Former Wythe DSS worker facing embezzlement charge

Accused of using grant money to make personal purchases, a former Wythe County social worker has been charged with embezzling public funds.

More >> Former Wythe DSS worker facing embezzlement charge

The grant money was supposed to be used to help keep children out of foster care, according to a prosecutor.

Worker 'left in a zombie state after being bullied and humiliated by her boss who hatched a plan to have her demoted' - before she tragically took her own life

A veteran social worker was 'teased, bullied and humiliated' by her manager in front of her colleagues in the lead up to her suicide, a coroner has found. 

Paula Schubert, 53, worked for the Northern Territory Department of Children and Families for more than three decades before her tragic death in November 2016.

More >> Worker 'left in a zombie state after being bullied and humiliated by her boss who hatched a plan to have her demoted' - before she tragically took her own life

10-Year-Old Boy Crashes Foster Parent's Car During Interstate Joyride

The two boys who wrecked a Lexus sedan were trying to drive to the beach, according to the Fluvanna County Sheriff's Office.

The boy, ages 10 and seven, made a 37-mile trip down Interstate 64 in a vehicle taken from their guardians.

More >> 10-Year-Old Boy Crashes Foster Parent's Car During Interstate Joyride

The Family Reunification Deadline Sheds Light On Another Broken System: Foster Care

Recently, I watched the video of a 1-year-old representing himself in an immigration court. The kid is young and scared. Seeing his face, my first thought is, Why isn’t this kid getting proper representation in a U.S court?

My second thought is, Damn. Family separation is nothing new. It happened to me too.

More >> The Family Reunification Deadline Sheds Light On Another Broken System: Foster Care

$15M lawsuit filed against DHS claims foster parent abused boys

Oregon's Department of Human Services allegedly placed two brothers with a foster parent who was physically, emotionally and sexually abusive, according to a new lawsuit filed against the agency Thursday.

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State under the gun on broken foster care system

The case of seven-year-old Ricky Holland in Michigan gained national attention in 2005 when the boy's adoptive parents claimed he went missing from their Williamston home, near Lansing. The community spent months looking for Ricky, even landing the effort on an episode of "America's Most Wanted." In the end, it was his adoptive parents, Tim and Lisa Holland, who murdered Ricky, with the woman who was supposed to be his mother hitting him with a hammer and his adoptive father, Tim Holland, hiding the child's body in a swamp.

More >> State under the gun on broken foster care system

Is Adoption Legalized Kidnapping?

To the child there may be little difference


More >> Is Adoption Legalized Kidnapping?

Missouri family questions state's child abuse hotline after reporting allegations

A Missouri family questions what really happens when people call the state's child abuse hotline for help.

They reported allegations of abuse and are stunned at the lack of response and investigation. The family says they’ve made repeated calls to the hotline, the social worker assigned and even the county supervisor. More than a month has passed and there has been no investigation.

More >> Missouri family questions state's child abuse hotline after reporting allegations

Reagan no expert on foster care

Note: The Reagan he is talking about is Michael Reagan, the former presidents adopted son who has fallen in with the anti-child abuse nuts and become an outspoken activist against family rights.

This is in response to the editorial commentary by Michael Reagan ("Playing the crying kids game," July 3). In it, Reagan ranted about the huge amount of coverage given to the border crisis of separating families. He claims that the media doesn’t really care about the children. If they did, he says they would give more attention to the “400,000 American children placed in our horrible government-run foster care system.”

Reagan repeats the same mistake far too many of us indulge in far too often: We make pronouncements on important issues — e.g., medicine, religion, education — about which we are unqualified to speak. Reagan’s expertise in his byline is given as ‘political consultant.’ He is not qualified to critique our country’s foster care system. As it so happens, I am qualified.

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Lawsuit filed against Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services

A lawsuit has been filed against the Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services following the death of an infant.

Day Law Group, PCCL claims the department is responsible for the wrongful death of Charlee Ford, a three month old who died on April 16, 2016.

More >> Lawsuit filed against Rockbridge Area Department of Social Services

Jurors blame L.A. social workers for repeated sexual abuse of El Monte girl and award her $45 million

Jurors awarded $45.4 million Thursday to a girl who suffered two years of sexual abuse in an El Monte home where county social workers left her despite evidence showing that an accused molester lived in the house.

The Department of Children and Family Services, jurors found, ignored warning signs of potential abuse and failed to tell police what they knew, leaving the then-7-year-old to be molested by at least four men whom her mother invited into the home.

More >> Jurors blame L.A. social workers for repeated sexual abuse of El Monte girl and award her $45 million

69-year-old foster caregiver from Gary charged with child abuse of 3-year-old

A foster caregiver from Gary was accused of abusing a three-year-old boy in her care.

In September, a supervisor at Northstar Services LLC in Merrillville noticed excessive bruising on the boy’s buttocks and abrasions on his back while helping him go to the bathroom during a supervised visit with his biological mother.

More >> 69-year-old foster caregiver from Gary charged with child abuse of 3-year-old

Illegal adoption: 85 childcare institutions to be inspected

Against the backdrop of the recent cases of alleged illegal child adoption reported from the Missionaries of Charity, a trust founded by Nobel laureate Mother Teresa, in Jharkhand, the Haryana Government has decided to conduct special inspections of 85 childcare institutions in the state.

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State spent $1.3M on child welfare studies, didn't act

Five reviews of the Indiana Department of Child Services cost more than $1.3 million but yielded no state action to address the troubled agency's increasing caseloads.

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Our Foster-Care System Shouldn’t Separate Families Either

It’s not just our immigration system; taking children away from their parents should always be a last resort.

More >> Our Foster-Care System Shouldn’t Separate Families Either

Manitoba illegally clawing back cash: Indigenous child-welfare agencies

Indigenous child-welfare agencies in Manitoba say the province is acting illegally and immorally by clawing back money earmarked for kids in care.

Six child and family services agencies are taking the government to court alleging the province has taken more than $255 million in funds.

More >> Manitoba illegally clawing back cash: Indigenous child-welfare agencies

• Minister's words highlighted in child-welfare suit against province

I-Team: Former employee for child abuse hotline says there are system flaws

The I-Team has reported on several specific child abuse cases this year. As with many of these stories, Child Protective Services was involved and the I-Team revealed flaws with these cases.

Now, the I-Team has an exclusive interview with a former employee who says one department at the agency needs to change.

More >> I-Team: Former employee for child abuse hotline says there are system flaws

NH settles another child abuse lawsuit

A 22-month-old boy suffered traumatic brain injury at the hands of foster parents whose license was rushed through by child protection workers, according to records and reports contained in a lawsuit brought by his mother.

Allegations in the 3-year-old case include claims that a private social service agency based in Northfield, the Spaulding Youth Center, ignored proper procedures for investigating the foster home and missed obvious red flags. In doing so, child-protection workers placed the toddler and his days-old sister in a foster home headed by a foster mom with family problems who had previously experienced the death of a baby under her foster care.

More >> NH settles another child abuse lawsuit

Foster case in Shrewsbury highlights red tape, alleged bias in DCF office

Tara Rees knows kids. The longtime owner and director of Skribbles Learning Centers in Northborough, as well as parent to two teenage boys and former Fresh Air Fund host parent, she has dedicated her life to helping children.

But Rees has been struggling to understand why the state Department of Children & Families Worcester East Area Office seems to be punishing rather than helping her godchildren, who are caught in the aftermath of a bitter and complicated divorce.

More >> Foster case in Shrewsbury highlights red tape, alleged bias in DCF office

County failed repeatedly to stop sexual abuse of foster children, lawsuit alleges

When a 6-year-old boy identified as A.G. in court records told his social worker in January 2006 that his foster father was hurting him, she dismissed his request for a new home.

When staff members at a family recovery center saw A.G. acting out sexually in 2007 and told the county they suspected his foster father was abusing him, the county did not intervene.

More >> County failed repeatedly to stop sexual abuse of foster children, lawsuit alleges

Troopers probe reported false child caseworker incident

All three suspects ran away when the victim threatened to call police

Detectives with the Delaware State Police are investigating an incident where three people claimed to be caseworkers from child protective services.

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Maraga to receive report on abuse of adoption process

A report showing how the process of adoption is being abused to facilitate child trafficking is set to be handed over to Chief Justice David Maraga.

A joint meeting between the CJ and Cabinet Secretary for Labour and Social Protection Ukur Yatani last week agreed that the report be handed over to the Judiciary for review.

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Brooklyn Park couple charged with murder in death of 3-year-old foster child

Sherrie Dirk, 33, and Bryce Dirk, 31, were indicted late Thursday afternoon by a Hennepin County grand jury on charges of first- and second-degree murder that also include allegations of child abuse, endangerment, neglect and “malicious punishment.”

According to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office, the couple’s 3-year-old foster daughter’s weight had plummeted from the 98th percentile to the 13th percentile just weeks before her death. The county attorney’s office said Brooklyn Park police found the girl unresponsive and wrapped in sheets after being called to the home when her father noticed she was not breathing.

More >> Brooklyn Park couple charged with murder in death of 3-year-old foster child

Thousands of Canadian mothers were forced to give up their babies. Some were told to ‘get a puppy’ instead.

Their stories would not seem out of place in an episode of “The Handmaid’s Tale” – pregnant women shuttered away, violently restrained during childbirth, banned from looking at their babies – and, finally, coerced by social workers into signing adoption papers.

More than a half-century after unmarried and largely non-consenting Canadian women were sent to maternity homes to give birth in relative secrecy, a report released Thursday by a Senate committee acknowledges a “disturbing chapter” in Canadian history, when the country’s adoption policies led to hundreds of thousands of unwed mothers being forced to give up their babies for adoption.

More >> Thousands of Canadian mothers were forced to give up their babies. Some were told to ‘get a puppy’ instead.

New Reporting on the Devonte Hart Case Suggests His Biological Family Was Treated Unfairly by the Adoption System Due to Race

In the months that have passed since Devonte Hart, his adoptive parents, and three of his siblings were found dead, details have continued to emerge of the abuse the children suffered and the ways in which it was systematically overlooked by authorities. A 42-page report released in April described in aching detail the multiple run-ins Sarah and Jennifer Hart had with child welfare officials, as well as the lack of action taken after each one. In fact, the Harts were allowed to adopt three of their children, including Devonte, after an allegation of abuse had already been made against them. By the time Jennifer drunkenly drove her gold Yukon SUV off the edge of a 100-foot cliff in northern California, three different state authorities had been made aware of suspected abuse and neglect.

More >> New Reporting on the Devonte Hart Case Suggests His Biological Family Was Treated Unfairly by the Adoption System Due to Race