Bill protects parents with disabilities in custody cases

Parents with disabilities delivered emotional testimony to lawmakers, urging passage of a bill they said would protect them from discrimination in child custody cases.

Bills filed by Sen. Joan Lovely and Rep. Kay Khan (S 983, H 1487) would prohibit a parent's disability from being used as a negative factor in custody matters without a written, evidence-based finding from a court showing "the nexus between the parent's disability, or its manifestations, and harm to the child," and whether that harm could be prevented with adaptive equipment or supportive services.

More >> Bill protects parents with disabilities in custody cases

Quebec foster parents of disabled children get far more benefits than birth families: study

Families that foster children with disabilities get paid 70 per cent more benefits by the government than a family that chooses to keep the kids in the home, according to a new study.

The survey by the Raymond Chabot Grant Thornton firm has gotten the attention of families of disabled kids, who are now demanding parity in benefits with foster families.

More >> Quebec foster parents of disabled children get far more benefits than birth families: study

Kentucky foster mom says state not properly funding disabled children

 Kim Saylor is a 60-year-old foster mother from Madison County, but a recent lack of payments has led her to get into a dispute with the state, as she is not being compensated to keep the children she was asked to care for.

"They are a ward of the state," Saylor says, "The state is their guardian."

More >> Kentucky foster mom says state not properly funding disabled children

More:  She wants a raise.

HSE and Tusla had ‘negative effect’ on disabled girl abandoned at birth

The Health Service Executive (HSE) and the child and family agency Tusla are reviewing the cases of almost 500 children with disabilities in care, following an investigation.

More >> HSE and Tusla had ‘negative effect’ on disabled girl abandoned at birth

• State agencies to review care of disabled children

PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE TO KEEP THEIR CHILDREN

Nearly one in 10 children in the United States are at risk of being removed from their home by a child welfare agency simply because their parent has a disability.

In October, a lawsuit was filed on behalf of five parents with disabilities who had their children removed by New York's Administration for Children's Services, alleging widespread discrimination. What happened to these families is not unique or uncommon; rather, their tragic experiences are part of a national phenomenon: Parents with disabilities are disproportionately involved with the child welfare system and once involved are more likely than non-disabled parents to have their parental rights terminated.

More >> PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES FACE AN UPHILL BATTLE TO KEEP THEIR CHILDREN

Quit job or put son in foster care; Kaleden father’s difficult decision

A frustrated south Okanagan father is speaking publicly about his plight in hopes of finding a solution to what he calls an unfair and difficult ultimatum.

More >> Quit job or put son in foster care; Kaleden father’s difficult decision

Bill seeks rules for investigating abuse of children with disabilities

Bill seeks rules for investigating abuse of children with disabilities

Three state lawmakers Monday sought support for a bill to require a model set of procedures child protective service workers would employ when investigating the abuse or neglect of children with disabilities.

Unrestrained: When For-Profit Companies Abuse the Disabled Children They Are Supposed to Help

Unrestrained: When For-Profit Companies Abuse the Disabled Children They Are Supposed to Help

THREE YEARS AGO, it looked like the Florida agency that oversees care for children and adults with disabilities had finally had enough.

Speaking up for Special Needs: Teacher says Bureau of Child Welfare ignored pleas for help

Speaking up for Special Needs: Teacher says Bureau of Child Welfare ignored pleas for help

A FOX6 Investigation has found that kids with disabilities are dying in Wisconsin from abuse and neglect, despite repeated calls to child protective services.

Legal Battle Continues For Couple Who Had Children Taken Away At Birth

Legal Battle Continues For Couple Who Had Children Taken Away At Birth

Connecticut couple whose children were taken from them at birth after the parents were deemed mentally unsound by child-protection officials have filed a federal appeal, claiming that they were denied rights under the Americans With Disabilities Act.

PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES FACING NEW CHALLENGES

PARENTS WITH DISABILITIES FACING NEW CHALLENGES

An Al Jazeera America report about a Montpelier mother who was denied parental rights has spurred debate about how Vermont parents with disabilities are treated by the Department for Children and Families.

Are Traumatized Students Disabled? A Debate Straight Outta Compton

Are Traumatized Students Disabled? A Debate Straight Outta Compton

The defendants may be one southern California school district and its top officials, but an unprecedented, class action lawsuit could have a big impact on schools across the country.

Parents with disabilities fight to keep their kids

Parents with disabilities fight to keep their kids

At 2:20 p.m., Alice Goltz put on her uniform and made her way to the corner of Union Elementary School to start her shift as a crossing guard. Every afternoon, she watches the parents pull up their cars in line like clockwork. And every afternoon, she looks at the children she helps cross the street and thinks of the daughter she lost.

Gov. orders baby returned after DCF takes custody due to mother's disability

Gov. orders baby returned after DCF takes custody due to mother's disability

 In an unprecedented move, the federal government has ordered the Department of Children and Families to return a child to her mother. And on Tuesday, we are hearing for the first time directly from the child's family about their 2-year battle with the department.

Mom With Disabilities and Daughter Reunited After Two-Year Court Battle

Mom With Disabilities and Daughter Reunited After Two-Year Court Battle

Sara Gordon* cuddled her 2-year-old daughter, Dana, on her lap and read her a picture book—nothing they hadn’t done before, but this time it was different. For the first time, Sara knew that Dana would finally be permitted to spend the night at her house. Dana will now be spending every night with her mom and her grandparents, Kim and Sam, with whom Sara lives. After a two-year court battle, Kim and Sam have finally won full custody of Dana.

Feds: State Wrongly Took Mom's Child 2 Days After Birth

Feds: State Wrongly Took Mom's Child 2 Days After Birth

She was 19, a brand-new mother with a developmental disability. Two days after giving birth to her daughter, the state took the infant away and placed her in foster care.

Russia: Orphanages Are a Life Sentence for Children with Disabilities

Russia: Orphanages Are a Life Sentence for Children with Disabilities

When Russia enacted a ban barring Americans from adopting children from its orphanages in 2012, analysts pointed out that the country’s disabled children in state institutions would suffer the most.

Advocate for the disabled sues Justice Center to obtain abuse and neglect complaints

Advocate for the disabled sues Justice Center to obtain abuse and neglect complaints

The petition was filed by Michael Carey, the father of Jonathan Carey, the 13-year-old autistic boy who died in 2007 of asphyxiation when a state-employed caregiver attempted to restrain him. Since then, he has advocated for new policies and laws to protect the disabled in state care.

State placed disabled children with nurses untrained in their needs

State placed disabled children with nurses untrained in their needs

The disabled foster children removed from a troubled Laurel-area group home this summer were placed by Maryland regulators in facilities whose their nurses lacked training for their complex medical needs, inspection records show.

Better oversight needed for agencies caring for severely disabled youth

Better oversight needed for agencies caring for severely disabled youth

As statewide leaders in advocating for the health and well-being of children involved with the child welfare system, members of the Coalition to Protect Maryland's Children (CPMC) were dismayed to hear about the death of Damaud Martin in a licensed group home. While his death was ultimately determined to have been caused by the severe abuse he suffered years ago, investigative reporting by The Baltimore Sun has raised a number of questions about the care that the state's most vulnerable children are receiving. Deficiencies at the now closed Lifeline group homes and the still open Second Family have included inadequate financial management and lack of documentation of training in health and behavior management.