8-Year-Old Bronx Boy With PTSD, Anxiety Runs Away From Foster Mom Before Storm: NYPD

An 8-year-old Bronx boy reported missing after running away from his foster mom after leaving a hospital appointment Thursday has been found safe, police say.

Kareem Morris was leaving an appointment at Jacobi Medical Center in the Bronx when he ran away from his foster mom, police said. The boy suffers from PTSD as well as anxiety, and officials were worried the severe weather conditions would hinder his discovery.

More >> 8-Year-Old Bronx Boy With PTSD, Anxiety Runs Away From Foster Mom Before Storm: NYPD

Families First Preventative Care Act aims to reduce the number of children in foster care

Every year, North Dakota sees about a 6 percent increase in the number of children in foster care, according to the Department of Human Services. The Families First Preventative Care Act was passed to cut that number back.

The Act was passed in February by the federal government and moves funding from treatment to preventative care.

More >> Families First Preventative Care Act aims to reduce the number of children in foster care

When Families Un-Adopt a Child

Between 1 and 5 percent of U.S. adoptions get legally dissolved each year. Some children are put up for “second-chance adoptions.”

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Arizona youth aging out of foster care missing out on services

Numerous services are available to young people aging out of foster care in Arizona, but only a fraction of the intended recipients are taking advantage.

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Team 10: California department does not maintain data on all foster care deaths

A 10News investigation has revealed that the California department responsible for the state’s child welfare program does not maintain data regarding all deaths of children in foster care.  The revelation is prompting calls for immediate action to child welfare services from at least one San Diego-based politician.

More >> Team 10: California department does not maintain data on all foster care deaths

Teen allegedly ripped off by social worker ‘hurt,’ ‘angry’

A victim of a Kelowna social worker accused of stealing thousands of dollars from vulnerable children in care wants justice.

Lawsuits filed in B.C. Supreme Court on behalf of two youths allege the social worker took financial benefits from children in care.

More >> Teen allegedly ripped off by social worker ‘hurt,’ ‘angry’

Pregnant woman accused of scamming couples by promising adoption

Christina Bay, 34, collected more than $14,000 from one couple after signing an agreement to give them her child, then collected nearly $4,000 from another couple, Daytona Beach police said.

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Foster homes investigated 7 times within a year but Ontario didn’t close them until Tammy Keeash died: court documents

There were at least seven investigations that verified child protection concerns into a company operating three foster homes in Thunder Bay before the Ontario government shut them down in the weeks following the death of Tammy Keeash in May 2017, Nation to Nation has uncovered.

The 17-year-old’s body was found in a Thunder Bay waterway two months after she was placed in one of the three homes owned at the time by Johnson Children’s Services.

More >> Foster homes investigated 7 times within a year but Ontario didn’t close them until Tammy Keeash died: court documents

Man who helped in parental kidnapping seeks to delay prison

A Virginia businessman convicted of helping in a parental kidnapping is asking the nation’s highest court to suspend the start of his prison term while he appeals.

The request to the U.S. Supreme Court, which the government opposes, comes three weeks before Philip Zodhiates (zoh-dee-AH’-tehs), of Waynesboro, is scheduled to begin a three-year prison term in Kentucky.

More >> Man who helped in parental kidnapping seeks to delay prison

Hotel owner paid cop to leave blindfolded foster kid in his ‘sex dungeon,’ CT police say

It started in October, when Connecticut police say they noticed a person with the email “daddydomboss@baymontct.com” was looking to do a “casting couch interview” with a young Mexican girl.

Now, police have arrested 46-year-old Simon Hessler, whom they accused of trying to purchase an underage foster child so he could have “limitless sex” with her in his “sex dungeon” that he had set up in a trailer near the hotel he owns, according to Fox61.

More >> Hotel owner paid cop to leave blindfolded foster kid in his ‘sex dungeon,’ CT police say

Adoption of children from foster care: National Child Welfare Hypocrisy Day, 2018

The real agenda of most child welfare systems, and most of the people in them, is made apparent every year on National Adoption Day; or, as it should properly be called, National Child Welfare Hypocrisy Day.

More >> Adoption of children from foster care: National Child Welfare Hypocrisy Day, 2018

Four former employees of the county’s social services filed a complaint against the department and members of the board of supervisors in Pittsylvania County Circuit Court on Tuesday.

More >> Former employees file lawsuit against county DSS

Protesters say NSW adoption laws will create another 'stolen generation'

Opponents of the NSW government's planned changes to adoption laws are holding a snap protest outside state parliament ahead of an expected vote.

More >> Protesters say NSW adoption laws will create another 'stolen generation'

Kids in Raeford psych center abused, fed so little ‘your stomach will shrink,’ report says

Less than a week after the 9-year-old boy arrived at the Hoke County psychiatric center, the bruises and abrasions started to spread across his body, state documents show.

Before he left Canyon Hills Treatment Facility roughly two weeks later, the boy says, a staff member grabbed him by the shoulder, rubbed spit across his face and kicked him in the groin.

More >> Kids in Raeford psych center abused, fed so little ‘your stomach will shrink,’ report says

Children of the Incarcerated Face Multiple Traumas: Study

Children whose parents are incarcerated are the “invisible victims of mass incarceration,” and judges and corrections authorities need to pay special attention to the emotional trauma and financial burdens they encounter, argues a new paper in the Maryland Law Review.

Amy B. Cyphert, author of the study, and a lecturer at the West Virginia University College of Law Lecturer, said research offered several pathways that provided a “ray of hope” for young people when one or both parents was behind bars.

More >> Children of the Incarcerated Face Multiple Traumas: Study

Family First will help kids, but Kansas must act

As a pediatrician, I see the ongoing crisis in our state’s child welfare system firsthand.

Two siblings I cared for in my clinic lived with foster parents in Kansas City, 2 1/2 hours away from their biological family. They entered foster care because their birth mother is struggling with a substance use disorder and can’t safely care for them without treatment. Their foster parents are dedicated and loving people, but did not have proper support from our state’s underfunded child welfare system. Unfortunately, this disconnect meant a lack of medical history and prescription information that I needed to help these children, which further fragmented their care.

More >> Family First will help kids, but Kansas must act

The government pays for migrant children’s lawyers. Challenge the government, and they can lose their funding

The U.S. refugee agency that cares for children who have crossed the border alone has for years threatened to cut off funding to legal advocates if they challenge a child’s detention or placement in juvenile jails, according to attorneys who have worked within the system.

Without legal help to protest the government’s decisions, many migrant children end up separated from their families for longer, languishing in detention without an avenue for appeal.

More >> The government pays for migrant children’s lawyers. Challenge the government, and they can lose their funding

'R ua virgin': Details released of CPS worker's arrest for seeking out child for sex

Details of what led to the arrest of a Child Protective Services employee from Saginaw in September were released this week.

Adrian Anthony Martinez, 44 , is charged in federal court with enticement of a child.

More >> 'R ua virgin': Details released of CPS worker's arrest for seeking out child for sex

I’m Adopted, But I Won’t Be Celebrating National Adoption Month

Everyone asks me ― an adoptee ― what I’m doing to celebrate National Adoption Awareness Month. As if I should rejoice each November because I’m so “lucky” to have been adopted.

But to me, this month feels like being at a wild party and losing something in the crowd. You try calling for help ― asking others to join in your search ― but the music and festivities drown out your voice. Your interruption is not only unwanted; it is unacknowledged. This party is not for you.

The name itself irks me. National Adoption Awareness Month. I don’t believe our country is generally unaware of adoption. The practice has been happening everywhere in various forms since ancient times. America’s first modern adoption law dates back to the 19th century. Today people seem well versed in the popular “rescuer and rescued” adoption narrative. We don’t need a month, week or day to celebrate this.

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Report Shows Ohio Foster Children Have Problems Transitioning Into Adulthood

New research by the non-partisan Annie E. Casey foundation shows Ohio youths in foster care have a difficult time transitioning into adulthood.

More >> Report Shows Ohio Foster Children Have Problems Transitioning Into Adulthood

Report: AZ Kids Need Support as They Age Out of Foster Care

A study out this week looks at challenges faced by foster children in Arizona and across the country, when they turn 18 and "age out" of the system.

The Annie E. Casey Foundation data found that overall, young people transitioning from foster care are falling behind others in completing high school, finding jobs and acquiring basic life skills.

More >> Report: AZ Kids Need Support as They Age Out of Foster Care

Protest Punishment: Baby taken away from foster dad after arrest outside ICE facility

A South Florida foster father says fighting for what he believes in left him fighting to get his foster daughter back. 7’s Brian Entin has our special report, “Protest Punishment.”

Back in July, protesters were at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Pompano Beach, upset about the U.S. policy separating immigrant children from their parents.

More >> Protest Punishment: Baby taken away from foster dad after arrest outside ICE facility

Study sheds light on obstacles foster children face as they age out of system

A study released Tuesday sheds light on the struggles Indiana's foster children face as they get older. The numbers reveal the impact moving around throughout the formative years can have on foster youth's long-term success and the additional support that may be required for them.

The comprehensive data delves into the experiences of teens who are close to aging out of the child welfare system. According to the findings, individuals who spend years in foster care tend to lag behind when it comes to getting their high school diploma, finishing college or getting a job.

More >> Study sheds light on obstacles foster children face as they age out of system

Foster Kids In Pennsylvania Residential Facilities Aren’t Getting An Education

Young people in foster care across Pennsylvania — and the country — say that being sent to residential facilities often plunges them deeper into academic trouble instead of getting them on track. Schedules are filled with electives like movement therapy, art therapy and “values.” Worksheet- and computer-based education proliferate. The schools too often operate like educational black holes, failing to help kids earn relevant credits. Students complain of being kept on campus when they could be attending neighborhood schools. And government oversight is lacking.

More >> Foster Kids In Pennsylvania Residential Facilities Aren’t Getting An Education

Data Reveals an Unstable Road for Indiana Foster Youth

New research uncovers the instability faced by Indiana youth in foster care, and the resulting negative outcomes experienced during their transition to adulthood.

Fostering Youth Transitions, a data brief released Tuesday by the Annie E. Casey Foundation, showed that moving in and out of foster care placements, unstable placement settings, and leaving foster care without finding a permanent family can create barriers to well-being for young people. Brent Kent, president and CEO with the foster youth advocacy organization Indiana Connected By 25, said that includes difficulties securing education, employment and housing.

More >> Data Reveals an Unstable Road for Indiana Foster Youth