Court refuses to dismiss lesbian couple's lawsuit alleging foster care discrimination

A lesbian couple will have their day in court after the Trump administration denied them the chance to serve as foster parents to refugee children.

A federal judge has refused to dismiss the couple’s lawsuit against the Department of Health and Human Services alleging that they were discriminated against because of their sexual orientation.

More >> Court refuses to dismiss lesbian couple's lawsuit alleging foster care discrimination

Handcuffing of 9-year-old prompts probe of police practices

Video of a Washington, D.C., police officer chasing and handcuffing a 9-year-old boy on Monday has prompted a review of police practices.

Attorney General Karl A. Racine told news outlets Wednesday about the review into how the department deals with children. He says those practices will then be compared to other departments. The child wasn't charged with a crime and was released into his mother's custody.

More >> Handcuffing of 9-year-old prompts probe of police practices

To Escape Court Oversight, D.C.'s Child Welfare System Is Cutting Corners

In the second-floor cubicles and offices of D.C.’s child welfare agency, on 2nd and I streets SE, small clusters of social workers watched, mute with shock, as Christian Greene spoke.

Sneaking furtive glances at their phones, which streamed live video of the Child and Family Services Agency’s Feb. 26 performance oversight hearing before the D.C. Council, they listened to the agency’s former ombudsman talk about how she was fired for refusing to downplay the severe and troubling trends so many of them had witnessed. They listened to her berate agency leadership for gutting the ombudsman’s office of its investigatory responsibilities, and for manipulating workers’ caseload data to make the agency appear more functional than it was.

More >> To Escape Court Oversight, D.C.'s Child Welfare System Is Cutting Corners

GOP shooter’s foster daughter committed suicide by fire

The left-wing gunman who opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball practice had a teenage foster daughter who committed suicide in 1996 by setting herself on fire, according to a report.

More >> GOP shooter’s foster daughter committed suicide by fire

• Baseball gunman had foster daughter, 17, who committed suicide by dousing her body in gasoline and then lighting herself on fire
• Congressional shooter was abusive alcoholic, foster daughter told judge before death
• The man who shot at congressional Republicans had very turbulent relationships with his foster kids

The Dangerous Way The Media Is Failing D.C.’s Missing Girls

At a town hall meeting in Washington, D.C. Wednesday, a packed room of hundreds of concerned adults—mostly African-American—sought answers about the increased reports of Black girls going missing in the city. One young woman stood at the mic and broke down in tears as she expressed her safety concerns.

More >> The Dangerous Way The Media Is Failing D.C.’s Missing Girls

A Number Of Police Have Been Arrested For Human Trafficking — Could They Be A Part Of The Missing Girls In DC?

The increased media coverage of the black and latinx girls missing in DC has started a national discussion on whether the cause is human trafficking. Black lawmakers are now calling for the FBI to investigate. In part, social media has been vital in exposing the cases of many of these missing girls. Although many assume these missing cases have been attributed to human trafficking, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser and Acting Chief of Police Newsham have stated that there’s no connection between the cases and human trafficking. There are a total of 38 missing persons cases open in D.C. right now.

More >> A Number Of Police Have Been Arrested For Human Trafficking — Could They Be A Part Of The Missing Girls In DC?

Examining DC's foster care system

“Panic is never good.”

But a lot of you are panicking about D.C.’s missing children, so what went wrong?

More >> Examining DC's foster care system

DC missing girl says she was never missing, stayed in contact with social worker

An 18-year-old listed as a critical missing person said she was never hiding or in danger, insisting she stayed in contact with her social worker while the Metropolitan Police Department launched an effort to find her

More >> DC missing girl says she was never missing, stayed in contact with social worker

She was raised in dozens of foster homes. Can she keep her own son out of the system?

Gwen Wright needed to get to the hospital. The labor pains were radiating from deep in her gut, like pliers twisting her insides. First they were an hour apart, now every 30 minutes. She was a week past her due date, and the baby was coming.

More >> She was raised in dozens of foster homes. Can she keep her own son out of the system?

McMartin: Child welfare’s prelude to #Pizzagate

How could anyone believe that a popular gathering place for children actually was a front for a child sex abuse ring, with secret tunnels used to hide the nefarious goings on?

More >> McMartin: Child welfare’s prelude to #Pizzagate

Head of D.C. child welfare agency departs as problems investigating neglect persist

The head of the District’s long-scrutinized child-welfare agency abruptly resigned last week, leaving behind an organization under fire for failing to investigate reports of potential abuse and promptly place children in foster homes.

More >> Head of D.C. child welfare agency departs as problems investigating neglect persist

Supreme Court sides with lesbian mother in Alabama adoption fight

Supreme Court sides with lesbian mother in Alabama adoption fight

The Supreme Court on Monday blocked an Alabama court from denying parental rights to a lesbian woman who was granted an adoption in Georgia.

Progressive Caucus, Judiciary Dems to Hold Forum Hearing on Family Detention

Progressive Caucus, Judiciary Dems to Hold Forum Hearing on Family Detention

The Congressional Progressive Caucus, along with Democratic Members of the House Judiciary Committee and support from the Congressional Tri-Caucuses, are holding a forum on Family Detention this Tuesday, July 28th at 2 PM in Rayburn 2226.

Bill to end human trafficking in Child Welfare

On May 18, 2016 the U.S. House of Representatives voted, almost unanimously, on a Bill to end human trafficking in child welfare. 

The three U.S. Representatives who did not vote in support were:

Thomas Massie (R), 

Bobby Scott (D)

John Conyers, Jr. (D), Dean of the U.S. House of Representatives.

These three gentlemen are the only 3 elected officials in Washington, D.C. who did not support the ending of rape and prostitution in foster care.

POTUS signed the Bill into law May, 29, 2016.

Click on the names to call their D.C. offices to ask them why they did not support the Bill and tell them what you think.

Report back by leaving a comment.

Foster-parenting rules may change for natives

Foster-parenting rules may change for natives

Native American children awaiting foster parents may have now to wait longer. The pool of eligible parents will be scrutinized a little closer.

This Mom Got Charged With Child Neglect For Taking Her Son on an Adoption Trip

This Mom Got Charged With Child Neglect For Taking Her Son on an Adoption Trip

How much missed school is cause for legal concern? For Washington DC mom Jessica Smith, it only took 20 days of absence for her son's school to send her to court for criminal child neglect. However, the missed days of school weren't due to oversleeping or laziness — rather, Smith had brought her son Ziggy along on an adoption trip to Mongolia. Ziggy, who was adopted from Mongolia himself, had been begging his mom for a younger sibling, so when the same orphanage alerted Smith that they found a match for their little family, it seemed like a no-brainer.

Two Men Accused of Sex Assault of Girl Lured From Foster Home

Two Men Accused of Sex Assault of Girl Lured From Foster Home

Two men lured a 14-year-old girl from a foster home in Laurel, Maryland, and sexually assaulted her in the basement of a D.C. home, police said.

Police: Teen charged in Va. after case worker finds 'booby traps'

Police: Teen charged in Va. after case worker finds 'booby traps'

Police arrested a 16-year-old after he barricaded himself in a Prince William County residence and allegedly set up "booby traps" discovered by a case worker who came to take him from the home, according to officials.

D.C. Children's Agency Not Meeting Standard for Quality Investigations, Report Finds

D.C. Children's Agency Not Meeting Standard for Quality Investigations, Report Finds

The D.C. agency responsible for the welfare of the city's children is still not meeting certain court-mandated standards, according to a new report.

In D.C., unwarranted child abuse suspicions lead to a case with no end

In D.C., unwarranted child abuse suspicions lead to a case with no end

Nearly six years later, the case isn’t over for the Caplan family.