Parents of 6-year-old girl who died in foster care sue Idaho officials

The parents of a child who died while in foster care have filed a lawsuit claiming officials with the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare, the foster family and others failed to adequately care for the 6-year-old girl who had a serious medical condition.

Danielle Greenup and Andrew Bishop, along with the child’s grandmother Darce Bishop, filed the lawsuit in federal court last week, alleging deliberate indifference, recklessness and gross negligence in the care of Justice Bishop.

More >> Parents of 6-year-old girl who died in foster care sue Idaho officials

'There has to be more accountability': Flaws with family court can become costly and devastating

"This is not an isolated issue. It's not gender biased. It's not just Idaho. It's throughout our country," said Charlie Smith, who's been battling in Idaho's family courts for 16 years.

More >> 'There has to be more accountability': Flaws with family court can become costly and devastating

Idaho social worker who didn’t report abuse of her child still licensed to practice

Melinda S. Maloney, a licensed social worker in Idaho, told a judge in early November that she learned her daughter was being sexually abused by her second husband, but she did not report it to police.

Dr. Craig Maloney, a Boise veterinarian, was sentenced in October to 40 years in prison, including 10 years before he’s eligible for parole.

More >> Idaho social worker who didn’t report abuse of her child still licensed to practice

Protect Your Parental Rights When CPS Investigates

There’s nothing quite like the adrenaline rush and flood of shame that hits when you open the door to find someone from Child Protective Services (CPS) on your doorstep. It’s horrifying. It’s embarrassing. You immediately start to remember every CPS horror story you’ve ever heard and you begin to worry. Since more parents are experiencing a visit from CPS than ever before, and since sometimes those visits have resulted in the quick removal of children – despite no grounds to allegations of harm or abuse – it is critically important for every parent to have a good idea of how to respond to a CPS visit.

More >> Protect Your Parental Rights When CPS Investigates

A FATHER’S FIGHT PART 3 ‘SO IT DOESN’T HAPPEN TO OTHER KIDS’

The Idaho Department of Health and Welfare recently paid a $350,000 settlement to Doug Bressie and his kids, but the agency will not admit fault in the case.

Bressie was reunited with his children in 2013, after an ordeal that began in 2008, when the state took his kids — Dusty, Oscar and Derringer — and according to court records, placed them with foster parents unable to care for them, terminated Bressie’s parental rights and threatened to place his children for adoption.

More >> A FATHER’S FIGHT PART 3 ‘SO IT DOESN’T HAPPEN TO OTHER KIDS’

A FATHER’S FIGHT

In December, Judge John Stegner, a Second District judge ruling in First District Court, found in Bressie’s favor, indicating the Idaho Department of Health and Welfare’s Child Protective Services had turned its back on its compact with Idaho citizens by illegally removing Bressie’s children from his care and placing them in foster homes, preventing the dad from visiting the children — a traumatic situation that resulted in suicide attempts by two siblings — and splitting up a once-stable family.

Most of a $350,000 settlement helped pay the burden of attorney fees and expert witness costs that had accrued in 10 years of fighting the state.

More >> A FATHER’S FIGHT

• A FATHER’S FIGHT PART TWO: A FAMILY SHATTERED

Report finds holes in child representation in protective services cases

Idaho has serious gaps in representation for children involved in protective services cases, according to a report by the Office of Performance Evaluation.

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Report: Children not always represented in protection cases

Idaho has serious gaps in representation for children involved in protective services cases, according to a report by the Office of Performance Evaluation.

The Joint Legislative Oversight Committee received the lengthy report at a hearing last Monday.

More >> Report: Children not always represented in protection cases

CPS Grabs Newborn Baby From A Disabled Christian Mother After The Parents Expressed A Desire Not To Vaccinate

Sometimes a story comes along that makes your blood boil, and this is one of them.  All over the nation CPS is stealing children from Christian families that express concerns about the safety of vaccines, but I never expected it to happen in north Idaho.  Actually, a large number of families from all over the country have moved to Idaho in recent years specifically because of the vaccine issue.  In Idaho, there is no legal requirement to vaccinate your children, and so no child should ever be taken away because parents do not intend to vaccinate.  Unfortunately, that appears to be what happened in this case.

More >> CPS Grabs Newborn Baby From A Disabled Christian Mother After The Parents Expressed A Desire Not To Vaccinate

Idaho must act fast to fix broken foster-care system

Kelsey Peterson and her husband talked about fostering children even before they married in 2011. The young couple was finally licensed to foster in May 2015, allowed to take in two children between newborn and 3 years old.

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Severe shortage: Idaho foster parents quit almost as fast as they're recruited

Couples sat at a horseshoe of tables, in a room decorated with motivational posters. “Vision” depicted a boat on still water, and “Leadership” featured the silhouette of a horse.

More >> Severe shortage: Idaho foster parents quit almost as fast as they're recruited

Foster Care System Overburdened

Officials say far fewer foster care placements are available in south-central Idaho than in the rest of the state, while the number of children removed from their homes is on the rise.

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Note: They're snatching too many kids rather than helping the families.

State auditors say Idaho's foster care system needs more oversight

The push for reform in Idaho's foster care system continues. The latest development is the results of a study requested by the Legislature.

More >> State auditors say Idaho's foster care system needs more oversight

• Study: Idaho’s child welfare system overwhelmed, overworked

Lawmakers begin study of Idaho's foster care system

Idaho foster care parents are urging lawmakers to reform the current state system, saying that foster care bureaucracy has caused unnecessary heartache and frustration.

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Six juveniles arrested at county group home after allegedly making threats on staff

Six juveniles from the Synergy Youth Treatment facility west of Smithfield were taken into custody Monday morning after they reportedly turned on the staff.

More >> Six juveniles arrested at county group home after allegedly making threats on staff

Idaho House backs contentious foster care reforms

The Idaho House on Monday unanimously approved new foster care reforms that would allow judges to oversee adoptions and implement a timeframe for relatives to apply to care for a child.

More >> Idaho House backs contentious foster care reforms

Senate passes parental rights bill

The Idaho Senate passed a bill giving parents the power over their children's education.

More >> Senate passes parental rights bill

The Overprivileged Foster Parents of Idaho

I have often said that there are too many people in child welfare who seem to view the system as the ultimate middle class entitlement: Step right up and take a poor person’s child for your very own.

More >> The Overprivileged Foster Parents of Idaho

Idaho panel passes foster care reform bill to allow judges to oversee adoptions and implement a timeframe for relatives to apply to care for a child

An Idaho House panel passed a foster care reform bill Monday that would allow judges to oversee adoptions and implement a timeframe for relatives to apply to care for a child.

More >> Idaho panel passes foster care reform bill to allow judges to oversee adoptions and implement a timeframe for relatives to apply to care for a child

Much-argued foster care reform legislation heads to House

After four hours of testimony Monday, an Idaho House panel passed a contentious foster care reform bill that would allow judges to oversee adoptions and implement a timeframe for relatives to apply to care for a child, the AP reports. The House Judiciary, Rules and Administration Committee voted unanimously in support of the measure, despite concerns voiced by the Department of Health and Welfare and other child welfare workers.

More >> Much-argued foster care reform legislation heads to House

• Bill on foster parent rights goes before committee