of covering up child abuse has new duties.

After FOX 2 investigator ML Elrick revealed that the judge's grandson said she used make-up to hide up his bruises, her boss reviewed the matter.

More >> Wayne County judge accused of hiding abuse of grandson taken off family court

LA County Aims to Improve Child Welfare Response

LA County Aims to Improve Child Welfare Response
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors called for a detailed plan to implement recommendations of a state audit finding that child welfare workers fail to act quickly enough to keep children safe, including a strategy for hiring more senior staffers. Lolita Lopez reports for the NBC4 News on Tuesday, May 28, 2019. (Published Tuesday, May 28, 2019)

More >> LA County Aims to Improve Child Welfare Response

Keith Gerein: Progress on child intervention system must not die with NDP government

Though final numbers have yet to be published, Alberta likely set a new high last year for deaths among children, teens and young adults who were receiving services from the child intervention system.

An average of three deaths per month in 2018-19 — whether from suicide, homicide, accident or causes yet to be determined — shows the system remains rife with disorder that will require considerably more diligence to rectify.

More >> Keith Gerein: Progress on child intervention system must not die with NDP government

North Dakota leads the nation in giving mental health drugs to foster kids. Advocates want better treatment

As a troubled foster kid bouncing from doctor to doctor, Deborah Zaun worried about the long-term effects of being on so many mental health drugs.

“Every doctor I went to diagnosed me with something different. It was a confusing time for me in foster care because I thought I was just a big problem. I didn't know what was wrong with me and thought everyone was against me,” she said. “I thought I was never going to be normal because they put me on all these pills.”

More >> North Dakota leads the nation in giving mental health drugs to foster kids. Advocates want better treatment

Trump Administration Separates Some Migrant Mothers From Their Newborns Before Returning Them to Detention

It has been almost a year since President Donald Trump signed the executive order purporting to end his policy of separating parents and children at the U.S.-Mexico border. However, his administration’s broader zero-tolerance policy continues today—and because of it, a particularly heinous form of family separation is playing out in Texas.

As Rewire.News reported in part one of this series, migrants prosecuted under the “zero-tolerance” policy are remanded to U.S. Marshals Service (USMS) custody, and this is when lapses in medical care happen. Advocates told Rewire.News pregnant migrants detained in USMS custody are not receiving adequate services, and they are shackled when accessing prenatal and postpartum care. Some women are even shackled during birth, as Rewire.News reported in part two of this series.

More >> Trump Administration Separates Some Migrant Mothers From Their Newborns Before Returning Them to Detention

• RAICES lawsuit: Despite court order, migrant fathers were separated from their children
• Phoenix churches helping migrant families face new challenges with heat
• Massive detention facilities for migrant youth are failing | Opinion
• CALIFORNIA COULD TIGHTEN REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR MIGRANT DEATHS IN CUSTODY

Another Family Says Chicago Police Pointed Guns at Children During Raid, Handcuffed 8-Year-Old

Just before they began to get ready for school on a Friday morning, 8-year-old Royal Wilson, his siblings and his mother said they woke up to flashing lights and the sound of a bullhorn.

A swarm of heavily armed Chicago Police and SWAT officers surrounded their house, they said. They were there to execute a search warrant. It was just before 6 a.m. on March 15.

The family was terrified.

More >> Another Family Says Chicago Police Pointed Guns at Children During Raid, Handcuffed 8-Year-Old

Montana case of mother who lost her child due to health issues shines spotlight on child protective service abuses

Most Americans would never imagine that going to the hospital could result in the government seizing their child, but that's exactly what happened to Debbie Westlake when she went to the emergency room three years ago.

Montana's Child & Family Services division sent out a social worker on their first "Priority 1" call who determined Westlake's 4-year-old son, Robert, should be taken from daycare to foster care before his mother was released from the hospital that day.

More >> Montana case of mother who lost her child due to health issues shines spotlight on child protective service abuses

Caseloads for Delaware child-abuse investigators are double the legal limit

The number of complaints about child abuse and neglect in Delaware has more than doubled in the last decade. Yet the number of social workers to investigate those allegations hasn’t kept pace — and is substantially below the number set by Delaware law.

To alleviate the pressures on those investigators and better protect children, the Division of Family Services is trying to put more workers on the front lines.

More >> Caseloads for Delaware child-abuse investigators are double the legal limit

‘We had to stay together' say teenage sisters in foster care

“When they told us we were going into care, they said we were going to have to be split up because nobody was able to take two teenage girls together, but I just told them there was no way that could happen, we had to stay together,” says younger sister Amber.

More >> ‘We had to stay together' say teenage sisters in foster care

Child Migrants Around the World Are Being Denied Their Human Rights

Abed – not his real name – had been in Paris after a treacherous overland journey from Afghanistan. He is one of many youngsters whose families fear the situation in their own country enough to send their children alone to a safer land. With his father already dead and his brother disappeared, Abed’s uncle and mother sold land to pay nearly US$20,000 to an agent to escort him to the UK.

The agent agreed to take the boy the whole way, feed him well and make comfortable travel arrangements. Instead Abed was passed from agent to agent, travelled in often unbearable conditions, witnessed intimidation and beatings by authorities, and was sometimes lucky to eat at all. When refused help by the Paris police, the consequences were not disastrous. He at least hadn’t been detained, and ended up reaching the UK hiding in a container ship, then applying for asylum and being granted temporary leave to remain.


More >> Child Migrants Around the World Are Being Denied Their Human Rights

DHS: Long child abuse hotline wait times due to low funding, unwillingness to cut workers

Gov. Kate Brown, D-Oregon, recently answered tough questions about a story KATU broke regarding the state's child abuse hotline.

"The wait times are absolutely unacceptable for our mandatory reporters," she said.

More >> DHS: Long child abuse hotline wait times due to low funding, unwillingness to cut workers

Proposal would help parents keep custody of troubled kids

A legislative proposal would allow Ohio parents to avoid an often heart-breaking decision: giving up custody of troubled children so they can receive desperately needed and expensive services.

The amendment to Ohio's two-year budget is aimed at so-called "multisystem youths," those needing help from service agencies that cover disabilities, child welfare and mental health.

More >> Proposal would help parents keep custody of troubled kids

Supernanny-like social workers could be living in at-risk homes as part of new social services

Supernanny-like social workers could all but live in the homes of troubled families, as part of a new plan to stem the flow of vulnerable children into state care. Katie Kenny and Blair Ensor examine the plan for The Homicide Report.

The Government is expected to provide funding for new intensive intervention services as part of Budget 2019. Among many ideas being looked at is having social workers embedded in households.

Oranga Tamariki Chief Executive Gráinne Moss recently visited one of the trial sites with Minister of Children Tracey Martin and Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern.

More >> Supernanny-like social workers could be living in at-risk homes as part of new social services

Judge tosses lawsuit against Cuyahoga County DCFS case workers over 5-year-old girl’s death

A federal judge in Cleveland dismissed a lawsuit filed over the death of 5-year-old Ta’Naejah McCloud that accused Cuyahoga County Division of Children and Family Services of improperly handling accusations of abuse against the child.

An attorney representing her estate said he plans to at least re-file the case in state court.

More >> Judge tosses lawsuit against Cuyahoga County DCFS case workers over 5-year-old girl’s death

CBP Identifies 10-Year-Old Girl Who Died in Federal Custody in September

A 10-year-old Salvadoran girl who died in Department of Health and Human Services custody last September was identified Friday by a US Customs and Border Protection official as Darlyn Cristabel Cordova-Valle.

On Thursday, HHS spokesman Mark Weber had announced the girl’s death but did not provide her name.

After she was apprehended nine miles west of Hidalgo, Texas, in March 2018, Cordova-Valle spent about 45 hours in CBP custody before being transported to the custody of HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement.

More >> CBP Identifies 10-Year-Old Girl Who Died in Federal Custody in September

The children of incarcerated parents live in their own prison

Sending parents to prison imposes life-long consequences on their children. I know because I am one of them. When I was 14 months old, my parents left me with a babysitter and drove a getaway car in an armed robbery. Three men died, including two police officers. My mom was sentenced to twenty years to life; my dad to 75 years to life—he is still incarcerated. Like so many children of incarcerated parents I suffered horribly—in an instant, my family was gone and I was left alone. I showed the trauma and emotional suffering through anger, temper tantrums, tears, and difficulty in school. caused by that kind of sudden and irreparable separation. Statistics show all too well the economic, social, and developmental consequences so many of us face.

More >> The children of incarcerated parents live in their own prison

Arizona's voluntary child removals use method challenged in other states

Let your children go live with a relative or family friend for a while or risk the state taking more dire action.

That choice has been offered to some of Arizona’s parents and caregivers over the last two years when Arizona’s Department of Child Safety caseworkers suspect a child is in danger of harm.

More >> Arizona's voluntary child removals use method challenged in other states

Couple spends $200,000 fighting CFS to get sick baby back

Imagine having a sick five-month-old and teams of medical staff working for months trying to figure out why he vomits when he eats and struggles to gain weight.

But then one lone doctor meets you and instantly decides it’s your fault, and calls child and family services (CFS) to apprehend your baby.

That’s the reality a Winnipeg couple faced in 2013.

More >> Couple spends $200,000 fighting CFS to get sick baby back

Foster mother charged in Garden Hill child sexual assault case

Supt. Michael Koppang of the Manitoba RCMP said two men are in custody and a woman who was a foster parent on the First Nation faces several charges in connection with child sexual assault and is no longer a foster parent.


More >> Foster mother charged in Garden Hill child sexual assault case

Evil child welfare boss, 78, who raped children in a dungeon at his young women's institution will spend the rest of his life behind bars

The former boss of a young women's institution who raped and abused girls and boys in the 1970s will spend the rest of his natural life behind bars.

In Campbelltown District Court on Friday, Frank Valentine, 78, was sentenced to 22 years behind bars, with a non-parole period of 13 years for 21 historical offences.

Valentine's reign of terror started in 1971, less than a month after arriving to work at a Western Sydney institution.

More >> Evil child welfare boss, 78, who raped children in a dungeon at his young women's institution will spend the rest of his life behind bars

Child welfare providers request $30 million from Illinois for rate increases

Community-based child welfare providers are asking the state for $30.7 million in emergency funding to combat low wages, high employee turnover rates and inadequate resources which have caused some of them to cut programs or close.

Representatives of several of those private providers, which serve more than 80 percent of children and families in the state’s child welfare system, held a news conference Thursday calling on lawmakers to include the money in the fiscal year 2020 budget which could be passed by May 31.

More >> Child welfare providers request $30 million from Illinois for rate increases

Michigan girl, foster sister killed in car wreck days before H.S. graduation

Communities in the western Upper Peninsula are grieving over the deaths of two teenagers who died in a crash just before the end of the school year.

Lauren Powless and 15-year-old Madeline Jackson were students at Johnston Junior and Senior High School in Bessemer. Powless was 18 and would have graduated Friday.

More >> Michigan girl, foster sister killed in car wreck days before H.S. graduation

The state says the agency responsible for children’s welfare in Los Angeles County has big problems.

A new audit paints a disturbing picture of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. State Assemblyman Tom Lackey called for the investigation. “This is a public agency that must be accountable to people, and more importantly, to these children.”

Some of those children have died in the Palmdale Republican’s district while social workers were assigned to their cases. The audit finds about one-quarter of all safety and risk assessments were not completed on time. Lackey says the state report calls for more levels of review.

More >> The state says the agency responsible for children’s welfare in Los Angeles County has big problems.

Local man reunited with biological siblings decades after adoption

Grant Nicholls was adopted in the 1940's and until he started researching, he only knew his birth mom's first and last name.

"I struggled for, I've probably been working on this project for about 5 years and went down a couple wrong roads and had people say noe, nope, wrong branch of the family," Grant explained.

More >> Local man reunited with biological siblings decades after adoption

Foster father accused of harming foster child faced prior allegations

Documents obtained by KTUU show Alaska State Troopers investigating Robert Akens uncovered complaints about the retired educator that occurred when he was working as a school teacher.

Akens became a foster parent in 2013, more than a decade after leaving his career as a teacher. He was arrested last month on charges he sexually abused his foster daughter.

More >> Foster father accused of harming foster child faced prior allegations

Children in Social Services System Most at Risk of Being Sex Trafficked

Among children reported as likely victims of child sex trafficking upon running away from home, most have one thing in common—they were supposed to be looked after by the government.

In 2014, some 10,000 endangered runaway children were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a nonprofit that serves as a clearinghouse for reports on missing children. Nearly 1,700 of them were likely victims of sex trafficking and of those, 68 percent were in the care of social services when they went missing, be it a group home, a government facility, or foster care.

More >> Children in Social Services System Most at Risk of Being Sex Trafficked

Trump administration to reportedly allow federally funded adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples

President Trump's administration will reportedly reverse his predecessor's policy of blocking federal funding for religious adoption organizations that refuse to serve same-sex couples.

Administration officials, according to Axios Friday, debated to decide between two different provisions -- a religious-based exemption and striking down the previous administration's rule altogether -- to accomplish their goal without facing defeat in the courts.

More >> Trump administration to reportedly allow federally funded adoption agencies to reject same-sex couples

Adopted teens tell lawmakers foster care system needs more money

Daniel Wooden still remembers the day he was sitting in Franklin County Children Services.

"I just heard the lady behind me say, 'hey, we need to get these kids somewhere, and a lady just came and picked me up," he said.

On Tuesday afternoon, Wooden and a group of other foster care teens spoke with state senators about the system's pitfalls. Wooden ended up with a caring, loving family, but it was only by chance.

"My mother, she didn't have the means or will to take care of me, so she gave me up to foster care," he said.

More >> Adopted teens tell lawmakers foster care system needs more money

Children up for adoption paraded in Brazil shopping center

A parade of adoptable children held in a Brazilian shopping center drew condemnation on Thursday, with some comparing the event to the sale of animals or slaves.

More >> Children up for adoption paraded in Brazil shopping center

'I have no confidence in DCS': State legislator questions DCS, judicial system after privacy ruling

A state legislator said late Tuesday that a judge’s ruling stating she violated court confidentiality laws contains “an egregious misrepresentation of the facts,” raising questions about whether the state Department of Child Safety and justice system treat families fairly.

Maricopa County Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Timothy J. Ryan ruled Tuesday that Townsend and an Arizona Republic reporter at a March 7 hearing violated confidentiality rules "by holding a press conference outside of the court room that same day."

More >> 'I have no confidence in DCS': State legislator questions DCS, judicial system after privacy ruling

Alabama won't air 'Arthur' gay marriage episode

Alabama Public Television says it won't air an episode of the children's show "Arthur" that featured a same-sex marriage.

"Mr. Ratburn and the Special Someone" aired as the premiere for the show's 22nd season on May 13. But not in Alabama.

More >> Alabama won't air 'Arthur' gay marriage episode

Case of Chandler family with feverish toddler tests the future of public scrutiny on DCS court hearings

A child-welfare case put national attention on a family whose children were taken by the Arizona Department of Child Safety after police with guns drawn raided their house to check on a feverish toddler.

But their hearings in Juvenile Court raised questions far beyond the police raid. In a seemingly unprecedented move, a judge first removed a reporter and a state legislator from an open court hearing, then barred another reporter from publishing news about the case, then moved to walk back those restrictions after media attorneys intervened.

On Tuesday, Maricopa County Juvenile Court Presiding Judge Timothy J. Ryan issued a new set of directions that raised further questions.

More >> Case of Chandler family with feverish toddler tests the future of public scrutiny on DCS court hearings

Long-time Vermont foster parent arrested on child-sex charges

Chittenden County sex-crime investigators say they have arrested a "well-known" foster parent on charges of sexual assault and lewd and lascivious conduct with a child.

Keith R. LaFlam, 59, of Milton was arrested Monday, about two weeks after the Vermont Department of Children and Families reported the sexual assault of a juvenile to the Chittenden Unit for Special Investigations.

More >> Long-time Vermont foster parent arrested on child-sex charges

• Longtime Milton Foster Parent Charged With Sexual Assault Of A Child

Valley foster parent arrested, facing multiple counts of sexual abuse

A foster parent well known in the foster community is currently at the Lower Buckeye Jail facing seven counts of sexual abuse, sexual misconduct, and attempted sexual abuse.

Mathew Legrand Arrington was first arrested on May 7 after one of his adopted children came forward with a report that Arrington had sexually assaulted her while the two slept together.

More >> Valley foster parent arrested, facing multiple counts of sexual abuse

Foster father not guilty of child’s death

Five hours after a jury began deliberating the fate of Billy Embry-Martin’s life inside the Hardin County Justice Center, he heard the words he’s proclaimed in his case for nearly 18 months from Hardin Circuit Judge Ken Howard: “Not guilty.”

More >> Foster father not guilty of child’s death

• Jury finds foster dad not guilty in case of 4-year-old foster child's death

Tusla acknowledges failings after children raped in Galway foster care

Tusla has acknowledged that child protective services failed to keep safe three children who were raped while in foster care in Galway.

Three girls were repeatedly raped by Keith Burke while in the foster care of his parents in Dunmore between 2003 and 2007.

More >> Tusla acknowledges failings after children raped in Galway foster care

AS FIFTH MIGRANT CHILD DIES ON DHS'S WATCH, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOLD IT MUST PROVIDE ANSWERS: ‘THESE TRAGEDIES ARE PREVENTABLE AND THEY MUST END’

After a 16-year-old Guatemalan boy became the fifth migrant child to die in U.S. immigration custody since December on Monday, Congress members called on the Trump administration to answer to why these "preventable" deaths keep happening.

“Another 16-year-old minor, Carlos Gregorio Hernandez Vasquez, has died. Another family mourns the death of their child," Representative Raul Ruiz, a California Democrat who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus HealthCare and Mental Health Task ForceTask Force, said in a statement on Monday. "These tragedies are preventable, and they must end."

More >> AS FIFTH MIGRANT CHILD DIES ON DHS'S WATCH, TRUMP ADMINISTRATION TOLD IT MUST PROVIDE ANSWERS: ‘THESE TRAGEDIES ARE PREVENTABLE AND THEY MUST END’

Former foster dad pleads not guilty to molestation allegations

A former volunteer coach and foster parent accused of inappropriate behavior with children pleaded not guilty in an Ascension Parish court Monday.

Jerry Oubre's next court date has been set for June 17.

More >> Former foster dad pleads not guilty to molestation allegations

Foster child placed in home of registered sex offender in Thunder Bay: court documents

A foster child under the protection of an Indigenous child welfare agency was placed in the home of a registered sex offender with “pedophilic tendencies” according to court documents in Thunder Bay.

APTN News is unaware of the child’s age, gender or how long the child was placed in the sex offender’s home.


More >> Foster child placed in home of registered sex offender in Thunder Bay: court documents

State Audit Finds Los Angeles County Leaves Children at Risk for Months

A new state audit of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services finds the department failed to complete investigations within the allotted time, risking the health and safety of children.

More >> State Audit Finds Los Angeles County Leaves Children at Risk for Months

Little AJ Freund’s horrific death is not an argument for tearing up more families

A young child is brutally killed, allegedly by his mother.

It soon emerges that the Illinois Department of Children and Families knew all about the family. In fact, the case file had more red flags than a Soviet May Day parade. So everyone rushes to condemn efforts to keep families together.

More >> Little AJ Freund’s horrific death is not an argument for tearing up more families

Kentucky man acquitted in 4-year-old foster son’s death

A jury has acquitted a Kentucky man who was accused of killing his 4-year-old foster son.

News outlets report the Elizabethtown jury returned the verdict Wednesday for 34-year-old Billy Embry-Martin after deliberating for about five hours.

More >> Kentucky man acquitted in 4-year-old foster son’s death

What we know about the 10-year-old migrant girl who died in U.S. care

Soon after 10-year-old Darlyn Valle crossed the southern border into the U.S. last year, personnel with the Border Patrol determined she had a debilitating heart condition.

Valle had somehow made the 1,400 mile journey from her native El Salvador to Texas, according to Carlos Martinez, president of Asociacion Cívica Salvadoreña de Nebraska, an Omaha nonprofit group that helped arrange legal and postmortem assistance for the girl's family. Valle's name was confirmed to CBS News by the girl's mother.

More >> What we know about the 10-year-old migrant girl who died in U.S. care

• Outcry after Trump officials reveal sixth migrant child died in US custody

GOP lawmakers push for tougher penalties in attacks on DCFS workers

A group of Republican lawmakers on Thursday urged the Senate to take up a bill that increases the penalties for attacks on state social workers employed by the Department of Children and Family Services.

The bill, in response to the death of DCFS case worker Pam Knight early last year in Whiteside County, makes it a Class 1 felony to batter a DCFS worker in the performance of official duties — the same protections against battery are given to police, firefighters and peace officers.

More >> GOP lawmakers push for tougher penalties in attacks on DCFS workers

Mother convicted of starving and abusing adopted daughters learns her fate

A woman accused of starving and abusing her three adopted daughters has learned her fate.

Echo Terry, 31, was convicted on 15 different charges in August of 2018, including counts of second-degree assault. The now-adoptive father of the three girls, along with the state prosecution, advocated for the maximum sentence of 27 years in prison.

Thursday, Judge Michael Wolverton acknowledged the serious nature of the crimes, but said the blame also lies with others who didn’t report this abuse earlier.

More >> Mother convicted of starving and abusing adopted daughters learns her fate

City Children's Services Unlawfully Sent Juveniles Back to Detention, State Judge Finds

In the absence of rules created following the passage of a 2012 law, city officials relied for years on internal rules for how to handle the revoking of parole for those in the juvenile justice system.

More >> City Children's Services Unlawfully Sent Juveniles Back to Detention, State Judge Finds

Maine mother sues DHHS in federal court seeking contact with daughter

An Eddington woman is asking a federal judge to force the Maine Department of Health and Human Services to allow her contact with her 7-year-old daughter, who is living with her father’s girlfriend in Ellsworth under an agency safety plan.

Toni Barronton, 33, claims that DHHS violated her right to due process after it reneged on a decision to let the girl live with her temporarily after her father, Patrick Lynn, 32, allegedly violated his probation by using drugs.

More >> Maine mother sues DHHS in federal court seeking contact with daughter

"There IS something wrong with #DHS.

"There IS something wrong with #DHS. (#CPS/#DCFS). My biggest problem with DHS is that DHS tells us that there is nothing wrong with them."

This is from Philadelphia city council meeting on the 16th of May. A lot of creepy stuff going on with their child Protective Services Department in that city.

Councilman David Oh is on the side of the people and families who are being ignored.

5th migrant child dies after detention by Border Patrol

The U.S. government says a 16-year-old Guatemalan died Monday at a Border Patrol station in South Texas, the fifth death of a migrant child apprehended by border agents since December.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a statement that Border Patrol apprehended the teenager in South Texas' Rio Grande Valley on May 13. The agency says the teenager was found unresponsive Monday morning during a welfare check at the agency's Weslaco, Texas, station. The teenager's cause of death is unknown.

More >> 5th migrant child dies after detention by Border Patrol

Metro Detroit family battles to keep adopted son with violent history in psychiatric hospital

A Metro Detroit family's adopted son, who has threatened to kill them, is currently in a psychiatric treatment hospital.

Now, the family says the state of Michigan is threatening to charge them with neglect if they don't take their 16-year-old adopted son, Alex, home. The family is terrified and they have filed a lawsuit.

More >> Metro Detroit family battles to keep adopted son with violent history in psychiatric hospital

Washington state to pay $1.7 million to settle woman’s claims that social workers ignored child abuse, neglect she suffered

She first met him at a corner store 30 years ago, when she was 13 and wandering the streets of Tacoma’s then-notorious Hilltop.

The 37-year-old man, a convicted drug dealer, took her home, forced her into sex and before long, had the girl living with him, she said. And soon, he allegedly was plying the girl’s drug-addicted mother with crack cocaine as part of an unspoken arrangement.

More >> Washington state to pay $1.7 million to settle woman’s claims that social workers ignored child abuse, neglect she suffered

Governor vows to re-examine foster home abuse case

The governor is launching a review into that horrific case of abuse in a state licensed foster home 5 Investigates exposed last week.

The victims say what they went through was more than abuse, it was torture.

More >> Governor vows to re-examine foster home abuse case

Justices Decline to Review Case Involving Strip Search of 4-Year-Old at School

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday declined to take up a case involving the warrantless strip-search at school of a 4-year-old student by a county caseworker looking for evidence of abuse.

The case of I.B. v. Woodard (No. 18-1173) raised several important legal questions for educators, including whether a child welfare caseworker requires a warrant to strip-search a child and whether it was clearly established that such conduct was barred in Colorado under relevant federal court rulings.

More >> Justices Decline to Review Case Involving Strip Search of 4-Year-Old at School

'Sesame Street' introduces Karli, a Muppet in foster care

In an effort to support foster children and families, there’s a new Muppet family living on Sesame Street.

Karli, and her “for-now” parents Dalia and Clem, was introduced Monday by Sesame Workshop to offer support foster children and foster families, the nonprofit educational organization behind the iconic children’s show said.

More >> 'Sesame Street' introduces Karli, a Muppet in foster care

7Investigates: Foster Children’s Money

Millions of dollars taken from children in Massachusetts. Investigative reporter Hank Phillippi Ryan found some call a secret system. Who is getting their money, and why? 7 Investigates.

More >> 7Investigates: Foster Children’s Money

Opinion: Long waits for intensive foster care homes are routine for state’s most-wounded children

Some suffer from serious medical conditions. Some have been left alone in their homes for days at a time or have had to call 911 because a parent has overdosed on drugs. Others have suffered physical or emotional abuse at the hands of a trusted adult.

These children’s stories all are different, but what they have in common is the experience of severe trauma that has denied them a secure place in a loving home with people they can rely on.

More >> Opinion: Long waits for intensive foster care homes are routine for state’s most-wounded children

Woman tells court she was coerced into giving up baby in 1979

A woman has claimed before the High Court she was coerced into having her baby daughter adopted nearly 40 years ago when she was 16 years old.

The woman is suing the Adoption Authority of Ireland (AAI) and accredited adoption agency, Cúnamh, alleging personal injuries and breach of constitutional rights by adoption of her baby in 1979.

More >> Woman tells court she was coerced into giving up baby in 1979

Washington's Junior Village was created as a refuge for needy kids. Instead they were raped and drugged

The children's home was a must-stop destination for the powerful.

In the 1960s, first lady Jackie Kennedy, civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr., and Vice President Hubert Humphrey were just a few of the important figures to pay visits to Junior Village, Washington's renowned refuge for impoverished children. Lady Bird Johnson and Pat Nixon sponsored Christmas and Thanksgiving parties at the White House for handpicked Junior Village children, according to The Washington Post.

But the cheerful newspaper photos of those visits and holiday celebrations didn't capture what happened when the cameras were gone: harrowing abuse.

More >> Washington's Junior Village was created as a refuge for needy kids. Instead they were raped and drugged

Lawmakers react to foster kids sleeping in offices

Lawmaker reaction was swift when they learned Kansas foster kids have once again been sleeping in offices of agencies that place kids in foster care.

"It should be a wake up call to our agency. It should be a wake up call to the state of Kansas that we have to do better for our children," said Representative Michael Capps (R) 85th District. "This is our future we are talking about."

More >> Lawmakers react to foster kids sleeping in offices

Man accused of molesting foster child was investigated in 2nd incident

Robert Metzner was accused of sexually abusing an 8-year-old in his care. 10 Investigates has found another child was placed in the home after the first accusations surfaced.

More >> Man accused of molesting foster child was investigated in 2nd incident

Judge dismisses concerns over ‘gender manipulating’ foster parents

A judge has dismissed concerns that two foster parents in Lancashire have been manipulating children in their care to ‘change sex’.

One of the couple’s biological sons began living as a girl from the age of seven. Two of their three foster children also subsequently began living as the opposite sex.

More >> Judge dismisses concerns over ‘gender manipulating’ foster parents

Lawmaker blasts state for foster home abuse case

A state representative is lashing out at the Department of Children and Families and the criminal justice system for their handling of the horrific case of abuse inside a central Massachusetts foster home.

"This case was really covered up, brushed under the rug, and it's just a travesty all around," said state Rep. Shaunna O'Connell.

More >> Lawmaker blasts state for foster home abuse case

Removal of Cherokee County children draws lawsuit, criminal charges possible

Dozens of children in Cherokee County faced unlawful removal from their families until the state stepped in late in 2017, according to state officials and a federal lawsuit from affected families.

Now, the state Department of Justice is considering criminal charges against Cindy Palmer, the Cherokee County Department of Social Service’s former director, and possibly others. At the same time, the plaintiffs’ lawyers in the federal suit are seeking class-action status, alleging a series of rights violations against a potentially substantial number of families who were not identified in the State Bureau of Investigation’s probe of the situation.

More >> Removal of Cherokee County children draws lawsuit, criminal charges possible

Kansas again keeping foster kids in offices

Abused and neglected children are again sleeping overnight in the offices of Kansas foster care contractors because homes cannot be found for them quickly enough.

Since January, when Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly took office, more than 70 children have been kept overnight in the offices of the two nonprofit agencies providing foster care services. Her Republican predecessor’s administration kept children from sleeping in offices during its final months after threatening publicly to fine contractors — a threat Kelly’s administration has dropped.

More >> Kansas again keeping foster kids in offices

Former foster children say they endured abuse for years

5 Investigates a horrific case of abuse that's been kept hidden for years by the state and in courts. The abuse all involves a single foster home in Massachusetts and at least six children.

More >> Former foster children say they endured abuse for years

United Nations concerned over sexual abuse of children in UK custody

Grave concerns have been raised about the sexual abuse of children in detention in the UK by independent experts at the United Nations.

Reviewing the UK's record, the United Nations Committee Against Torture cited a report into the abuse of some 1,000 children in custody from 2009-2017.

More >> United Nations concerned over sexual abuse of children in UK custody

'He was Mama's boy': Murder trial underway for foster dad accused of killing 4-year-old

Hunter Payton, his grandmothers say, was a loving, playful child adored by his large, extended family.

"He was an angel," said Linda Payton, his paternal grandmother, from Caneyville.

More >> 'He was Mama's boy': Murder trial underway for foster dad accused of killing 4-year-old

Montana Supreme Court overturns parental rights termination

The state failed to make a reasonable effort to reunite a woman with the son who was taken away from her after he was born with methamphetamine in his system, the Montana Supreme Court ruled.

The justices unanimously overturned the July 2018 termination of the mother's parental rights and ordered the Division of Child and Family Services to work to reunite the woman with her son, who has lived with foster parents in Billings since his birth in October 2016.

More >> Montana Supreme Court overturns parental rights termination

Oregon moved 2 young sisters into foster home, then sent 13-year-old abuser to live with them, $24 million lawsuit alleges

Oregon child welfare officials ignored eight years of warnings when they moved a 13-year-old boy with a history of abusing younger children into the same overcrowded foster home as two young sisters, according to new court documents.

At the time, case workers labeled the boy a “risk” and wrote that they planned to move the girls, then 5 and 7, out as soon as possible. Yet the three remained in the same home for two months, and during that time, the boy repeatedly locked the girls inside rooms and sexually abused them, a lawsuit contends.

More >> Oregon moved 2 young sisters into foster home, then sent 13-year-old abuser to live with them, $24 million lawsuit alleges

Families of adopted Safe Haven babies react to another abandoned infant: ‘Birth mothers don’t know what else to do’

When Tera Naset heard about a newborn baby abandoned last week in a Northwest Side alley — named Patrick Casey Doe after the first responders who helped save his life — it hit her hard.

If things had gone differently, that could’ve been her son, Frankie.

More >> Families of adopted Safe Haven babies react to another abandoned infant: ‘Birth mothers don’t know what else to do’

IOWA SOCIAL WORKER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO PERJURY IN CUSTODY CASE

The social worker accused of lying in a case where four children were removed from their parents is pleading not guilty.

Chelsie Jo Gray, 30 of Lawler, is charged with three counts of perjury. Authorities say Gray knowingly gave false testimony in a December 2017 hearing where she recommended a judge terminate the parental rights of a mother and father. Gray had been assigned as the case worker when the Department of Human Services sought to remove four North Iowa children from their biological parents.

More >> IOWA SOCIAL WORKER PLEADS NOT GUILTY TO PERJURY IN CUSTODY CASE

New report released on troubles in DCFS Intact Family Services program

Usually when these programs fail it's because they've been de-funded.  When properly funded, it's the best thing for the kid. 

Illinois' child welfare agency is so intent on keeping children with their parents even when they have strong evidence of abuse that it has sometimes left those children in grave danger, a study released Wednesday found. 

Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker ordered the study of the Department of Children and Family Services' Intact Family Services unit after the recent deaths of three children. That unit is responsible for overseeing households in which children are left at home after allegations of abuse or neglect. 

More >> New report released on troubles in DCFS Intact Family Services program

Mother Says She Was Separated From Newborn Baby After Testing Positive for Opiates Because of Poppy-Seed Bagel

A New York mother said that she was separated from her newborn child because she failed a drug test.

But the failure was due to eating a poppyseed bagel, she said.

More >> Mother Says She Was Separated From Newborn Baby After Testing Positive for Opiates Because of Poppy-Seed Bagel

Placerville woman accused of abusing adopted children

A Placerville woman was arrested Friday after being charged with multiple counts of alleged child abuse

An investigation of Patricia Taylor, 63, began in mid-April after her 14-year old adoptive daughter ran away to one of her older sister’s residences in fear of receiving punishment from Taylor, according to a press release from the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office.

More >> Placerville woman accused of abusing adopted children

• Judge denies bail request from foster care mom accused of torturing kids

Wayne County family court judge accused of helping cover up child abuse of own grandson

A Wayne County family court judge is being accused of helping her son cover up abuse of her grandson - but she says none of it's true.

Tracy Green is a judge at the Wayne County Family Court. Her job is to determine whether children are being abused and to protect them. Her grandson says she not only ignored how her son - who is his father - on beat his kids, he says she covered it up.

More >> Wayne County family court judge accused of helping cover up child abuse of own grandson

Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, union announce reforms to improve troubled foster care system

Amid ongoing problems with the state’s foster care system, the Department of Children and Families on Tuesday announced an agreement with the union representing the agency’s workers to review staffing and provide more resources to foster parents and social workers.

Gov. Charlie Baker said he believes the reforms will result in “a big improvement in the way the department works and the way it serves kids and families.”

More >> Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, union announce reforms to improve troubled foster care system

Audit Finds Numerous Problems At DCFS; Lawmakers Taking Hard Look At 'Intact Families' Policy

An audit released Tuesday paints a damning picture of Illinois’ child-welfare agency.

More >> Audit Finds Numerous Problems At DCFS; Lawmakers Taking Hard Look At 'Intact Families' Policy

Ex-pastor who raped adopted daughter receives only 12 years in prison

A former pastor who repeatedly raped his adopted teenage daughter has been given an effective 12 year prison sentence.

The Knoxville News Sentinel reports prosecutors sought the maximum term of 72 years behind bars. The judge cited David Richards longtime ministry and the support he still receives as mitigating factors.

More >> Ex-pastor who raped adopted daughter receives only 12 years in prison

Child welfare agency says it shouldn't be forced to house teens who've committed crimes. Judges disagree

There are kids the Department of Child Safety doesn't want, and the agency is working with an influential lawmaker to curb the number of those children entering the foster-care system.

DCS Director Greg McKay has been complaining for months that judges are foisting onto his department children with juvenile delinquency issues. These children, he's argued in correspondence with court and probation officials, are too dangerous to share a foster or group home with kids who have been removed from their homes due to neglect or abuse.

More >> Child welfare agency says it shouldn't be forced to house teens who've committed crimes. Judges disagree

Senators concerned about abuse allegations at shelters

The Republican and Democratic leaders of the Senate Finance Committee are questioning whether the Trump administration is neglecting its duty to protect unaccompanied immigrant children in its care amid allegations of misconduct at federally funded shelters.

Chairman Chuck Grassley of Iowa and Democrat Ron Wyden of Oregon asked for data from U.S. Health and Human Services on occupancy, incident reporting, sexual abuse prevention and federal and state regulation of children’s shelters. Their request on Thursday follows a report that thousands of allegations of sexual abuse and harassment were logged over the past four years and as the number of migrant children crossing the border is rising dramatically.

More >> Senators concerned about abuse allegations at shelters

Foster parents accused of 'turning' kids trans exonerated in court

Foster parents accused of ‘turning’ kids transgender were exonerated in court last Friday (10 May).

The British foster parents, named CP and TP to protect the children’s identities, took in young people struggling with their gender identity.

More >> Foster parents accused of 'turning' kids trans exonerated in court

Mother gets surprise visit from daughter she gave up for adoption

A North County Mother gets a surprise this Mother’s Day weekend. Saturday, she met a daughter she gave up for adoption 28-years ago.

The mother, LaVonda Scott from Jennings was reunited with her daughter, Shonetta Scott who was adopted and renamed Ariel Howard.

It was an emotional reunion for mother and daughter.

More >> Mother gets surprise visit from daughter she gave up for adoption

Group Home Supervisor Sentenced to 10 Years for Sex Trafficking Minor

A supervisor at Blackstone Valley Youth and Family Collaborative group home contracted by the Rhode Island Department of Children Youth and Families (RI DCYF) who repeatedly sex-trafficked a missing 17-year-old girl has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison.

More >> Group Home Supervisor Sentenced to 10 Years for Sex Trafficking Minor

New York mom fails drug test after eating poppy seed bagel — right before giving birth

Less than a week after baby Carter Dominguez was brought into the world, baby and mom are enjoying time at their Tonawanda, New York, home.

It’s the journey here, and it's what Elizabeth ate before she gave birth that’s made this new mom experience anything but easy.

More >> New York mom fails drug test after eating poppy seed bagel — right before giving birth

Three-year-old ‘changes gender from boy to girl with foster parents whose own son transitioned’

A three-year-old boy transitioned to being a girl at the age of three while living with foster parents whose own son, aged seven, had also changed gender.

The younger child was dressed in girl’s clothes against the wishes of teachers, the Sunday Times reported.

More >> Three-year-old ‘changes gender from boy to girl with foster parents whose own son transitioned’

Foster Care: Protecting Kids Or Harming Them?

The abuse of children is one of the most heartbreaking tragedies one can imagine. While some ignore the problem, individuals exist worldwide who work to end child abuse through both private and governmental organizations. But what happens when a state-run agency subjects disturbing numbers of children to greater levels of victimization than they typically experience outside of state “care”?

More >> Foster Care: Protecting Kids Or Harming Them?

11-year-old dies within hours of being placed with temporary foster family

The mother of an 11-year-old girl in Provo wants to know why her daughter died within hours of being relocated to a new foster home in American Fork.

Ahadi Mukeshimana was on her bike, unsupervised, when she veered into traffic on 560 W. 1120 N. in American Fork.

More >> 11-year-old dies within hours of being placed with temporary foster family

Why Some LA County Social Workers Don't Want People To Know Where They Work

Documentary filmmakers Deborah Oppenheimer and Mark Jonathan Harris said they spoke to a couple hundred social workers while doing research for their new HBO documentary, "Foster."

Most of them would immediately start crying when they came in for their interviews.

"They told us that they don't tell their friends, tell their families that they work for the Department of Children and Family Services," Oppenheimer told KPCC's Take Two. "They turn their badges around when they walk into public places [like] a restaurant."

More >> Why Some LA County Social Workers Don't Want People To Know Where They Work

Charges: Foster parent injured 4-month-old several times

He was trying to do a favor for his wife.

She hadn’t been sleeping well since both of their foster sons caught pneumonia. On April 12, after returning from the hospital, he said he would sleep with the 4-month-old downstairs at their Lake Stevens house, while she got some rest.

More >> Charges: Foster parent injured 4-month-old several times

ON MOTHER'S DAY, HERE'S HOW MANY MOMS ARE STILL SEPARATED FROM THEIR CHILDREN UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

This Mother's Day, immigration advocates are asking families across the United States to remember the hundreds of mothers who are still separated from their children due to the Trump administration's hardline immigration policies.

"Mother's day is a day to celebrate moms and their strength and resilience, but, there are moms out there who will not get to experience this day...Mothers who don't know if they will ever get to see their children again," activist Meena Harris told Newsweek.

In support of the mothers who still have yet to be reunited with their children as a result of the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" family separation policy, Harris has launched a Mother's Day campaign that will see moms across the country, including some high-profile celebrities, don "Phenomenal Mother" T-shirts on Sunday, to encourage more women to speak out against family separation and detention.


More >> ON MOTHER'S DAY, HERE'S HOW MANY MOMS ARE STILL SEPARATED FROM THEIR CHILDREN UNDER THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION

El Dorado County Woman Accused of Torturing, Abusing Children She Adopted

An El Dorado County woman is behind bars after being accused of abusing and torturing children she adopted.

One of those children — a 14-year-old — ran away from home in April and revealed years of abuse to deputies.

More >> El Dorado County Woman Accused of Torturing, Abusing Children She Adopted

• Neighbors React To Woman Arrested For Torturing Children

CEO of Child Welfare Agency Arrested for Allegedly Choking Autistic 12-Year-Old

The CEO of a child welfare agency was arrested after being accused of putting a child in a chokehold.

Vincent Hillyer, who runs Great Circle Academy in Missouri, was arrested on May 7. A video from March, obtained by KMOV, appears to show him putting a 12-year-old autistic child in a headlock while seated on a couch.


More >> CEO of Child Welfare Agency Arrested for Allegedly Choking Autistic 12-Year-Old

As new leaders take over Maine’s child welfare system, caseworkers say they’re still ‘drowning’

In the 15 or so months since two Maine children died from abuse in their homes despite having had repeated contact with child welfare caseworkers, state leaders have vowed to reform the beleaguered system.

But deployment of those reforms, gleaned from two separate investigations into the department — one of which is still ongoing — after the deaths of 10-year-old Marissa Kennedy and 4-year-old Kendall Chick, have hit bureaucratic snags.

More >> As new leaders take over Maine’s child welfare system, caseworkers say they’re still ‘drowning’

POLK COUNTY JURY RULES IN FAVOR OF FATHER AFTER MOM DEFIES COURT ORDER TO RETURN CHILDREN TO TEXAS

On May 7, 2019, the Polk County District Attorney’s Office prosecuted Elizabeth Annette Davis for the felony offense of Interference with Child Custody.  Davis was found guilty by a Polk County jury.

She was sentenced to serve six months confinement at a state jail facility of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.  Assistant Criminal District Attorney Kirby A. Wills secured the conviction for the State of Texas by focusing the jury’s attention on Davis’s actions. 

More >> POLK COUNTY JURY RULES IN FAVOR OF FATHER AFTER MOM DEFIES COURT ORDER TO RETURN CHILDREN TO TEXAS

Legislation to Allow Family Contact After Termination of Parental Rights Expected to Move

State law in New York prevents family court judges from allowing any kind of contact between a parent and their child after parental rights have been terminated, but lawmakers are renewing a push to change that in the final weeks of this year’s legislative session.

More >> Legislation to Allow Family Contact After Termination of Parental Rights Expected to Move

HUD SAYS TRUMP PLAN TO EVICT ILLEGALS COULD LEAVE 55,000 CHILDREN HOMELESS

The Department of Housing and Urban Development concluded a new proposal to evict illegal aliens from government-subsidized homes would send over 55,000 children out into the streets.

The proposal, which was first reported by The Daily Caller in April, is meant to tighten regulations surrounding federal subsidies for low-income housing.


More >> HUD SAYS TRUMP PLAN TO EVICT ILLEGALS COULD LEAVE 55,000 CHILDREN HOMELESS

Hawaii Put This Woman On A Child Neglect List — And Now She Can’t Fight It

As a child, Julia Milam followed around her grandmother, a certified nursing assistant, as she took care of patients, some of whom stayed at their house. Her grandmother showed her how to use the blood pressure kit and stethoscope, how to feed patients.

Milam was captivated by the sight of her grandmother comforting those in need and could see the appreciation etched on their faces. She decided she would one day become a nurse. After graduating from high school, she got her nursing assistant certification, just as her grandmother had.

More >> Hawaii Put This Woman On A Child Neglect List — And Now She Can’t Fight It

Brother of man who fatally stabbed adoptive mother speaks out about alleged abuse

 Kaanoi Kipapa, the young man who killed his adoptive mother in 2014 when he was 16 years old, claimed he was abused for years.

Now, his adopted brother is backing him up.

More >> Brother of man who fatally stabbed adoptive mother speaks out about alleged abuse

Illegal Baby Adoption Ring Dismantled in Alexandroupolis

The Alexandroupolis police on Friday reported the dismantling of an organised illegal infant adoption ring and the arrest of four alleged members of the gang in the towns of Evros and Xanthi, among them the suspected head of the ring.

Specifically, two men and two women, all Greek nationals, were arrested while four more persons have been identified as members of the ring.

More >> Illegal Baby Adoption Ring Dismantled in Alexandroupolis

Head of child welfare agency in Missouri charged with child endangerment, assault

The head of a child welfare agency in Missouri that has offices and a school in Independence has been arrested and charged with child endangerment and assault, according to court documents.

Vincent D. Hillyer, president and CEO of Great Circle, has been charged in St. Louis County Circuit Court with six felony counts of first-degree child endangerment.

More >> Head of child welfare agency in Missouri charged with child endangerment, assault

Ex-Group Home Worker Gets 10 Years for Sex Trafficking Teen

A former supervisor at a Rhode Island group home that contracted with the state child welfare agency has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for sex trafficking a 17-year-old girl.

The U.S. attorney says 29-year-old Reysean Williams was sentenced Thursday after pleading guilty in November to sex trafficking a child.

More >> Ex-Group Home Worker Gets 10 Years for Sex Trafficking Teen

Officials: Oregon foster child was assaulted at Utah program

An Oregon foster child was among more than 20 teenagers injured during a riot last week at the Red Rock Canyon School in St. George, Utah.

But that wasn’t the first problem experienced by Oregon children at the facility.

Another Oregon foster child sent to Red Rock was physically assaulted by program staff, a state child welfare official and state senator said on Tuesday.

More >> Officials: Oregon foster child was assaulted at Utah program

Immigrant children in US custody soaring back toward record levels

The number of undocumented immigrant children in U.S. custody is reaching breaking-point levels again, months after the Trump administration had reduced the total in shelters in response to anger over policies that kept children there.

The recent increase is largely due to a surge in the number of children crossing the U.S.-Mexico border rather than an administration policy. Overall crossings this year have skyrocketed to decade-high levels.

More >> Immigrant children in US custody soaring back toward record levels

Kentucky policy allowed social workers to take kids using judges' pre-signed signatures on blank documents

Kentucky's Cabinet for Health and Family Services has come under scrutiny for allowing social workers to take children from homes using blank emergency custody orders pre-signed by judges. The agency reportedly scrapped the policy after numerous complaints, but critics say the practice was illegal from the get-go and "a gross miscarriage of justice."

More >> Kentucky policy allowed social workers to take kids using judges' pre-signed signatures on blank documents

Audit faults Illinois child welfare agency’s abuse, neglect investigations

The Illinois Auditor General’s Office said Tuesday that understaffing at the state’s child welfare agency led to a massive backlog of cases of suspected child abuse or neglect during the administration of former Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner. It also said the agency often failed to follow its own protocols for investigating cases and filing timely reports.

The audit report paints a picture of the Department of Children and Family Services as an agency overwhelmed by a growing volume of cases with investigators under pressure to close cases quickly, “even when they had not performed basic tasks such as contacting police and doctors.”

More >> Audit faults Illinois child welfare agency’s abuse, neglect investigations

• Audit finds DCFS understaffed, out of compliance with court order

‘A bitter pill to swallow’: Kansas lawmakers drop child welfare oversight plan

Despite the problems facing Kansas foster care, lawmakers in the final hours of their annual session dropped a plan to hold the troubled system accountable.

A provision creating a child welfare oversight committee was eliminated from the state budget, a last-minute casualty of the legislative battle over Medicaid expansion. If approved, the panel could have summoned officials to explain problems, drafted legislation and provided frustrated parents with a place to vent.

More >> ‘A bitter pill to swallow’: Kansas lawmakers drop child welfare oversight plan

A child reported his dad abusing him. Last year, a toddler girl died in foster care at the same home.

A toddler girl died last year in the same Arizona foster placement where, in April, an older child sent police an email reporting his father had physically abused him for two years, according to several people who know the family.

In a chilling email to El Mirage Police Chief Paul Marzocca, the boy said he was “afraid to go home,” according to court records. When police visited the boy at Riverview Elementary School, he told officers that the night before, his father "punched him, choked him, threw him into the cabinet, striking his head on the counter and floor," according to court records. The boy said when he was on the floor, his father, Colin Steffee, 27, kicked him in the ribs.

More >> A child reported his dad abusing him. Last year, a toddler girl died in foster care at the same home.

Gov. Walz signs parental rights law with concerns from child welfare experts

After it passed both the House and Senate unanimously, Governor Tim Walz on Monday signed a bill into law that will give Minnesotans a chance to have their parental rights restored.

While lawmakers aren't split on the new law, child welfare experts are.

More >> Gov. Walz signs parental rights law with concerns from child welfare experts

Man who pleaded guilty in stabbing death of foster mom gets 8 years behind bars

The man who admitted to fatally stabbing his adoptive mother in a fit of rage when he was 16 will be out of prison in three years ― before his 25th birthday.

A judge handed the sentence down Tuesday, giving Kaanoi Kipapa eight years behind bars with credit for three years of time served.

More >> Man who pleaded guilty in stabbing death of foster mom gets 8 years behind bars