Legally Kidnapped

Shattering Your Child Welfare Delusions Since 2007


Thursday, October 06, 2016

First Nations advocates call foster care sex abuse report 'tragic'

First Nations advocates are calling for provincial action after B.C.'s representative of children and youth report found hundreds of B.C. children in foster care were victims of sexualized violence.

More >> First Nations advocates call foster care sex abuse report 'tragic'

28 people received clearance to work with kids despite child abuse, neglect backgrounds

Twenty-eight people who work or volunteer with children were erroneously provided child abuse clearances from the state Department of Human Services stating that they had no record of child abuse or neglect when they actually did.

More >> 28 people received clearance to work with kids despite child abuse, neglect backgrounds

Judge overturns abuse claims against foster mother

A McLean County judge on Tuesday overturned allegations of child abuse and torture leveled by the state's child welfare agency against a Heyworth woman who served as a foster parent to a child with a rare behavioral disorder marked by self-harm and lying about his injuries.

More >> Judge overturns abuse claims against foster mother

Number of Kids in Foster Care Cut 44 Percent Amid City Policy Change: Data

The number of children placed in foster care in New York City has been cut nearly in half in recent years, statistics show.

More >> Number of Kids in Foster Care Cut 44 Percent Amid City Policy Change: Data

Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler

Connecticut's Office of the Child Advocate is blaming "the utter collapse of all safeguards" for the near-starvation and abuse of a toddler who was under the care of the Department of Children and Families.

More >> Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler

Wednesday, October 05, 2016

Failure to protect indigenous children in care perpetuates cycle of abuse

“Groomed for a lifetime of victimization,” says Mary Ellen Turpel-Lafond.

Too often, that is the tragic fate of kids in a child-welfare system that is supposed to protect them.

More >> Failure to protect indigenous children in care perpetuates cycle of abuse

CPS workers not making visits within time requirements

New data from the Department of Family and Protective Services shows that in more than 40 percent of child abuse cases from September in Travis County, CPS workers didn't visit within the critical time period of the first few hours.

More >> CPS workers not making visits within time requirements

Foster father charged with sexual abuse of child

Already charged with one count of sexually assaulting a foster child who lived in his home, a Breckenridge man arraigned last week could face more once a police investigation is complete.

More >> Foster father charged with sexual abuse of child

Mom arrested for allegedly pulling knife on foster mom in Kamloops Christian school parking lot

Kamloops RCMP arrested a 44-year-old mother who allegedly pulled a knife on a foster parent in the parking lot of Kamloops Christian School.

More >> Mom arrested for allegedly pulling knife on foster mom in Kamloops Christian school parking lot

Judge approves settlement with DSS over foster kids' care

A federal judge has approved a settlement with the Department of Social Services, ending a lawsuit that accused the agency of endangering the 3,400 foster children in its care.

More >> Judge approves settlement with DSS over foster kids' care

Foster mother charged in 2-year-old's death back in court


A Sioux Falls foster mother charged in the death of a two-year-old boy in her care appeared in court Tuesday.

More >> Foster mother charged in 2-year-old's death back in court

#OpExposeCPS Shannen's Dream - The Amazing Story of Shannen Koostachin

Arkansas Senator on CPS Kidnappings: “No Horror Movie Ever Prepared You for This”

Protecting the constitutional rights of innocent families and protecting children from abuse should not be an either/or proposition. Providing a method for the legislature (or some representatives of the people, but the legislature is already duly elected and constitutionally charged) to examine a secretive agency in a serious structured way while protecting the privacy of families, also should not be an either/or proposition.

More >> Arkansas Senator on CPS Kidnappings: “No Horror Movie Ever Prepared You for This”

Texas CPS workers miss key deadline in 14,000 child abuse cases

Despite efforts to overhaul Child Protective Services through new leadership and increased scrutiny, state investigators are still failing to quickly check on potentially abused and neglected children.

More >> Texas CPS workers miss key deadline in 14,000 child abuse cases

Judge: Family abused by DCS can keep $31M

A federal judge has denied the Indiana Department of Child Services' motion to reduce a $31 million judgment awarded to an Indiana family "destroyed" by accusations the parents had caused their 14-year-old daughter's death.

More >> Judge: Family abused by DCS can keep $31M

Texas Investigators Failed to Check on Thousands of At-Risk Children

On any given day in the past six months, nearly a thousand of Texas' "highest-priority" children — considered by the state to be at immediate risk of physical or sexual abuse — were not checked on even once by Child Protective Services investigators.

More >> Texas Investigators Failed to Check on Thousands of At-Risk Children

Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler

The state’s child advocate on Tuesday blamed “the utter collapse of all safeguards” for the abuse and near-starvation of a toddler who was under the care of the Department of Children and Families.

More >> Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler

250-plus foster kids were victims of 'sexualized violence,' B.C.'s children's rep says

More than 250 B.C. foster children were victims of sexualized violence over the four years documented in a disturbing new report — an increasing trend that demands improved response and treatment, the children’s representative says.

More >> 250-plus foster kids were victims of 'sexualized violence,' B.C.'s children's rep says

Tuesday, October 04, 2016

13-year-old boy missing from foster home

Clay Wesley Green ran away from his foster home on Sept. 24 and has yet to be found, according to police.

More >> 13-year-old boy missing from foster home

Mom’s Drug Use During Pregnancy is Not a Crime Against Her Unborn Baby, Court Rules

The Associated Press reports a Michigan appeals court threw out a conviction against mother Melissa Lee Jones on Thursday, ruling that the state child abuse law does not apply to babies in the womb.

More >> Mom’s Drug Use During Pregnancy is Not a Crime Against Her Unborn Baby, Court Rules

New DCF system may predict families at high risk of fatalities

The Department of Children and Families is implementing a new system aimed at determining which families are at a higher risk of experiencing a maltreatment-related child tragedy, including a fatality.

More >> New DCF system may predict families at high risk of fatalities

AP NewsBreak: DA: Grand jury probing NY foster care system

A special grand jury has been empaneled to investigate New York's foster care system following the arrest of a suburban man on child sex abuse charges.

More >> AP NewsBreak: DA: Grand jury probing NY foster care system

Monday, October 03, 2016

Indigenous kids 'nine times' more likely to be 'under care'

Queensland's indigenous children in Queensland are nine times as likely to be under a protective care order than a non-indigenous child and the rate is worsening.

Calif. changes laws so children can no longer be called prostitutes

Children will no longer be classified as prostitutes in California after a new law decriminalized prostitution for minors in a move praised by child rights campaigners.

More >> Calif. changes laws so children can no longer be called prostitutes

Doctors Said They Shook Their Baby to Death. They Didn’t.

When Jarayha Wolf first saw the detectives down the hall from the hospital room where her three-month-old son was on life support, it never crossed her mind that they were waiting for her.

More >> Doctors Said They Shook Their Baby to Death. They Didn’t.

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