When Tenaja Jordan came out to her parents at 17 years old, they kicked her out of their home. As a teenager, she was still considered a child in the eyes of the state, and was immediately placed into New York City's child welfare system.
Following the trauma of the situation, one question remained on Jordan's mind: Where was she going to live?
More >> 6 problems with the foster care system — and what you can do to help
Thursday, August 23, 2018
Foster children still sleep in offices, but Eckerd Connects says foster-care fix is working
Even as Eckerd Connects works its way through a state-ordered plan to address failures in foster care, children under its watch are still sleeping in offices.
Thirteen Hillsborough County foster children slept for a total of 22 nights in offices this month because child welfare workers could not find them foster beds for the night, agency officials said.
More >> Foster children still sleep in offices, but Eckerd Connects says foster-care fix is working
Thirteen Hillsborough County foster children slept for a total of 22 nights in offices this month because child welfare workers could not find them foster beds for the night, agency officials said.
More >> Foster children still sleep in offices, but Eckerd Connects says foster-care fix is working
OREGON FOSTER PARENT GETS 94-YEAR SENTENCE IN SEX ABUSE CASE
An Oregon man convicted of sexually abusing a foster child in his care was sentenced to nearly 94 years in prison.
The Register-Guard reports 45-year-old Joe Albert Raygosa was sentenced Wednesday in Lane County Circuit Court after he was found guilty of 12 sex crimes against a child.
More >> OREGON FOSTER PARENT GETS 94-YEAR SENTENCE IN SEX ABUSE CASE
Why did it take a child's death to reveal adoption system failings?
Our adoption system is failing children. The review into the death of Elsie Scully-Hicks identified important lessons for professionals involved in protecting children. But it does not go far enough: it misses a number of fundamental flaws in the system that were evident before her death. These flaws can lead to vulnerable children being rushed into unsuitable adoptions, and then pushed back into care once the adoption breaks down.
More >> Why did it take a child's death to reveal adoption system failings?
More >> Why did it take a child's death to reveal adoption system failings?
Wednesday, August 22, 2018
Relatives get $600 less than foster parents to care for a child. Should that change?
Ceci Soto took in her two little nieces after the state removed them from her sister's care. She didn't want the girls living in a foster home with a stranger.
Soto, a 20-year-old single mother with a toddler of her own, receives $90 a month from the state — $45 for each of her nieces.
More >> Relatives get $600 less than foster parents to care for a child. Should that change?
Soto, a 20-year-old single mother with a toddler of her own, receives $90 a month from the state — $45 for each of her nieces.
More >> Relatives get $600 less than foster parents to care for a child. Should that change?
New law aims to keep at-risk families together, out of welfare system
A New Illinois law provides more childcare for families with children at risk of entering the child welfare system.
The law, House Bill 4885, provides child care for children younger than 5 who are part of an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services intact family case. After the DCFS case is closed, the families get an additional six months of child care.
Wilmette mom investigated for letting 8-year-old walk dog around the block. 'For something like this to happen to me, there’s something really wrong.'
Just after returning home from a walk around the block with her dog, Marshmallow, an 8-year-old Wilmette girl expected a visit from a playmate. Instead, police officers arrived at the family’s door.
An anonymous caller had contacted police after seeing the girl walking the dog alone, said her mother, Corey Widen. While police never pursued charges, the seemingly common activity launched an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation to see if Widen was neglecting her children, she said.
More >> Wilmette mom investigated for letting 8-year-old walk dog around the block. 'For something like this to happen to me, there’s something really wrong.'
An anonymous caller had contacted police after seeing the girl walking the dog alone, said her mother, Corey Widen. While police never pursued charges, the seemingly common activity launched an Illinois Department of Children and Family Services investigation to see if Widen was neglecting her children, she said.
More >> Wilmette mom investigated for letting 8-year-old walk dog around the block. 'For something like this to happen to me, there’s something really wrong.'
Settlement reached in lawsuit against county CYS
Luzerne County officials have reached a settlement with a mother who alleged child services caseworkers put her two children into a home where they were physically and sexually abused, according to a filing Tuesday.
In a letter filed in federal court Tuesday, Wilkes-Barre attorney Shelley L. Centini said the mother, identified in the complaint only as M.J., has reached a settlement with the county and attorneys are working on the necessary paperwork. The filing does not specify the amount of the settlement, and Centini did not immediately return a message seeking additional information.
More >> Settlement reached in lawsuit against county CYS
In a letter filed in federal court Tuesday, Wilkes-Barre attorney Shelley L. Centini said the mother, identified in the complaint only as M.J., has reached a settlement with the county and attorneys are working on the necessary paperwork. The filing does not specify the amount of the settlement, and Centini did not immediately return a message seeking additional information.
More >> Settlement reached in lawsuit against county CYS
Report on child welfare workers finds caseloads a “critical issue”
Whether it’s excessive workloads for frontline staff or inadequate services for people with addiction or mental health issues, many of the problems discussed in the report can be traced back to the failure of federal and provincial government to adequately fund social programs.
More >> Report on child welfare workers finds caseloads a “critical issue”
More >> Report on child welfare workers finds caseloads a “critical issue”
Lawsuit Blames Child Welfare Agency For Death Of Semaj Crosby
A lawsuit is blaming a child welfare agency for the death of Semaj Crosby, the little girl found dead in her own home in Joliet last year.
CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez reports the suit, filed on behalf of James Crosby, Semaj’s dad, says the agency failed to protect the child.
More >> Lawsuit Blames Child Welfare Agency For Death Of Semaj Crosby
CBS 2’s Roseanne Tellez reports the suit, filed on behalf of James Crosby, Semaj’s dad, says the agency failed to protect the child.
More >> Lawsuit Blames Child Welfare Agency For Death Of Semaj Crosby
Trump’s immigrant family separation strategy 2.0 targets children as they return to school
There was great public outcry over the Trump administration’s separation of thousands of minor children from their immigrant parents, many of whom were legally pursuing asylum here in the United States when they were apprehended. The move has been widely condemned as inhumane and likely a violation of international law.
More >> Trump’s immigrant family separation strategy 2.0 targets children as they return to school
More >> Trump’s immigrant family separation strategy 2.0 targets children as they return to school
Leander Woman Threatened To Kill Child Protective Workers: Police
A Leander woman was arrested after allegedly threatening to kill employees of Child Protective Services when she was temporarily barred from seeing her son, according to a published report.
More >> Leander Woman Threatened To Kill Child Protective Workers: Police
More >> Leander Woman Threatened To Kill Child Protective Workers: Police
Tuesday, August 21, 2018
Former Hanna Boys Center staffer sentenced for sex offenses
Kevin Scott Thorpe, who previously had plead no-contest to 11 sex offenses against four separate teenage victims when he worked as a caseworker at the Hanna Boys Center, was sentenced today to 21 years in state prison.
The 40-year-old Rhonert Park man used his position of authority to prey upon vulnerable kids, said District Attorney Jill Ravitch. “The prison term is appropriate for the nature of criminal offenses committed.”
More >> Former Hanna Boys Center staffer sentenced for sex offenses
Report: DFCS didn’t pursue ‘red flags’ before Gwinnett toddler starved
There were multiple “red flags” that Georgia Division of Family and Children Services workers did not follow up on months before nearly 3-year-old Reygan Moon starved to death, records show.
More >> Report: DFCS didn’t pursue ‘red flags’ before Gwinnett toddler starved
More >> Report: DFCS didn’t pursue ‘red flags’ before Gwinnett toddler starved
“FORGET YOUR SON”: BRAZIL IS FORCIBLY TAKING INDIGENOUS CHILDREN AND PUTTING THEM UP FOR ADOPTION
"You can give up." That's what they told Élida Oliveira, a Kaiowá mother who had her eight-day-old son taken away from her by local government officials. In the Brazilian state of Mato Grosso do Sul, 50 indigenous children have recently been put up for adoption and federal authorities want to know why.
Man docked for alleged fraudulent role in child adoption
A 47-year-oldman, Felix Nwachukwu, who allegedly obtained N900,000 on the pretext of adopting a child from a motherless home, on Monday appeared before a Surulere Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
More >> Man docked for alleged fraudulent role in child adoption
More >> Man docked for alleged fraudulent role in child adoption
Foster mother arrested after seriously injuring 1-year-old
A 1-year-old boy has been fighting for his life, and a foster mother has been arrested, following a mysterious incident that took place in a Central Valley foster home run by an allegedly abusive couple. [Cal Coast Times]
In similar fashion to a recent San Luis Obispo County case, the 1-year-old boy was reportedly taken away from his mother because of homelessness and then physically abused by a foster parent. The foster mother, 29-year–old Darlene Valdovino-Aguilera, was arrested by Visalia police on Friday on child abuse charges.
More >> Foster mother arrested after seriously injuring 1-year-old
In similar fashion to a recent San Luis Obispo County case, the 1-year-old boy was reportedly taken away from his mother because of homelessness and then physically abused by a foster parent. The foster mother, 29-year–old Darlene Valdovino-Aguilera, was arrested by Visalia police on Friday on child abuse charges.
More >> Foster mother arrested after seriously injuring 1-year-old
Kentucky's foster care numbers"unacceptable"
Just over a month after a new law went into effect lawmakers heard from officials involved with the implementation of House Bill 1.
The Child Welfare Oversight Committee heard from members of the Department for Community Based Services and the Judicial Branch on the implementation of the measure. The wide ranging bill focused on overhauling the adoption and foster care system—it seeks to strengthen support to help keep families together by tightening the timeline for termination of parental rights. It establishes the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, gives grandparents and other kinship providers more rights, and foster parents more input in the child welfare process.
More >> Kentucky's foster care numbers"unacceptable"
The Child Welfare Oversight Committee heard from members of the Department for Community Based Services and the Judicial Branch on the implementation of the measure. The wide ranging bill focused on overhauling the adoption and foster care system—it seeks to strengthen support to help keep families together by tightening the timeline for termination of parental rights. It establishes the Child Welfare Oversight and Advisory Committee within the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, gives grandparents and other kinship providers more rights, and foster parents more input in the child welfare process.
More >> Kentucky's foster care numbers"unacceptable"
Monday, August 20, 2018
Part 2: Reunification Therapy After Parental Alienation
After a parent has been wrongfully alienated by the other parent of their children, reunification therapy is the professional approach often used to try to repair the situation and support the mental health of all involved. As we wrote in Part 1 of this series, parental alienation may occur when a parent tries to alienate a child from the other parent without a reasonable basis for doing so.
Parental behaviors that can cause alienation include badmouthing the other parent without reason, blocking communication and contact with the other parent, and in extreme cases, making unsubstantiated allegations against the other parent, including of abuse.
More >> Part 2: Reunification Therapy After Parental Alienation
Parental behaviors that can cause alienation include badmouthing the other parent without reason, blocking communication and contact with the other parent, and in extreme cases, making unsubstantiated allegations against the other parent, including of abuse.
More >> Part 2: Reunification Therapy After Parental Alienation
Sunday, August 19, 2018
Some of my new favorite Mug Shots - Baby LK's Top 10 CPS Horror Stories of the Week
Here are the list of links to the stories used in this weeks video.
- Foster family has troubling history -
- Affidavit: Foster child allegedly branded, starved, beaten, stabbed - http://www.mcalesternews.com/news/affidavit-foster-child-allegedly-branded-starved-beaten-stabbed/article_a967f792-a0cf-11e8-a917-2f7a798639f8.html
- Visalia foster mother arrested on child abuse charges, police say - https://www.yourcentralvalley.com/crime/visalia-foster-mother-arrested-on-child-abuse-charges-police-say/1378761340
- Lexington choir teacher charged with sexual abuse was also a foster parent - http://www.wkyt.com/content/news/Lexington-choir-teacher-charged-with-sexual-abuse-was-also-a-foster-parent-491065981.html
- Calera teacher arrested for child porn was foster parent; Boy, 9, in home at time of arrest -
- Iredell County teacher accused of sexually assaulting foster child -
- Bail Reduced For Foster Parent Accused Of Sex Crimes - http://www.wwnytv.com/story/38883731/bail-reduced-for-foster-parent-accused-of-sex-crimes
- Honokaa woman arrested for murder of toddler who died in foster care - http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/2018/08/16/hawaii-news/honokaa-woman-arrested-for-murder-of-3-year-old-who-died-in-foster-care/
- Judge gives Port St. Lucie's Michael Beer maximum sentence in death of toddler foster son -
- Social worker called children ‘demonic’ and parents ‘moronic’ on Facebook -
Last week at the border
Here's what I have collected over the last week in regards to the stolen migrant children at the border.
They got away with it.
They got away with it.
- State probe finds immigrant teens not currently being abused
- Harsh Treatment of Immigrant Children at Virginia Detention Center Was Not Abuse, Investigators Say
- State Probe Finds No Abuse in Virginia Facility That Uses Restraints on Immigrant Teens
Reunification
- Nine children ensnared in border crisis rejoin parents
- Fathers reunited with children at Karnes Family Detention Center
Ut Oh...
- Feds don't follow-up on child immigrant placements, says new report from Sen. Rob Portman
- HHS Disputes Losing Track Of Unaccompanied Minors
- More Than 550 Separated Migrant Children Remain In U.S. Custody - Yep, they're still paying the agencies to care for them too.
- One-fourth of separated immigrant children 'in limbo' at local facilities: Catholic Charities - See?
- HHS disputes losing track of unaccompanied minors: 'There are no lost children'
- 'Where are you?' Migrant still separated from her children 3 weeks after deadline
- Feds deflect accountability for immigrant kids after placement with sponsors, fueling bipartisan frustrations: Report
- Schools grapple with obligations to migrant children in shelters
What the Judge said...
Reminiscing
Shackling of 8-year-old in Family Court prompts outrage, new policy
Erie County Youth Detention employees placed leg irons on an 8-year-old boy and left him shackled while he was waiting in Family Court to appear before a judge in February. That prompted a wave of objections by education officials and county leaders who later learned of the shackling.
The child was a third-grader in Buffalo Public Schools.
More >> Shackling of 8-year-old in Family Court prompts outrage, new policy
The child was a third-grader in Buffalo Public Schools.
More >> Shackling of 8-year-old in Family Court prompts outrage, new policy
Foster family has troubling history
The New Mexico Children, Youth and Families Department has revoked the license of a not-for-profit that places high-risk children with foster families after discovering the business continued to house young girls with a family that was accused multiple times of sexual abuse and misconduct spanning nearly two decades.
More >> Foster family has troubling history
More >> Foster family has troubling history
Adoption saga: Americans forced to return Ugandan children
A non-governmental organisation has allegedly duped government into believing that Ugandan children are being sold to American families for millions of dollars.
More >> Adoption saga: Americans forced to return Ugandan children
More >> Adoption saga: Americans forced to return Ugandan children
Police investigate after 18-month-old boy dies in foster care in Springfield
Police investigate after 18-month-old boy dies in foster care in Springfield
More >> Police investigate after 18-month-old boy dies in foster care in Springfield
More >> Police investigate after 18-month-old boy dies in foster care in Springfield
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