Utah May Legalize Free-Range Parenting

The Utah State Legislature is reviewing a bill that would decriminalize the actions of responsible parents who let their kids walk or play outside.

If the lawmakers pass SB65, parents who want to give their kids a smidge of childhood freedom won't have to worry about a knock on the door from cops or child protective service workers second-guessing the decision to send their kids outside without a security detail.

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New DCF leader pledges to let Kansans ‘hear the rest of the story’ on child deaths

The new leader of Kansas’ child welfare system said Monday that her administration will propose a legislative change so more information is released after a child’s death or serious injury.

Gina Meier-Hummel, secretary of the Department for Children and Families, said her administration is working with attorneys on what wording needs to change in the current law to allow for additional transparency.

More >> New DCF leader pledges to let Kansans ‘hear the rest of the story’ on child deaths

Foster mother charged in baby’s death frantically asks for help

It’s a heartbreaking case, involving the death of an 11-month-old baby in foster care.

More >> Foster mother charged in baby’s death frantically asks for help

House Speaker: Something Systematically Wrong With Indiana Dept. Of Child Services

Indiana lawmakers want to know why there are so many kids in state care, especially compared to some of our neighbors.

House Speaker Brian Bosma (R-Indianapolis) last week was one of many lawmakers who said there is something wrong with how Indiana manages its foster care system.

More >> House Speaker: Something Systematically Wrong With Indiana Dept. Of Child Services

Does anybody want a kid?

Maddoxx is a special boy with special needs. He thrives in the classroom and communicates with the help of an iPad. He wants to fit in with other 4th graders his age... and works hard in and out of school.

More >> A Family for Me: Maddoxx

When foster care comes to an end, perhaps too early?

Many Australians will enjoy the Christmas-New Year period with close family and friends, but that is not an option for everyone. Foster children often find their "family life" comes to an abrupt end when they turn 18 years old. Welfare groups say the system needs to change so young people can transition gradually from care to adult life.

More >> When foster care comes to an end, perhaps too early?

Sixties Scoop apology will go a long way, but more action needed: Chief

One Alberta Indigenous leader is hoping the province goes beyond its Sixties Scoop apology and builds a long-term action plan for healing.

Papaschase Chief Calvin Bruneau said the Alberta government’s consultation with Indigenous communities needs to be continuous and long-term.

More >> Sixties Scoop apology will go a long way, but more action needed: Chief

Suspect in foster baby's death to appear in court Tuesday

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – The Belen woman who police say is responsible for an 11-month-old foster baby's death will be in court on Tuesday.

Stephanie Crownover, 55, is being charged with child abuse resulting in death. She was taking care of three foster children, including the young baby, at her home.

More >> Suspect in foster baby's death to appear in court Tuesday

• Mother of baby who died while in foster care says she’s devastated

Sherin Mathews Latest News: India Suspends US Adoption Agency Over Negligence

The Indian government suspended an American adoption agency for “negligence” in its assessment of adoptive parents of 3-year-old Sherin Mathews, who died of “homicidal violence” last year. The young girl, whose body was found in October 2017, chocked to death after her foster father "physically assisted" her with drinking milk.

India's Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said Sunday the decision was taken to suspend the authorized foreign adoption agency, Holt International. She also said the government has written to the Indian Embassy in the United States, the Central Authority, which is the nodal body for adoptions in the U.S., and Holt International, informing them about the decision, according to local reports.

More >> Sherin Mathews Latest News: India Suspends US Adoption Agency Over Negligence

• Mathews' CPS hearing delayed

San Antonio Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Five Foster Children; Took In 180+ Girls

"It's not a question about whether there are more," said Medina County Sheriff Randy Brown. "It's just about how many."

 A Medina County man accused of sexually assaulting five former foster children, including several in Bexar County, took in more than 180 young girls over a five year period, officials said.

More >> San Antonio Man Accused Of Sexually Assaulting Five Foster Children; Took In 180+ Girls

Gold-toothed foster parent 'who carried out 900 rapes and sexual assaults against girls aged 13 or under' is accused of being Russia's worst paedophile in history

A gold-toothed Russian foster father has been accused of more than 900 counts of rape and violent sexual acts, mostly against girls aged 13 or under in his care.

Viktor Lishavsky, 37, abused five schoolgirls for whom he was the legal guardian, treating them as his 'personal harem' and 'sexual slaves', it is alleged.

More >> Gold-toothed foster parent 'who carried out 900 rapes and sexual assaults against girls aged 13 or under' is accused of being Russia's worst paedophile in history

Hawaii Gov. Ige Seeks Pay Raises for Foster Parents

HONOLULU (AP) — A legal battle over how much families are paid to care for foster children could cost Hawaii millions of dollars, state officials said.

A 2013 class-action lawsuit accused the state of violating requirements of the federal Child Welfare Act, which mandates that foster-care payments be sufficient to cover the cost of providing for a child's basic needs, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported .

More >> Hawaii Gov. Ige Seeks Pay Raises for Foster Parents

'There's something wrong': Lawmakers express concern over number of kids in DCS system

Indiana has more children in its child welfare system than any surrounding state — including those with nearly twice Indiana’s overall population.

Republican legislative leaders in Indiana said the higher number of Hoosier children in care indicates the Indiana Department of Child Services has problems that go beyond funding.

More >> 'There's something wrong': Lawmakers express concern over number of kids in DCS system

Richard Wexler: Child welfare has a foster care addiction

ALEXANDRIA, VA.: If only the member agencies of the Public Children Services Association of Ohio were as good at actually helping children as they are at fear-mongering. Then, Ohio would have the finest child welfare systems in America.

More >> Richard Wexler: Child welfare has a foster care addiction

Lee County Sheriff’s Office said woman wanted in foster child’s murder

The Lee County Sheriff's Office is asking for the public's help in locating a woman wanted for the murder of a 4-year-old Lee County child.

Warrants have been issued for Leshia Michelle Green, 50, charging her with the murder of her 4-year-old  foster son who died in Lee County last September.

More >> Lee County Sheriff’s Office said woman wanted in foster child’s murder

Freezing temperatures blamed for leaving foster kids without place to eat

LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Dozens of local foster kids are without a real place to eat.

The dining hall at the Boys and Girls Haven on Goldsmith Lane is now shut down, with months of repairs ahead.

More >> Freezing temperatures blamed for leaving foster kids without place to eat

More evidence that a California county’s foster-care panic is backfiring

Latest data show, again, that children are less safe since the panic began

More >> More evidence that a California county’s foster-care panic is backfiring

SC seeks data from states on orphanages, adoptions

NEW DELHI: Upset over stalling of inquiry by National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) into alleged trafficking of orphaned children in West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Thursday decided to take acountry-wide stock of management of orphanages, adoption process and facilities given to such children.

More >> SC seeks data from states on orphanages, adoptions

Adopted Russian teen, who murdered his American Airlines pilot father and mother in Texas before a 12-hour SWAT standoff, was 'brutally disciplined, forced to sleep on a concrete floor, starved and tortured'

An adopted Russian teen accused of murdering his American pilot father and mother, was brutally disciplined, forced to sleep on concrete floor, starved and tortured, according to court documents.

Carl Edward Brewer, 18, is accused of murdering American Airlines pilot Troy Gene Brewer, 60, and his wife Mary Brewer, 64, in their house in Crowley, Texas, in November.

More >> Adopted Russian teen, who murdered his American Airlines pilot father and mother in Texas before a 12-hour SWAT standoff, was 'brutally disciplined, forced to sleep on a concrete floor, starved and tortured'

Data shows minority children disproportionately in foster care

A Charlottesville mother, who has been fighting to win back custody of her daughter from the state for the past five years, says she believes the system targets low-income black families.

More >> Data shows minority children disproportionately in foster care

Mother of CYFD caregiver accused of neglect says children were sick previously

VALENCIA COUNTY – A CYFD Respite caregiver is in jail facing charges of child neglect resulting in death after deputies say they found an 11-month-old foster child in her care dead.

Panicked, Stephanie Crownover called 911 early Sunday morning to report a baby who she was babysitting, Ariza Barreras, wasn’t breathing. The baby was in her care for three days.

More >> Mother of CYFD caregiver accused of neglect says children were sick previously

• NM: FOSTER MOM CHARGED IN BABY DEATH-911 CALL

Criminal complaint reveals new details in foster child's death

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – New details have emerged in the death of a foster child in Belen, N.M.

It all started when police were called to a home in Belen Sunday morning in regards to an unresponsive 11-month-old girl.

More >> Criminal complaint reveals new details in foster child's death

• Woman Arrested After Foster Child Dies

Winnipeg police, Child and Family Services agencies agree on new protocols to help find missing kids in care

The vast majority of missing persons calls to Winnipeg police — 80 to 90 per cent — involve kids under the protection of Child and Family Services. But the police service hopes a new agreement with those agencies will bring that number down.

An agreement with the police service and CFS agencies now directs case workers to do a little digging — what one missing persons police inspector calls "legwork" — before creating a missing persons file.

More >> Winnipeg police, Child and Family Services agencies agree on new protocols to help find missing kids in care

Woman fights to get daughter out of state custody

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (CBS19 NEWS) -- Five years after a court granted custody of her daughter to the state, Rhiannon Williams hasn't stopped fighting what she believes was an unjust decision that illuminates racial disparities in foster care.

More >> Woman fights to get daughter out of state custody

Fired social worker: I was a scapegoat in Natalie Finn starvation case

The state caseworker fired for mishandling child abuse allegations involving Natalie Finn and her siblings says Iowa’s Department of Human Services abandoned her after the 16-year-old was starved to death, even though others involved in the case came up short as well.

In an exclusive interview with Reader's Watchdog, Amy Sacco said she’s been unable to find a job in social work for more than a year because she was made the scapegoat for a difficult child abuse case with a tragic ending.

More >> Fired social worker: I was a scapegoat in Natalie Finn starvation case