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AR: Arkansas’s child welfare system discriminates against relatives of neglectful or abusive parents
Arkansas Times – October 29, 2015
When parents fail their children, relatives often want to step up. But Kimberlee Herring and Karisa Hardy say the system shut them out, and instead placed three kids into a home where they were abused.
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/arkansass-child-welfare-system-discriminates-against-relatives-of-of-neglectful-or-abusive-parents/Content?oid=4144320

AZ: Report: Arizona families abuse marijuana more than any other substance
KTAR – October 28, 2015
Families in Arizona who abuse substances tend to use marijuana rather than alcohol, according to a recent report. Arizona Families F.I.R.S.T., a statewide recovery program, found that 84 percent of program participants in 2014 struggled with substance abuse, 54 percent of which said they used marijuana.
http://ktar.com/story/725809/report-arizona-families-abuse-marijuana-more-than-any-other-substance/

CA: L.A. County taps Michael Nash to lead new Office of Child Protection
Los Angeles Times – October 29, 2015
Michael Nash, the former presiding judge of Los Angeles County’s Juvenile Court, is poised to become director of the county’s new Office of Child Protection.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-nash-appointment-20151029-story.html

CA: Near Death of Foster Child Sheds Light on Flawed System (Includes video)
NBC Bay Area – October 29, 2015
When a 4-year-old girl in foster care was admitted to Santa Clara Valley Medical Center last year, with wounds covering nearly every part of her body, doctors soon concluded she had been the victim of prolonged physical abuse. What they didn’t know was that the Department of Social Services, the agency charged with protecting the toddler, had done little to follow up on multiple previous allegations of abuse against her guardians. In a system shrouded in secrecy, the case offers a rare glimpse into an agency that’s faced documented issues with how social workers respond to reports of child abuse.
http://www.nbcbayarea.com/investigations/Near-Death-of-Foster-Child-Sheds-Light-on-Flawed-System–338088052.html

FL: New project aims to help protect kids from domestic violence
Palm Beach Post – October 29, 2015
These in-depth investigations are aimed at helping to keep the child in the home of the non-offending parent while removing the parent accused of domestic violence.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/news/local/new-project-aims-to-help-protect-kids-from-domesti/nn8Rz/

IN: Family, ACLU sue DCS over adoption subsidies
Indianapolis Star – October 29, 2015
The American Civil Liberties Union of Indiana filed a lawsuit Thursday on the Arthurs’ behalf against the director of the Indiana Department of Child Services’ Central Eligibility Unit, which determines how much families will receive in adoption assistance payments. The Arthurs claim DCS violated federal law by failing to “take into consideration the circumstances of the adopting parents and the needs of the child being adopted,” when calculating the adoption subsidy, court records state.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/10/29/family-aclu-sue-dcs-over-adoption-subsidies/74792220/

KS: Christie Appelhanz: Work to do on foster care (Opinion)
The Wichita Eagle – October 28, 2015
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Kansas’ bold decision to privatize its child welfare system –the first state in nation to do so. The transition was chaotic and painful, but independent reviews show it worked.
http://www.kansas.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/article41730684.html

KY: Appeals court hears state’s plea to overturn $756,000 penalty for withholding child abuse records
Kentucky.com – October 28, 2015
A panel of Kentucky Court of Appeals judges heard arguments Wednesday about a penalty and fees totaling more than $1 million in a legal battle between the state and its two largest newspapers over the records of children killed or badly hurt as a result of abuse or neglect.
http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/28/4110044_appeals-court-hears-states-plea.html?rh=1

MA: DCF employee’s work in Bella Bond case to be examined
Boston Globe – October 30, 2015
A report released Wednesday by the Office of the Child Advocate found that a DCF social worker “largely copied information” from 2006, six years before Bella was born, when writing reports on the mother in 2012 and 2013, after she was accused of neglecting her daughter. Those reports led DCF to close Bella’s case in September 2013, nearly two years before her body was found. Also: Officials to Reveal DCF’s Involvement With Bella Bond’s Family: http://patch.com/massachusetts/roslindale/officials-reveal-dcfs-involvement-bella-bonds-family-0
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/29/governor-will-review-worker-involved-bella-bond/aa8vSvlJol47y7iwFmuOfI/story.html

MA: A heroic whistleblower in the long, sad mess of clergy sexual abuse
Crux – October 28, 2015
Remember the famous line in “Jaws” when Chief Brody first sees the monster shark and says, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat”? Phil Saviano remembers a similar line when he first told Boston Globe reporters there weren’t just one or two priests molesting a handful of children. Saviano knew of nearly 30 priests, if not more, with dozens of victims. And the Church was covering it up. He remembers how one editor took it all in, then called his boss to say: We’re gonna need more reporters. This is so much bigger than we thought.
http://www.cruxnow.com/faith/2015/10/28/a-heroic-whistleblower-in-the-long-sad-mess-of-clergy-sexual-abuse/

MN: States Struggle With What to Do With Sex Offenders After Prison
New York Times – October 30, 2015
This is not a prison, and most of these men — rapists, child abusers and other sex offenders — have completed their sentences. They are being held here indefinitely under a policy known as civil commitment, having been deemed “sexually dangerous” or “sexual psychopathic personalities” by courts. The intent, the authorities say, is to provide treatment to the most dangerous sex offenders until it is safe for the public for them to go home. Related: Judge orders review of all Minnesota sex offenders in civil commitment: http://www.fox9.com/news/40851395-story
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/30/us/states-struggle-with-what-to-do-with-sex-offenders-after-prison.html?_r=0

MT: Audit: Family services needs more supervision, documentation
Associated Press – October 28, 2015
The state’s Division of Child and Family Services needs to strengthen supervision, make it a priority to better document reports and investigations and complete more investigations within the time frame required by law in order to better protect children, legislative auditors found.
http://m.mysanantonio.com/news/article/Audit-Family-services-needs-more-supervision-6596900.php

NM: New Mexico agency calls for shift in services for children
Associated Press – October 28, 2015
The head of New Mexico’s child welfare agency says having no adequate place for children to eat, shower or even sleep within the first 48 hours of being removed from their homes can intensify the trauma they experience.
http://www.kcbd.com/story/30375578/new-mexico-agency-calls-for-shift-in-services-for-children

NY: Hearing Will Examine Pay for Workers Serving City’s Most Vulnerable
Gotham Gazette – October 30, 2015
For six years, a particular group of workers employed through contracts with the city, and filling important roles, saw their wages stagnate. In May of this year, however, Mayor de Blasio announced that his Executive Budget for the 2016 fiscal year, beginning July 1, 2015, would provide a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment increase and an $11.50 per hour wage floor for some of New York City’s human services providers — workers who staff senior centers, homeless shelters, foster care agencies, and more.
http://www.gothamgazette.com/index.php/government/5960-hearing-will-examine-pay-for-workers-serving-citys-most-vulnerable

NY: City foster care leader takes over amid problems, politics-inflected lawsuit 
Capital New York – October 29, 2015
Julie Farber is taking charge of New York City’s foster care system in unusually awkward cirumstances. Tasked with turning around a historically troubled system, she is now fighting a lawsuit filed against the city agency by her former employer, and joined by Public Advocate Letitia James–a lawsuit that seems to be caught up in the increasingly fraught political dynamic between Governor Andrew Cuomo and his erstwhile ally, Mayor Bill de Blasio.
http://www.capitalnewyork.com/article/city-hall/2015/10/8580965/city-foster-care-leader-takes-over-amid-problems-politics-inflecte

SC: Training Center To Spot Child Abuse Opens (Includes video)
7 WSPA – October 29, 2015
The Child Protection Training Center is now open at the USC Upstate George Dean Johnson, Jr College of Business and Economics. This center is the first of its kind in the Southeast. The training center has a mock house that will hold several different scenarios for training. There is also a mock courtroom that will hold trials as well. Also: Groups receive training to handle child abuse cases: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20151029/ARTICLES/151029685?Title=Groups-receive-training-to-handle-child-abuse-cases
http://wspa.com/2015/10/29/training-center-to-spot-child-abuse-opens/

VA: Why victims of domestic and sexual violence don’t call the police
Legacy Newspaper – October 29, 2015
A new report reveals that survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault face widespread and serious police discrimination when they seek protection from the criminal justice system. Concerns within marginalized groups include fear of the collateral consequences that police involvement can trigger. Nearly 90 percent of survey respondents said that contact with the police sometimes or often resulted in involvement of child protective services, threatening survivors with loss of custody of their children.
http://legacynewspaper.com/news/2015/oct/28/why-victims-domestic-and-sexual-violence-dont-call/

VT: DCF offering programs for professionals working with youth (Press release)
VTDigger – October 28, 2015
The Department for Children and Families (DCF), in partnership with the Children and Family Council for Prevention Programs, is sponsoring trainings across the state for professionals who work with young people. Youth Thrive(tm) is a science-based training that combines the latest research on adolescent brain development, trauma, resilience, and the importance of social connections into one framework to promote young people’s well-being and healthy development.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/10/28/dcf-offering-programs-for-professionals-working-with-youth/

WV: Child abuse and neglect cases rise with drug addiction
Beckley Register-Herald – October 30, 2015
Alongside the increase in drug addiction, Fayette County Prosecutor Larry Harrah said his office has seen record breaking numbers of abuse and neglect cases associated with addicted parents.
http://www.register-herald.com/news/child-abuse-and-neglect-cases-rise-with-drug-addiction/article_a711f0aa-e92c-5742-bd58-361e182a65cd.html

WV: Child abuse and neglect cases rise with drug addiction
The Register-Herald – October 30, 2015
“As drug addiction increases, we see more parents getting high and their children are left to raise themselves in conditions and environments that are unspeakable,” he said. “There are a lot of animals who live a much better life than a lot of our children.”
http://www.register-herald.com/news/child-abuse-and-neglect-cases-rise-with-drug-addiction/article_a711f0aa-e92c-5742-bd58-361e182a65cd.html

WV: US attorney says planned WV child mental health facility “disastrous”
West Virginia Gazette – October 28, 2015
A proposed child psychiatric treatment facility in Logan County is advancing with a disturbing lack of transparency and would have “disastrous implications” if it is completed, the U.S. attorney for the Northern District of West Virginia recently told Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s administration.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20151028/GZ01/151029485

US: Ten Questions Answered About Late Discovery Adoption
Huffington Post – October 29, 2015
Late discovery adoption refers to a person learning in adulthood that they were adopted as children. Those of us who discovered their adoption status as adults are sometimes called late discovery adoptees, or LDAs, though not everyone embraces this label.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dashanne-stokes/ten-questions-answered-ab_b_8099064.html

US: The Church’s Next Mission: Help Children in Foster Care (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – October 29, 2015
For you see, not everyone is called to be a foster parent. As you know, not everyone has the skills to bring children into their home and care for those in need. To be sure, we are all given different skills and talents. For some, these talents might be to care for children in their own homes on a day to day basis. For others, it might be to support those who care for them, while others might be given the resources to share.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-degarmo/church-foster-care_b_8407182.html

US: What One Woman Wishes She’d Known Before Placing Her Child for Adoption (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – October 29, 2015
In the adoption world, adoptive parents usually get the most spotlight, with adoptees and birthparents getting less attention. I’m interested in bringing to light more stories from birthparents and adoptees to spread awareness of their experiences with adoption to promote healthy conversation.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/felicia-curcuru/what-one-woman-wishes-she_b_8401672.html

US: Can We Discuss Poverty Like Grown-Ups?
City Journal – October 28, 2015
What tax cut will Arizona Republicans lavish on the wealthy with this relatively meager savings? To Porter’s credit, he explains that the state plans to spend the money it saves on “child protection, foster care and adoption services.” But, no matter, he still believes “lawmakers took it from the pockets of poor people” when they should have raised taxes instead.
http://www.city-journal.org/2015/eon1028oc.html

US: Forget Justin Harris: We Need To Regulate Rehoming Adopted Children (Opinion)
Nonprofit Quarterly – October 26, 2015
While Harris may be the face of rehoming, he isn’t the problem anymore. Rehoming is and continues to be “legal” in several states — at least to the extent that it isn’t explicitly illegal. Indeed, Reuters reported in their investigation from 2013 that the market for rehomed children is largely underground and almost entirely unregulated.
https://nonprofitquarterly.org/2015/10/29/forget-justin-harris-we-need-to-regulate-rehoming-adopted-children/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Province to make it easier for adopted children and parents to find each other
CBC News – October 29, 2015
The Saskatchewan government says it’s working on changing regulations that would help adoptees and birth parents discover each others’ identities.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatoon/province-to-make-it-easier-for-adopted-children-and-parents-to-find-each-other-1.3293553

Ireland: Child abuse victims must wait 18 months for support, group says
Irish Times – October 27, 2015
Some victims of child abuse in the State are waiting up to 18 months to access appropriate supports, a gap that is “quite shocking”, campaigners for children’s rights have said. The issue is among the many highlighted in a report prepared by the Children’s Rights Alliance for submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child.
http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/child-abuse-victims-must-wait-18-months-for-support-group-says-1.2407494

United Kingdom: Former Newcastle dental surgeon reveals methods of identifying child abuse victims
My Informs – October 28, 2015
Professor Richard Welbury has worked as a dental surgeon for decades, but it is his work in making dentists aware of their wider responsibilities to keep kids in their care safe that sets his apart from the rest.
http://myinforms.com/en-gb/a/18277767-former-newcastle-dental-surgeon-reveals-methods-of-identifying-child-abuse-victims/

United Kingdom: Martin Narey to lead review into residential care for children
Community Care – October 28, 2015
The review will look at the role of children’s homes within the care system, exploring when– and for which children–homes should be used, what works within residential care, and how to improve outcomes for the young people who live in them, and what improvements could be made to the way that residential care homes are commissioned, delivered, regulated and inspected.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/10/28/martin-narey-lead-review-residential-care-children/

Child Welfare in the News is distributed at no charge by Child Welfare Information Gateway (https://www.childwelfare.gov), a service of the Children’s Bureau/ACF/HHS (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb). It features news stories on topics of interest to child welfare and related professionals. Inclusion does not imply endorsement of any view expressed in a resource, and opinions or views do not reflect those of Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Children’s Bureau, or staff.

AZ: Valdez: Five truths about kids in foster care
Arizona Republic – October 27, 2015
When the state comes in and takes a child from a bad home — even a dangerous one — the child doesn’t suddenly heave a sigh of relief. It is traumatic to be ripped out of the familiar. It is terrifying to be dropped into a new setting with new people who don’t know anything about your habits, favorite foods or bedtime routine.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/lindavaldez/2015/10/27/arizona-child-welfare-lessons/74697760/

FL: Gov. proposes another boost for child welfare agency
Associated Press – October 28, 2015
Scott on Tuesday announced that he would ask legislators for a nearly $23 million increase for the Department of Children and Families. The governor wants the extra money to go to community based care agencies so they can hire 272 case managers to reduce caseloads.
http://whkradio.com/news/articles/florida-gov-proposes-another-boost-for-child-welfare-agency

FL: Senate bill would overhaul foster-care placements
News Service of Florida – October 27, 2015
A bill aimed at reducing instability for foster children has started to move forward in the Florida Senate and would require the child-welfare system to match kids with their best placement options — rather than, as critics charge, the first beds that are handy.
http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/state/senate-bill-would-overhaul-foster-care-placements/article_c260c9bc-7d1a-11e5-8dff-ef62a094f712.html

IN: ‘Unsafe’ house for kids could be crime
Tribune Star – October 27, 2015
Criminal charges could be filed this week related to unsanitary living conditions for four young children who were removed last week from a Clinton rental house.
http://www.tribstar.com/news/local_news/unsafe-house-for-kids-could-be-crime/article_d3bf2b5a-a95c-5e61-af1a-251a5377d26a.html

KS: Douglas County court officials worry child welfare system being stretched to the breaking point
Lawrence Journal-World – October 27, 2015
At a time when a near-record number of children are being placed in foster care in Kansas, local officials say, social service agencies are having an increasingly difficult time hiring and retaining social workers to help them and their families get the services they need.
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2015/oct/27/douglas-county-court-officials-worry-child-welfare/

MN: Legislative task force reviewing child welfare training models in other states
Star Tribune – October 27, 2015
The task force, appointed by Gov. Mark Dayton, who formed the group following the Star Tribune’s reporting on systemic failures in child protection, has already seen several recommendations signed into law last spring.
http://www.startribune.com/legislative-task-force-reviewing-child-welfare-training-models-in-other-states/337542501/

NH: Gay “Conversion Therapy” Ban Planned for Minors in 2016 (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 23, 2015
A Republican lawmaker has announced plans to file a measure that would ban conversion therapy for minors in New Hampshire.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-23/mental-health/gay-conversion-therapy-ban-planned-for-nh-minors-in-2016/a48635-1

NY: New book illuminates LGBT youth homelessness
Tribune Star – October 27, 2015
In a new book about working in the trenches among youths who have been dealt the worst in life — poverty, abuse, racism, homophobia — Berg writes, “I saw this bald, white guy in a dilapidated house in Queens surrounded by kids of color and wondered, ‘What am I doing here?’ ” His fish-out-of-water experience, as well as the transformative and sometimes heart-wrenching relationships that grew between him and the youths he worked with, are the focus of “No House to Call My Home: Love, Family and Other Transgressions.”
http://www.startribune.com/new-book-illuminates-lgbt-youth-homelessness/337598451/

PA: Oversight of psychiatric meds for youth offenders lacking
Citizens Voice – October 28, 2015
While other states have reformed the way they control and track such medications so that it is done systemwide, the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services follows only the total amount paid for the drugs prescribed in its six facilities on a systemic basis.
http://citizensvoice.com/news/oversight-of-psychiatric-meds-for-pa-youth-offenders-lacking-1.1963601

PA: Group behind controversial ads targeting Supreme Court candidate raises more accusations
Pittsburgh Post Gazette – October 27, 2015
A battle over what may be the most contentious TV ad of the state Supreme Court race — a spot targeting Democratic Judge Kevin Dougherty — continues, with lawyers trading letters and accusations. Today, the group behind that campaign alleged that Judge Dougherty had reason to know he?d placed a 10-year-old with a convicted murderer, years before police would charge the adult with horrific acts of abuse.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/politics-state/2015/10/27/Group-behind-controversial-ads-targeting-Philadelphia-judge-steps-up-it/stories/201510270212

TX: Dallas County faces lawsuit over immigration holds even as it’s criticized as ‘sanctuary city’
Associated Press – October 27, 2015
A Texas sheriff who faced criticism from Gov. Greg Abbott for not complying with federal immigration holds is being sued by people who say they were detained for unconstitutionally long periods.
http://www.tribtown.com/view/story/4b1e7059120f4b09a7ca2c8b20b804c4/US–Immigration-Enforcement-Jails

WA: Area school districts seek to be more inclusive for transgender students
Herald of Everet – October 26, 2015
There’s an effort under way to make schools more inclusive for transgender students. The Snohomish School Board is pondering a new anti-discrimination policy that deals with issues, such as access to restrooms and locker rooms, sports participation, dress codes and official records.
http://www.heraldnet.com/article/20151026/NEWS01/151029273/Area-school-districts-seek-to-be-more-inclusive-for-transgender-students

US: ACA Helps Bring Child Uninsured Rates to Record Low (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 28, 2015
CO: More children in Colorado and the nation have health coverage. According to a new report by the Georgetown University Center for Children and Families, the rate of uninsured children dropped to a historic low of 6 percent in 2014, the year the Affordable Care Act went into effect. Also: Indiana Ranks 42nd in Rate of Uninsured Children (Includes audio): http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-28/childrens-issues/indiana-ranks-42nd-in-rate-of-uninsured-children/a48698-1 Also: Report: Minnesota Shrinks Number of Uninsured Kids (Includes audio): http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-28/childrens-issues/report-minnesota-shrinks-number-of-uninsured-kids/a48713-1 Also: Report: Illinois Has Fewer Uninsured Children, But Cook County Needs Work (Includes audio): http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-28/childrens-issues/report-illinois-has-fewer-uninsured-children-but-cook-county-needs-work/a48706-1 Report: http://ccf.georgetown.edu/ccf-resources/childrens-uninsured-rate-2014-affordable-care-act/
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-28/health-issues/aca-helps-bring-child-uninsured-rates-to-record-low/a48705-1

US: A Tipping Point on Evidence-Based Policymaking
Governing – October 27, 2015
Through a partnership with the Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, states such as Mississippi and New Mexico have joined the state of Washington — long considered an innovator in evidence-based policymaking — in developing policy frameworks that support effective programming and building the capacity to use analytical tools that inform the budget process.
http://www.governing.com/columns/smart-mgmt/col-state-local-government-tipping-point-evidence-based-policymaking.html

US: Native American Children: Separate But Equal?
Hoover Institution – October 27, 2015
State laws require consideration of the “best interests of the child” in determining termination of parental rights, foster placements, and adoptions. That bedrock rule protects all American children — except children of Native American ancestry. Information Gateway Resource: Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/americanindian/icwa/
http://www.hoover.org/research/native-american-children-separate-equal

US: Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
Annie E. Casey Foundation – October 26, 2015
The Annie E. Casey Foundation has developed this practice guide to support Juvenile Detention Alternative Initiative (JDAI) sites in meeting their obligation to ensure the safety and well-being of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT)* youth involved in the juvenile justice system.
http://www.aecf.org/resources/lesbian-gay-bisexual-and-transgender-youth-in-the-juvenile-justice-system/

 

AR: Twenty problems with 20/20’s coverage of the Justin Harris ‘rehoming’ (Opinion)
Arkansas Times – October 24, 2015
The show didn’t present the Harrises as victims, as we first worried it might attempt to do, but Vargas and her team all but ignored what may be the most important part of this entire ordeal — the question of Rep. Justin Harris’ influence over decision making within DHS. I say this may be the most important piece because there are thousands of other children in the state who are right now in the care of DHS’ Division of Children and Family Services. The agency’s integrity is not an academic question, but one that has urgent ramifications for every family that interacts with the child welfare system.
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/10/24/twenty-problems-with-20-20s-coverage-of-the-justin-harris-rehoming

CA: Disturbing new look into sex trafficking in San Diego (Includes video)
KFMB – October 27, 2015
Among those who are vulnerable to fall victims of sex trafficking are homeless, 55-percent, and those in the foster care system, 28-percent, according to the study. Related: No such thing as a ‘child prostitute’: http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2015/oct/26/no-such-thing-as-child-prostitute/
http://www.cbs8.com/story/30357149/disturbing-new-look-into-sex-trafficking-in-san-diego

CA: Riverside County: Report finds strengths, flaws in child welfare agency
Press-Enterprise – October 26, 2015
An internal assessment of the Riverside County Department of Social Services’ procedures for investigating adoptive parents and allegations of child neglect found communication weaknesses, as well as areas of strength.
http://www.pe.com/articles/report-784536-case-county.html

CA: State Family Leave Law Has Helped Families, Businesses
RH Reality Check – October 26, 2015
Those who qualify for family leave benefits receive about 55 percent of lost wages. In order to qualify for benefits, an employee must provide documentation to support their claim for needing leave to bond with a new biological, adopted, or foster child.
http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2015/10/26/california-family-leave-law-helped-families-businesses/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=california-family-leave-law-helped-families-businesses

CA: Our Voice: Privacy law can hinder foster care safety
Desert Sun – October 24, 2015
In Riverside County, social workers investigate tens of thousands of parents each year, but more than three-fourths of those investigations end up with either “inconclusive” or “unfounded” findings. In foster homes, where the county’s responsibility to wards of the state is even more pronounced, only four percent of complaints are substantiated.
http://www.desertsun.com/story/opinion/editorials/2015/10/24/our-voice-privacy-law-foster-care/74402810/

GA: Stacey Abrams:Tuesday hearing to support ‘kinship care’ for kids
Savannah Morning News – October 27, 2015
Across Georgia, kinship caregivers — that is, grandparents, relatives, or family friends — have been stepping up to provide shelter and care for children whose parents can no longer support them. Kinship caregivers are an essential source of comfort and security after the trauma of parental separation, even in the face of tremendous obstacles.
http://savannahnow.com/column/2015-10-26/stacey-abramstuesday-hearing-support-kinship-care-kids#

IA: National Adoption Month is approaching
Oskaloosa Herald – October 26, 2015
Iowa KidsNet is partnering with child welfare advocates and families across the country in celebrating November’s National Adoption Month, a time to raise awareness for the more than 107,000 children in the United States who are waiting to be adopted from foster care and to recognize the people who make a difference in their lives.
http://www.oskaloosa.com/news/local_news/national-adoption-month-is-approaching/article_2568d3ae-7d41-59d8-8dad-3d529e73afd1.html

KY: Group to train kids on how to use heroin antidote
MyInforms – October 26, 2015
Another sign of heroin’s prevalence in children’s homes are child protection cases.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/18151158-ky-group-to-train-kids-on-how-to-use-heroin-antidote/

MA: Ham: DCF problem is foster care system (Opinion)
Milford Daily News – October 25, 2015
I’m screaming. Let’s all scream for the plight of the children who have no voice when committed to the care and custody of the Department of Children and Families. The abused and neglected children are being further confused and harmed by placement in foster homes that have little or no ability to help them. It’s an empty bed somewhere. With the current scrutiny of DCF even an empty bed will hard to find.
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20151025/OPINION/151027084/2011/OPINION?rssfeed=true

MA: Concern mounts on drug crisis’ impact on children
Associated Press – October 24, 2015
Those on the front lines — doctors, judges, drug counselors — say they are seeing more and more cases of opioid-addicted parents so focused on their next score that they neglect or abuse the children in their care.
http://wkrg.com/ap/concern-mounts-on-drug-crisis-impact-on-children/

MO: Aged-out foster children around KC are getting new help to avoid homelessness
Kansas City Star – October 24, 2015
New grant funding announced Wednesday for CASA — Court Appointed Special Advocates — intends to ease much of the pain, putting volunteers to work with young people through the age of 26. “The system is failing these children,” said Martha Gershun, executive director of Jackson County CASA.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article40736478.html

MT: 14 Appointed to Review Child Protection System
Associated Press – October 24, 2015
Bullock met in July with counselors and the families of some children involved with child protective services who sought wholesale changes within the agency. They complained that they were disrespected by caseworkers, the agency ignored the recommendations of some counselors and workers seemed to lack training.
http://newstalkkgvo.com/14-montanans-appointed-to-review-child-protection-system/

NE: Services lacking for sex trafficking victims
Lincoln Journal Star – October 26, 2015
Services for victims pulled into the commercial sex trade in Nebraska are bleak. That’s the conclusion of an Omaha organization set to testify at a Friday legislative hearing intended to decipher what state services are available for women, girls, boys and men who are forced into human trafficking.
http://journalstar.com/legislature/services-lacking-for-sex-trafficking-victims-in-nebraska/article_1abae541-10d0-5dbd-91ee-e93658eecdf5.html

NJ: Many post-foster care teens lacking needed mental health care
NorthJersey.com – October 27, 2015
In many states, children who live in foster homes age out of this system by the time they turn 18 or 21, a transition that can leave some at least temporarily without access to health insurance or unable to continue care with doctors who were treating them before. Information Gateway Resource: Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living Programs: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/independent/programs/
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/many-post-foster-care-teens-lacking-needed-mental-health-care-1.1442030

NY: State Shortchanging Pre-Kindergarten Outside of New York City (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 27, 2015
Last year the state spent $340 million dollars on pre-K, and all but $40 million went to the city. According to Nassau County Comptroller George Maragos, this year New York City is getting 42 times as much funding as Nassau County, while having only six times as many four-year-olds.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-27/early-childhood-education/state-shortchanging-pre-kindergarten-outside-of-new-york-city/a48676-2

OK: Anna’s House helps foster parents, children
Edmund Sun – October 24, 2015
The Anna’s House mission is to provide immediate, stable, loving homes to the youngest children in state custody. The goal of The Anna’s House Foundation is to recruit and support Christian families who open their homes at a moment’s notice to give immediate shelter, comfort and love to the most vulnerable among us.
http://www.edmondsun.com/news/special_sections/anna-s-house-helps-foster-parents-children/article_b7bf6676-7a09-11e5-9913-ab7c857d1446.html

PA: Budget Impasse Threatening Services For Foster Children
CBS Philadelphia – October 25, 2015
Pennsylvania’s state budget impasse has stopped funding for child welfare agencies, including those that provide for foster children and foster parents. Now, a lawsuit has been filed to get those funds flowing again.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/10/25/pa-budget-impasse-threatening-services-for-foster-children/

PA: Drugged into submission: Pa. youth correctional facilities dish out high levels of mood-altering psychiatric medications
Pocono Record – October 24, 2015
In the months they spend at correctional facilities, they receive mood-altering psychiatric medications at strikingly high rates, particularly antipsychotic drugs that expose them to significant health risks.
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20151024/NEWS/151029690/-1/LIVING2002

TX: Foster care numbers drop for Harris County
KRQE News – October 26, 2015
While the overall population of Harris County has increased 8.5 percent in the past five years, the number of children in foster care has dropped by nearly 2,000 during that same time period.In 2010, Texas Child Protective Services had custody of 5,610 children.
http://www.dailynews724.com/new-mexico/foster-care-numbers-drop-for-harris-county-h598168.html

WI: Fairness in Adoption?
Huffington Post – October 26, 2015
Wisconsin adoptive parents and lawmakers are seeking to make Wisconsin more “friendly” toward adopters by increasing pressure for parents considering placing their children for adoption. The Wisconsin Adoption Fairness Act seeks “to bring Wisconsin in line with other states, many of whom don’t require court hearings and allow mothers the option to relinquish rights after 72 hours.” Also: Bill would change parental rights for adoptions (Includes video): http://www.channel3000.com/news/politics/Bill-would-change-parental-rights-for-adoptions/36060418
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/fairness-in-adoption_b_8374792.html

US: Foster kids may not show affection, at least at first (Opinion)
San Angelo Standard-Times – October 25, 2015
What follows is my reflection of an interaction between me and our foster child. This was his first unsolicited hug for me, and it came after eight months in our home.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/my-san-angelo/foster-parent-column_43920643

US: Child migrants’ home countries have only grown worse, Congress is reminded
EWTN News – October 24, 2015
The number of Central American migrants to the U.S. might be down this year, but their problems at home have grown worse, said Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso before the United States Congress on Wednesday.
http://www.ewtnnews.com/catholic-news/US.php?id=12819

INTERNATIONAL

Ghana: ‘Don’t shield perpetrators of child abuse in churches’ (Opinion)
Graphic Ghana – October 27, 2015
Mr Ebenezer Tetteh Kpalam, the Founder and President of the Kinder Foundation, a Christian non-governmental organisation (NGO), urged churches to have child protection policies that protect children from abuse, and stressed that “Although the church is a place where children are sometimes abused, it is also a place where abuses are not reported.”
http://graphic.com.gh/news/general-news/52249-don-t-shield-perpetrators-of-child-abuse-in-churches.html

Honduras: Filling the gaps in the Orphan Care system
Mission Network – October 26, 2015
Honduras has joined the growing trend globally to close public orphanages, focusing its efforts on family reunification and private group homes to provide care for vulnerable children. Sadly, too few caseworkers and too little infrastructure can’t effectively care for those in need. Often, children are placed in group homes ill-equipped to bring healing, or returned back to families where abuse and neglect are the norm.
https://www.mnnonline.org/news/filling-the-gaps-in-the-honduras-orphan-care-system/

International: Special Advisor for Children’s Issues Travels to Uganda and Ethiopia (Press release)
U.S. Department of State – October 26, 2015
Special Advisor Jacobs will travel to Uganda to deliver remarks at the National Forum on the State of the Ugandan Child. She will also meet with government officials, non-governmental organizations, and other experts to encourage strengthening child protection systems. She will discuss intercountry adoption as an option for children living outside of family care.
http://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2015/10/248737.htm

Sudan: Child Act Comes Ahead of International Conventions
Sudan Vision – October 27, 2015
The National Council for Child Welfare has disclosed that the Child Act for the year 2010 came ahead of the International Conventions for Child rights in many provisions particularly with regards to the criteria of age for girls.
http://news.sudanvisiondaily.com/details.html?rsnpid=256102

AR: A conversation with ’20/20’s’ Elizabeth Vargas on the Justin Harris ‘rehoming’ episode
Arkansas Times – October 23, 2015
ABC has secured on-camera interviews with most of the people involved in the story, including foster parents Cheryl and Craig Hart; Chelsey Goldsborough, the Harrises’ babysitter; the couple who has now adopted the two girls; and the Harrises themselves.
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/10/23/a-conversation-with-20-20s-elizabeth-vargas-on-the-justin-harris-rehoming

AZ: ASU, community colleges launch first joint program for foster students
Arizona Republic – October 24, 2015
Two years after a bill passed giving Arizona’s foster children free college tuition, a helpful Phoenix program emerged.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona/2015/10/24/asu-mcccd-bridging-success-foster-tuition/72338742/

CA: Lawsuit alleges foster abuse
Desert Dispatch – October 22, 2015
A recently filed lawsuit accuses two Victorville foster parents of abuse over a period of two-and-a-half years and when combined with a similar complaint filed early last year, four of five children in the foster family are now alleged to have been mistreated.
http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20151022/NEWS/151029950/12985/NEWS?rssfeed=true

FL: DCF-UCF partnership looks to groom well-trained social workers
Bay News – October 24, 2015
The Dept. of Children and Families is offering an opportunity for students to get money for college in return for a job. The University of Central Florida is partnering DCF on the program. Also: UCF leading statewide project to aid social work agencies: http://www.wflx.com/story/30346674/ucf-leading-statewide-project-to-aid-social-work-agencies
http://www.baynews9.com/content/news/baynews9/news/article.html/content/news/articles/cfn/2015/10/22/dcf_ucf_partnership_.html

FL: DCF Head Carroll: We Had ‘Systemic Failures’ In Latest High Profile Child Deaths (Includes audio)
WUSF Public Media – October 23, 2015
“I’ve listened to that call personally,” said Carroll. “And, that call met the protocol to be accepted. We had enough information to identify who the person was. And, certainly, some of the concerns, she was relaying, although they were mostly hearsay and she couldn’t corroborate much of it. It certainly met the allegation metrics and should have resulted in a call, where somebody went to the hospital to check.” Also: DCF secretary points to ‘system failure’ in child deaths: http://www.mysuncoast.com/news/local/dcf-secretary-points-to-system-failure-in-child-deaths/article_276dc326-7926-11e5-a49f-c3f054934ce9.html
http://wusfnews.wusf.usf.edu/post/dcf-head-carroll-we-had-systemic-failures-latest-high-profile-child-deaths

KS: CASA gets grant to help older foster children (Press release)
Associated Press – October 24, 2015
New grant funding announced Wednesday for CASA, Court Appointed Special Advocates, will allow volunteers to work with young people through the age of 26, The Kansas City Star reported. The Hall Family Foundation and the William T. Kemper Foundation, which provided the grant money, would not disclose the amount of the grant, which is for three years.
http://ksnt.com/2015/10/24/casa-gets-grant-to-help-older-foster-children/

MA: DCF negotiating agreement with sex offender board
Wicked Local News – October 25, 2015
Lawyers from the state Department of Children and Families are negotiating a formal agreement with the Massachusetts Sex Offender Registry Board to share more information between the two entities, although neither side has answered questions about the subject of their talks.
http://www.wickedlocal.com/article/20151025/NEWS/151026906/12581/NEWS?rssfeed=true

MA: Documents show DCF was alerted before local children’s deaths
Patriot Ledger – October 24, 2015
Brandon was one of several children in Quincy and on the South Shore who died from abuse or neglect even after someone alerted the Department of Children and Families that their parents may have been mistreating them, according to documents obtained by The New England Center for Investigative Reporting’s Jenifer McKim and The Boston Globe.
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20151024/NEWS/151027150/12662/NEWS?rssfeed=true

ME: Dorothy Elizabeth Larrabee, 1922-2015
Independent Record – October 23, 2015
During her career, she served as president of the Maine chapter of National Association of Social Workers, member and later chairperson of the Maine Human Services Council and member of the Child Welfare Advisory Committee, as well as serving on the Governor’s Task Force on Foster Care for Children and the Coalition for Maine Children.
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/obituaries/2015/10/23/dorothy-elizabeth-larrabee/1807454

MI: Judge John Keuvelaar Announces CASA Program For Children of Neglect & Abuse
My Bay City – October 25, 2015
On Wednesday, Probate Judge John Keuvelaar introduced the CASA program to the Bay County Probate Court to help the children of neglect and abuse cases. In announcing this program, Judge Keuvelaar swore in seven trained volunteers who are ready to be assigned as advocates for children who are victims of child neglect and abuse. These workers will visit their assigned children weekly to help provide a constant and consistent adult in their life and insure that the child receives the services he or she needs to overcome the trauma of child neglect and abuse.
http://www.mybaycity.com/scripts/P3_V2/P3V3-0200.cfm?P3_NewspaperID=1561&P3_articleID=10161

MT: Exploring childhood trauma and mental health
Helena Independent – October 23, 2015
Since organizations started ranking states in the late 1990s, Montana has always been at the bottom, Thale Dillon of Montana Kids Count said. The state consistently has high death rates for children and teens; high rates of traffic crashes; high rates of substance abuse.
http://helenair.com/news/local/exploring-childhood-trauma-and-mental-health-in-montana/collection_d23abacf-cbf2-5266-b78f-5fff8f80b603.html

NE: Group: State can do more to help foster kids live normally
Associated Press – November 23, 2015
Nebraska’s foster care system can do more to ensure that foster children get to play sports, attend school dances and enjoy other normal childhood experiences, according to a report released Thursday. Information Gateway Resource: System Reform: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/reform/
http://www.gillettenewsrecord.com/ap/state/article_692922d3-13a5-5b25-9ab5-3f40d04b08f0.html

NY: Gov. Cuomo Plans NYC Foster Care System Reform
Longview News-Journal – October 24, 2015
A lawsuit filed against the New York City foster care system has been settled, paving the way for reforms and changes in the system’s inner workings.
http://www.allmediany.com/news/56387-gov-cuomo-plans-nyc-foster-care-system-reform

OH: Case Workers Working Hard
WSRW-AM – October 25, 2015
Caseworkers tend to Ohio children in desperate times, but some people in the field say there are not enough of them available to meet the needs of families in crisis.
http://www.buckeyecountry105.com/articles/local-news-stories-226193/ohio-case-workers-working-hard-14064508/

PA: Center detaining migrant families could lose license
News Works – October 23, 2015
Immigration rights activists are hailing a decision by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services threatening to not renew the license for a controversial family detention center in Berks County.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/homepage-feature/item/87536-pa-center-detaining-migrant-families-could-lose-license

RI: Child advocate raises concerns over some group homes
Providence Journal – October 22, 2015
With months remaining in her tenure as the state’s child advocate, Regina M. Costa has chronicled numerous shortcomings in the state Department of Children, Youth and Families and called attention to Liberty Lane, a South Kingstown group home that was shuttered this month after a staff member allegedly assaulted a youth.
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151022/NEWS/151029705/13748/NEWS?rssfeed=true

TN: The YWCA’s Re-New program gives victims of domestic abuse a safe place to call their own
Nashville Scene – October 22, 2015
Cheryl Hays, a registered nurse and “logistics master,” according to Davis, agreed to assist immediately. The magic now present in the mundane warehouse first lived for a year in Hays’ garage. In that same year, the Re-New program furnished more than 20 homes for women and their children coming out of the YWCA’s shelter. That’s when Davis really knew the help was needed in Nashville.
http://www.nashvillescene.com/nashville/the-ywcas-re-new-program-gives-victims-of-domestic-abuse-a-safe-place-to-call-their-own/Content?oid=6034406

TX: CPS caseworker keeps close eye on families (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 26, 2015
Eberhardt’s job is not to judge the parents she encounters, but to relate to them. Once you realize these people are going through difficult times that usually are compounded by her knocking on their doors, it’s easier to relate to them, she said.
http://www.news-journal.com/news/2015/oct/24/cps-caseworker-keeps-close-eye-on-families/

UT: Deondra Brown, Brent Platt kick off Utah Coalition for Protecting Childhood
Deseret News – October 23, 2015
It’s not that Division of Child and Family Services director Brent Platt necessarily wants to work his way out of his job. But he does wish that an emphasis on prevention will mean fewer cases of child abuse and neglect.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865639793/Utah-Coalition-for-Protecting-Childhood-focuses-on-preventing-abuse.html?pg=all

WI: Proposed rules for reporting child abuse meeting opposition from social workers
Wisconsin Public Radio – October 23, 2015
The manager of Child Protective Services for Dane County, Julie Ahnen, said social workers share that goal but not how it’s being proposed. “The way to do that is not through punitive measures,” she said. “Research has shown that change happens through … addressing people’s underlying needs.”
http://www.apg-wi.com/spooner_advocate/crime_and_courts/proposed-rules-for-reporting-child-abuse-meeting-opposition-from-social/article_289c2964-79c0-11e5-b398-cb2d013153fd.html

US: Domestic Violence Awareness Month: Judges Across U.S. Look to Reno for Help (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 26, 2015
Eryn Branch, program director for domestic relations with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, says her group has spent the past two decades helping more than 60,000 judges and professionals who deal with domestic-violence issues.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-26/juvenile-justice/domestic-violence-awareness-month-judges-across-u-s-look-to-reno-for-help/a48636-1

US: Managed Care In The Foster Care System — Past The Tipping Point?
Open Minds – October 24, 2015
This new wave of enrollment of Medicaid beneficiaries in managed care is unlike previous initiatives. For the first time, a number of consumer populations that have been previously excluded from managed care plan enrollment — dual eligible consumers, people with serious mental illness (SMI), consumers needing long-term care, and importantly, children and youth in the foster care system — are now part of these initiatives.
https://www.openminds.com/market-intelligence/executive-briefings/managed-care-foster-care-system-past-tipping-point.htm/

US: Foster kids more likely to have ADHD diagnosis
Examiner – October 23, 2015
Children who are in foster care are three times more likely to be diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) as their peers, say by researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The American Academy of Pediatrics announced the study on Oct. 23, 2015. Also: Children in foster care three times more likely to have ADHD diagnosis: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-10-children-foster-adhd-diagnosis.html
http://www.examiner.com/article/foster-kids-more-likely-to-have-adhd-diagnosis

US: Tribes Awarded $1.8M for Child Welfare and TANF Coordination
Administration for Children and Families – October 22, 2015
HHS?’ Administration for Children and Families, Office of Family Assistance awarded $1.8 million to eight tribes and tribal organizations in Alaska, Montana, California and Washington to help strengthen vulnerable families through the tribal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) child welfare coordination grants.
http://www.acf.hhs.gov/media/press/2015/tribal-tanf-child-welfare-grants

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: More child abuse survivors aged over 60 seeking help, support group says on Blue Knot Day
ABC News Australia – October 26, 2015
More than a quarter of people calling a helpline for adult survivors of child abuse are now over the age of 60, a leading support group says.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-10-26/child-abuse-survivors-aged-over-60-seeking-help-blue-knot-day/6886152

Canada: Taxi drivers train to spot child abuse
Halifax Evening Courier – October 24, 2015
After completing the training session, more than 1000 taxi drivers received their attendance certificates during a ceremony at the Victoria Theatre.
http://www.halifaxcourier.co.uk/news/calderdale/taxi-drivers-train-to-spot-child-abuse-1-7532360

India: Recommending castration for paedophiles apt, say social activists
India4U.com – October 26, 2015
Welcoming the Madras High Court’s suggestion of considering castration as punishment for child rapists, two social activists on Monday said that the suggestion made to the Centre was apt as the existing Indian law is unable to protect the child from abuses. “Child abuse cases in India are increasing. The Madras High Court in one such case has come up strongly and said that the Indian law is unable to prevent child abuses. The conviction rate in child abuse cases is barely 2.4 percent whereas the offences against children have increased by 400 percent,” said social activist Abha Singh.
http://india4u.com/india4unews/Recommending-castration-for-paedophiles-apt-say-social-activists-474726-1.htm

Japan: Early support key to stopping child abuse
Japan News – October 26, 2015
On Oct. 8, the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry released statistics revealing that the number of child abuse cases handled by child consultation centers across the country in fiscal 2014 was estimated at 88,931, an all-time high and up 20 percent from the year before. Analysis of the cases involving a child’s death, information on which was announced the same day, shows a clear need for ongoing support of mothers from the time of pregnancy.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002517590

Nigeria: Child Abandonment Set Against ‘Child Welfare’
Leadership Newspapers – October 24, 2015
In the face of more reports of child abandonment, advocates say that there has been a deterioration of child welfare in the country, and are encouraging that with proper education and enlightenment on the Rights of the Nigerian child, parents, families, and the relevant Government representatives will be better attentive to their responsibilities, paying greater responsiveness to the plight of these vulnerable members of society.
http://leadership.ng/features/469410/child-abandonment-set-against-child-welfare

Romania: Video: Abandoned children, answered prayers: One week in Romania
The Olympian – October 25, 2015
A group of Washington residents recently visited Romania to get a first-hand look at the work of Kidstown International, which has helped provide hundreds of abandoned children with clothes, food and love. Also: Abandoned children, answered prayers: One week in Romania: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article41230092.html Related: The man behind Kidstown: http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article41319873.html
http://www.theolympian.com/news/local/article41380860.html

United Kingdom: Cameron has child protection in his sights. Social workers should be worried
The Guardian – October 26, 2015
David Cameron has children’s social work in his sights. Three recent major speeches each covered child protection and children in care. And Cameron is not happy. He sees failure wherever he looks. Failure in practice and failure in leadership. He has a solution: get new insurgents into the marketplace of the social work “industry” and get what the Department for Education (DfE) has called newcos (new companies) to inject innovation.
http://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2015/oct/26/cameron-child-protection-sights-social-workers-worried

Child Welfare in the News is distributed at no charge by Child Welfare Information Gateway (https://www.childwelfare.gov), a service of the Children’s Bureau/ACF/HHS (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb). It features news stories on topics of interest to child welfare and related professionals. Inclusion does not imply endorsement of any view expressed in a resource, and opinions or views do not reflect those of Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Children’s Bureau, or staff.

 

CA: Foster parent support center opens in downtown Eureka
Eureka Times-Standard – October 22, 2015
The Forgotten Initiative has turned a retail space across from the downtown Eureka post office into a bright, colorful space full of items for foster children, foster parents and social workers. The new Eureka center will also provide services to biological parents who have been able to regain custody of their children and assistance to social workers who have the job of removing children from their home.
http://www.times-standard.com/general-news/20151021/foster-parent-support-center-opens-in-downtown-eureka

CA: Award-Winning Exhibit Coming to La Cañada as Part of National Tour Oct. 25-27
Monrovia Weekly – October 21, 2015
The nationally touring, interactive World Vision Experience exhibit will bring national news headlines to life right here in La Cañada, raising awareness of sex trafficking, refugees and child protection in the world’s most fragile and vulnerable places. La Cañada Presbyterian Church is hosting this innovative exhibit as part of its commitment to address the greatest needs of our day.
http://www.monroviaweekly.com/current-news/award-winning-exhibit-coming-to-la-canada-as-part-of-national-tour-oct-25-27/

CA: State Enacts a Raft of New Employment Legislation
The National Law Review – October 21, 2015
Governor Brown signed AB 304 into law on July 13, 2015. AB 304, which is effective immediately, clarifies certain ambiguities relating to sick leave accrual and limitations in the California’s Healthy Workplaces, Healthy Families Act of 2014 (AB 1522).
http://www.natlawreview.com/article/california-enacts-raft-new-employment-legislation

FL: Child Protective investigators training, job requirements
WSTP – October 21, 2015
That’s why Staley says it’s so important for investigators to be properly trained in the field, and Staley says the Department of Children and Families has flexibility in this area.
http://www.wtsp.com/story/news/local/2015/10/21/child-protective-investigators-trainin-job-requirements/74351688/

FL: Florida child died after DCF bowed out (Includes video)
Miami Herald – October 21, 2015
The child welfare agency has said repeatedly that the Sheriff’s Office in Manatee County, not DCF, conducts child abuse investigations in the county south of Tampa Bay. But a short record released by DCF Wednesday suggests the breakdowns that led to Janiya’s death likely occurred within a familiar setting: the agency’s legal department.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/article40801764.html

IL: Agency focus is on birth parents
Evanston Now – October 21, 2015
With National Adoption Awareness Month approaching in November, the spotlight in Evanston is focused on a locally-based foundation that is organized to help birth parents. It’s called On Your Feet Foundation.
http://evanstonnow.com/story/business/charles-bartling/2015-10-21/72821/agency-focus-is-on-birth-parents

IL: Cook County sheriffs rescue more than 500 at-risk children
WSLAM – October 21, 2015
Since the unit was created in October 2012, officers have rescued 502 children, nearly all of them wards of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Service, according to a statement.
http://www.wlsam.com/2015/10/21/cook-county-sheriffs-rescue-more-than-500-at-risk-children/

IN: Holly’s House Addresses Misperceptions in Fallout from Schriber Scandal
WEHT – October 21, 2015
Holly’s House has issued a statement to address misperceptions that have arisen after it was revealed that Jack Schriber, a former teacher and republican seeking an at-large City Council seat, admitted to having a sexual relationship with a student in the 1970’s.
http://www.tristatehomepage.com/news/local-news/hollys-house-addresses-misperceptions-in-fallout-from-schriber-scandal

KS: Foster care families in short supply in southwest Kansas
The Garden City Telegram – October 22, 2015
Julie Dinkel, foster care homes recruiter with Saint Francis Community Services, said there are currently 102 Finney County children in foster care, but 48 of those children were placed in other foster families in other southwest Kansas counties.
http://www.gctelegram.com/news/local/foster-care-families-in-short-supply-in-southwest-kansas/article_fbd7b0ff-6a88-501b-a7f4-960c042aa25d.html

MN: Grant to fund child advocacy center
SCTimes – October 21, 2015
The center will house a multi-disciplinary team of professionals working together to provide one-stop investigation and medical services. Partners will include medical professionals, child protection, law enforcement, schools, domestic violence and sexual assault advocates.
http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2015/10/21/grant-fund-child-advocacy-center/74341946/

MO: Aged-out foster children around KC are getting new help to avoid homelessness
The Kansas City Star – October 21, 2015
A new program will extend CASA’s work with foster children to age 26, if needed, to help them become independent as they age out of the foster system. The program was announced Wednesday by Martha Gershun (right), executive director of Jackson County CASA, and Lois Rice, executive director of CASA of Johnson & Wyandotte Counties. Information Gateway Resource: Resources for Youth in Transition: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/independent/resources/
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article40736478.html

NY: Why New York City’s Foster Care System Is Getting a Watchdog (Opinion)
New York Times – October 20, 2015
New York State has agreed to hire a monitor and a research expert to serve as watchdogs of the New York City foster care system to settle a federal class-action lawsuit that alleges foster children are enduring irreparable harm after lingering too long without permanent families. Also: Legal Providers Critical of Foster Care Pact with State (Requires registration): http://www.newyorklawjournal.com/id=1202740410648/Legal-Providers-Critical-of-Foster-Care-Pact-with-State
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/21/nyregion/new-york-state-hires-monitor-for-citys-foster-care-system.html?_r=0

OH: Child advocates bash Issue 3
Vindy.com – October 22, 2015
The Mahoning County Children Services Board and its management staff are opposed to Issue 3, the Nov. 3 ballot measure that would legalize marijuana for medical and recreational use in Ohio.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/oct/22/mahoning-county-officials-from-csb-criti/

OK: United Keetoowah Band seeks foster families
Muskogee Phoenix – October 21, 2015
The United Keetoowah Band Indian Child Welfare is seeking tribal foster families to provide caregiving and a temporary home for Keetoowah Cherokee children who have been removed from their homes, according to a media release.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/ukb-seeks-foster-families/article_3e92a5bb-e138-5308-8f70-7c581f6cced3.html

OR: Help for the Helpers: Foster care nonprofit gets a new home
Bend Source – October 21, 2015
Action Through Advocacy links foster care families with support resources and services like in-home tutoring and relief care, and provides in-home volunteers to assist with a bit of extra help when needed.
http://www.bendsource.com/bend/help-for-the-helpers/Content?oid=2556241

SC: Department of Social Services needs almost $33 million more next year
WCBD – October 22, 2015
The South Carolina Department of Social Services says it needs an additional $32.6 million in next year’s budget to hire more caseworkers and improve the agency. Director Susan Alford told a state Senate budget subcommittee Wednesday the agency wants to hire 158 new employees next year. Lawmakers gave the agency additional money this year to hire 177 more people.
http://counton2.com/2015/10/21/sc-department-of-social-services-needs-almost-33-million-more-next-year/

VT: Despite The Risks, DCF Employees Remain Committed To Their Jobs
Vermont Public Radio – October 22, 2015
The August shooting death of Lara Sobel shocked many Vermonters. For the Department for Children and Families, where Sobel worked as a social worker for many years, it was an especially difficult blow. DCF Commissioner Ken Schatz says family welfare agencies in neighboring states say they too are seeing an increase in threatening behavior toward social workers. It’s a situation that he says has made a difficult job even harder.
http://digital.vpr.net/post/despite-risks-dcf-employees-remain-committed-their-jobs#stream/0

VT: Oversight Committee Reviews State Child Protection System (Includes audio)
WAMC – October 22, 2015
An oversight committee of the Vermont Legislature held a hearing this week on issues relating to the Department of Children and Families, which is under the microscope following child deaths last year and the murder of a social worker in August.
http://wamc.org/post/oversight-committee-reviews-vermont-child-protection-system

WA: Advocating for homeless youth: New legislation would make offering sanctuary easier
Whidbey News Times – October 21, 2015
A policy change issued by the Department of Health Services in February has put a halt to host family placements for youth under the age of 18, creating a lengthy waiting list of homeless young people awaiting the chance to participate in the program. The change has also forced many who had been residing in such host households to leave.
http://www.whidbeynewstimes.com/news/334798831.html#

US: 5 Things You Need to Survive as a Foster Parent (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 21, 2015
In truth, though, taking in children from foster care into your house can certainly be a challenge. Behavioral issues, learning disabilities, emotional trials; all can be exhausting and trying for a foster parent. Yet, what many foster parents often overlook is the risk factor that goes along with taking a foster child into a home. As a foster parent, you become vulnerable to many possibilities, and it is important that you protect yourself and your family from the possible implications and investigations. Just as important is making sure you do not become overly exhausted and even burned out.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-degarmo/5-things-you-need-to-surv_b_8347744.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents

US: At Issue: American Foster Care for Syrian Orphans (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 21, 2015
In this case, the morally appropriate response also happens to be the politically expedient one. America should make a significant commitment to repatriate Syrian orphans in the United States.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/issue-american-foster-care-syrian-orphans/13902

US: Children’s National creates first pediatric medical reserve corps in the United States
Medical News Today – October 21, 2015
Children’s National has been selected by the Washington, DC, Department of Health to establish a Pediatric Medical Reserve Corps (DC-PMRC), the first of its kind in the country. Developed after 9/11, Medical Reserve Corps throughout the country help organize and prepare community volunteers for disasters, but each Corps’ scope is much wider than managing the needs of community children and families during a disaster.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/301354.php?tw

US: Complete Guide to Pending Foster Care, Adoption and Juvenile Bills In Congress Right Now (Requires subscription)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 21, 2015
Here is a handy-dandy guide to some of the youth-related legislation introduced this year.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/complete-guide-to-pending-foster-care-adoption-and-juvenile-bills-in-congress-right-now/13884

US: The Deportation Of Innocence: A Look At America’s Broken Immigration System (Opinion)
Latina Lista – October 21, 2015
When he was working late one day, Jaime asked his ex-wife if she could pick up his kids from school. Jaime’s wife never showed up, and when school employees got a hold of Jaime to let him know, he rushed to the school. However, when he arrived it wasn’t Jaime’s kids waiting for him, it was the cops. He was arrested and then deported to Tijuana while his kids were sent to foster care. This is one of the many situations that deported immigrants and their children face, and is portrayed in Francisco Alarcon’s documentary, The Deportation Of Innocence.
http://latinalista.com/culture-2/film-culture-2/the-deportation-of-innocence-a-look-at-americas-broken-immigration-system

US: This week: child abuse, mental illness and violence, and more
WRVO – October 21, 2015
On this week’s show, Botash describes the signs of neglect and abuse (physical, emotional and sexual), and explains a five-point guideline for preventing abuse: learn the facts, minimize opportunities, talk about it, recognize the signs, and react responsibly. Botash recently appeared on a TLC program about child sexual abuse called Breaking the Silence.
http://wrvo.org/post/week-child-abuse-mental-illness-and-violence-and-more#stream/0

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Deloitte: 1k suspected child abuse cases unreported in Qld schools
ZD Net – October 21, 2015
A review into Queensland’s education department has found that almost 1,000 cases of suspected child abuse in schools went unreported as a result of a system upgrade glitch.
http://www.zdnet.com/article/deloitte-1k-suspected-child-abuse-cases-unreported-in-qld-schools/

India: ‘Khoya Paya’: What do parents of missing children stand to gain and lose
Times of India – October 21, 2015
Khoya Paya, a missing child tracking website launched by the ministry of women and child development is one of the basket of initiatives launched by the Modi sarkar. It was launched on June 2 and a little less than five months on, the website has 3,534 users.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/17947027-khoya-paya-what-do-parents-of-missing-children-stand-to-gain-and-lose/

Indonesia: Police Chief Calls for Harsher Child Protection Laws
JakartaGlobe – October 21, 2015
National Police Chief Badrodin Haiti has spoken out against Indonesia’s child protection law, saying it is too lenient and that more vigilant legislation is needed to deter child abusers from committing heinous crimes against minors.
http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/news/police-chief-calls-harsher-child-protection-laws/

Mexico: Through the eyes of relationship: In defense of Juarez, Mexico: A local perspective (Opinion)
Ledger Transcript – October 22, 2015
Each child has a story of abandonment that comes only from extreme poverty and corruption. These children are the collateral damage of drug wars, corruption and unfriendly borders. However, not one of these children or adults in Centro Victoria knows bitterness or anger. They are the most joyful people I know.
http://www.ledgertranscript.com/news/townbytown/wilton/18999622-95/through-the-eyes-of-relationship

United Kingdom: Bipolar Disorder: what it’s like to shift between periods of mania and depression
Independant – October 22, 2015
Bipolar disorder is a severe and chronic mental health problem with two main forms. It was previously known as “Manic Depression”; however the term was greatly stigmatized. There has been a shift over the past few decades to use “Bipolar Disorder” instead, allowing for more clarity when reaching a formal diagnosis and it is often perceived as less emotionally loaded.
http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/bipolar-disorder-what-its-like-to-shift-between-periods-of-mania-and-depression-a6699771.html

United Kingdom: Mental health stigma campaign starts
BBC News – October 22, 2015
It will use school visits and social media to urge young people and parents to talk more about mental health. Health Minister Alistair Burt said the campaign was “the largest ever” and would include an online hub of mental health information.
http://www.bbc.com/news/health-34597424

United Kingdom: Joint adoption agency for Dorset gets government backing
Dorset Echo – October 21, 2015
The local authority adoption agencies of Bournemouth, Dorset and Poole along with Families for Children, a voluntary adoption agency, are delighted to announce that they have been successful in securing funding from the Department for Education to move towards setting up a combined Regional Adoption Agency.
http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/13885892.display/

AR: John Selig’s Exit Comes at Pivotal Time for DHS (Andrew DeMillo Analysis)
Associated Press – October 19, 2015
Overseeing a sprawling agency whose responsibilities include an overburdened child welfare system and a first-in-the-nation hybrid Medicaid expansion, John Selig has had probably the least politically appealing job in Arkansas government. His departure as the Department of Human Services director adds more uncertainty to the future of the agency’s key missions.
http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/article/107691/john-seligs-exit-comes-at-pivotal-time-for-dhs-andrew-demillo-analysis

AZ: Agencies fight claims that law discriminates against Native American children
East Valley Tribune – October 19, 2015
State and federal agencies are asking a judge to throw out legal claims by several Arizonans that a 37-year old federal law harms and illegally discriminates against Native American children.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/local/the_valley/westvalley/article_c357ae8e-06a1-5405-b25b-3cc95d0a756f.html

GA: Georgia State’s School of Public Health Receives $2.2M for Child Maltreatment Research (Press release)
Georgia State University – October 19, 2015
Dr. Daniel Whitaker, a professor of health promotion and behavior, is the principal investigator for the three-year project. The project will compare the SafeCare© model, which teaches parenting skills, to the standard approach used in child welfare services, supportive case management, which focuses on providing social and emotional support for parents, along with parenting advice, crisis management and referrals for other services. The National SafeCare© Training and Research Center is in the School of Public Health.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/641586/?sc=rsla

MN: Statement from Diocese of Duluth
Northland News Center – October 19, 2015
“Victims of sexual abuse who come forward to tell their stories do a public service. They help society seek justice. They help all of us, including the church, to do a better job of preventing sexual abuse.”
http://www.northlandsnewscenter.com/news/local/Statement-from-Diocese-of-Duluth-334341981.html

MO: Bill Lant: Abuse, neglect standards may change (Opinion)
Neosho Daily News – October 19, 2015
Chief juvenile officers around the state have voiced their concerns for some time about a lack of standard practices. Sixteen months ago, in an attempt to get in front of a potential legal problem, an in-depth review and revision of existing standards began.
http://www.neoshodailynews.com/article/20151019/OPINION/151018968/2011/OPINION?rssfeed=true

NY: Helping Homeless Parents Help Their Children Gets Results (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 20, 2015
Advocates say helping parents in distress help their kids can make a huge difference in the academic performance of those children in school.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-20/early-childhood-education/helping-homeless-parents-help-their-children-gets-results/a48596-1

NY: Child Protective Services is volatile issue in campaign for Erie County executive
Buffalo News – October 19, 2015
Assemblyman Raymond W. Walter, the Republican candidate for Erie County executive, thinks the Democratic incumbent hasn’t done enough to protect children who come under the care of Child Protective Services. County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz disagrees.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/erie-county-politics/child-protective-services-is-volatile-issue-in-campaign-for-erie-county-executive-20151019

OH: Evidence Builds Against Use of “Anti-Gay Therapy” in Ohio (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 20, 2015
The findings from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration concluded the practice is not effective because it is based on a false premise that there is something wrong with being gay or lesbian. In Ohio, Senate Bill 74 would prohibit mental health professionals from using conversion therapy when treating minors.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-20/lgbtqia-issues/evidence-builds-against-use-of-anti-gay-therapy-in-ohio/a48598-1

OH: Law You Can Use: Ohio program helps foster children make permanent connections
Ohio State Bar Association – October 19, 2015
Not all foster children are able to enter a permanent, legal relationship through adoption or other legal custody status, but some Ohio counties are exploring other ways of helping children to develop as many permanent connections as possible.
http://www.news-herald.com/general-news/20151019/law-you-can-use-ohio-program-helps-foster-children-make-permanent-connections

PA: New law spurs sharp increase in child abuse investigations
Lancaster Online – October 20, 2015
A new state law has led to a doubling of reports of suspected child abuse in Lancaster County this year. Many of those reports have turned out to be unfounded, but the number of substantiated cases appears to be running about 20 percent ahead of last year.
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/new-law-spurs-sharp-increase-in-child-abuse-investigations/article_4faceb76-743c-11e5-9fa4-7fa0214d544e.html

PA: Republican lawmakers want to give $3 billion in ‘lifelines’ to struggling schools, human service providers (Includes video)
Penn Live – October 19, 2015
The $3 billion would cover public and nonpublic education costs, including money for transportation, books, materials, equipment and programs. The money would also provide funding for rape crisis and domestic violence programs, child welfare services and other human services.
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/republicans_offering_3_billion.html

US: For Former Foster Kids, Moving Out of State Can Mean Losing Medicaid
Kaiser Health News – October 20, 2015
Soon after moving to Utah this summer, Rainbow Sky Buck ended up at the hospital with a painful ear infection. There, Buck learned she no longer had access to the free health coverage she had in California as a former foster youth. Information Gateway Resource: Medicaid: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/funding/program-areas/prevention/federal/nondedicated/medicaid/
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/state/for-former-foster-kids-moving-out-of-state-can-mean-losing-medicaid_41706536

US: Broken Adoptions: When “Forever” Is an Illusion (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 19, 2015
Beyond the direct impact on vulnerable youth, broken adoptions have many collateral effects, disrupting adopted sibling relationships and posing complex challenges around the allocation of adoption subsidies. However, despite the importance of this issue, data and information tracking what happens once a young person is adopted from foster care and where they end up if displaced from their adoptive home is gravely lacking.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/broken-adoptions-when-for_b_8318688.html

US: Emotional child abuse may be just as bad as physical harm
Reuters – October 19, 2015
When it comes to psychological and behavioral health, both physical and emotional abuse can be equally damaging to children, a new study suggests. Study: Assessment of the Harmful Psychiatric and Behavioral Effects of Different Forms of Child Maltreatment: http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2461738
http://www.phillyvoice.com/emotional-child-abuse-may-be-just-as-bad-as-physic/

US: When Parents Are Desperate: Neighbors Can Mean the Difference Between Life and Death for a Baby (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 19, 2015
Three infants in New York City have died in the past three months after being thrown out of windows, allegedly by their mothers. Rizwan died in August, 2015; a newborn baby girl (unnamed) in September 2015, and six-month-old Janilah died yesterday. For those of us who dedicate our lives to protecting children, it makes you question whether or not we are doing enough to reach parents who are at the end of their rope.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-l-pulido-phd/when-parents-are-desperat_b_8314572.html

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Current Child Welfare System Fails Families (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 19, 2015
Canada’s resources could be better invested trying to tackle the root causes of child abuse and neglect.
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/neeta-das-mcmurtry/child-welfare-canada_b_8304708.html

Europe: UN raises concerns about unaccompanied refugee and migrant children in Europe as winter approaches
United Nations – October 16, 2015
Warning of poor weather conditions and fast-approaching winter, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on 16 October 2015 raised concerns about the protection of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children on the move in Europe, where several countries are faced with overstretched national capacities and insufficient coordination.
http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52286

India: Government to deter singles from opting for foster care
Times of India – October 19, 2015
Children with poor chances of adoption could now have the option for non-institutional care with government formalizing foster care guidelines. Children who are victims of sexual or physical abuse or violence, abandoned children whose parents are suffering from terminal illnesses or mental disability, are impoverished or in prison can be put in foster homes that will provide community and family care.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/17869023-government-to-deter-singles-from-opting-for-foster-care/

AL: Governor’s DHR Task Force to look at ‘the big picture’
AL.com – October 14, 2015
Members of Gov. Robert Bentley’s task force examining the work of the state’s Department of Human Resources met for the first time today, saying they want to find the best way DHR workers can accomplish the very difficult job of protecting vulnerable children and seniors.
http://www.al.com/news/index.ssf/2015/10/governors_dhr_task_force_to_lo.html

CA: Baker’s child-abuse prevention bill becomes law
Pleasanton Weekly – October 14, 2015
Gov. Jerry Brown has signed into law a bipartisan bill co-authored by local Assemblywoman Catharine Baker (R-San Ramon) that requires the State Department of Education to establish guidelines and best practices for child-abuse prevention in schools and school programs.
http://www.pleasantonweekly.com/news/2015/10/14/bakers-child-abuse-prevention-bill-becomes-law

CA: Focus on the Figures: Calif. Child Abuse and Neglect Rates in 2014
Chronicle of Social Change – October 14, 2015
In 2014, there were 496,972 reports (allegations) of child abuse and neglect in California. The rate of abuse and neglect reports, 54.6 per 1,000, is the highest its been since 1999.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/analysis/focus-on-the-figures/13758

CA: Solano County SEIU workers strike for a day, then vote to remain on strike
The Reporter – October 14, 2015
The union represents nearly 1,800 Solano County workers who provide community services across the county, including social workers, infant nutrition counselors, mental health specialists, public health nurses, librarians, child support and child welfare specialists, public safety dispatchers, veterans’ services workers and clerical staff.
http://www.thereporter.com/20151014/solano-county-seiu-workers-strike-for-a-day-then-vote-to-remain-on-strike

GA: State lawmakers conduct a ‘kinship care’ study meeting in Albany
Albany Herald – October 14, 2015
Georgia lawmakers met with area officials Tuesday at the SOWEGA Council on Aging as part of a three-city study committee aimed at improving the lot of grandparents or other family members who are raising young children.
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/oct/14/georgia-lawmakers-conduct-a-kinship-care-study/

KY: KCH Developing Program to Help State Pediatricians Handle Cases of Child Abuse
SurfKY News – October 14, 2015
To help Kentucky pediatricians navigate these sensitive situations, Kentucky Children’s Hospital hired its first pediatric specialist in child abuse pediatrics, a subspecialty of pediatrics concerned with examining medical evidence to investigate instances of child abuse or maltreatment.
http://surfky.com/index.php/communities/hopkins/123-general-news-for-all-sites/65552-kch-developing-program-to-help-kentucky-pediatricians-handle-cases-of-child-abuse

KY: Volunteers sought to review foster care cases in 53 counties
The Lane Report – October 14, 2015
Citizen Foster Care Review Boards in 53 counties are seeking volunteers to make a difference in the lives of local children in foster care. The boards are in need of volunteers to review cases of children placed in foster care because of dependency, neglect or abuse to ensure they are placed in safe, permanent homes as quickly as possible.
http://www.lanereport.com/55856/2015/10/volunteers-sought-to-review-foster-care-cases-in-53-counties/

MA: Activists ask State lawmakers to consider community sentences, not jail time for convicted parents with young children
Mass Live – October 14, 2015
A group of mothers and their advocates are pushing for a bill that would provide alternative sentencing in the community for primary caregivers of dependent children who are convicted of non-violent crimes.
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/mothers_seek_community_sentenc.html

NC: Family Builders of Catawba County discusses urgent foster care needs
Hickory Record – October 15, 2015
While families can fill out the necessary paperwork at the meeting and schedule an interview to start the process, the purpose of these meetings, Hildebran said, is always to at least get people thinking about becoming a resource family. “We want to plant the seed,” Hildebran said. “Even if they are not ready right now, if we can give them information, hopefully, eventually they will come back.”
http://www.hickoryrecord.com/news/family-builders-of-catawba-county-discusses-urgent-foster-care-needs/article_b890af70-72f6-11e5-9379-17dbcd00b4ab.html

NC: Should we all pay for adoptions?
Gaston Gazette – October 14, 2015
Gaston County’s existing plan to use taxpayer dollars to supplement local and international adoptions still faces an uncertain future.
http://www.gastongazette.com/article/20151014/NEWS/151019446

NY: Paladino urges charges for parents if kids miss too much school
The Buffalo News – October 13, 2015
Board Member Carl Paladino is recommending that the district tighten up its attendance policy, including going after parents for failing to ensure their children attend school.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/buffalo-public-schools/paladino-urges-charges-for-parents-if-kids-miss-too-much-school-20151013

OK: Monitors report on Oklahoma foster care improvements
Associated Press – October 14, 2015
A report from monitors of Oklahoma’s efforts to improve foster care for children is drawing varied responses. Also: Oklahoma child welfare reforms are falling short, report shows: http://newsok.com/oklahoma-child-welfare-reforms-are-falling-short-report-shows/article/5453593?custom_click=rss
http://www.news9.com/story/30261799/monitors-report-on-oklahoma-foster-care-improvements

WI: “Raises Awareness!” New Legislation Aimed at Fighting Child Abuse and Neglect (Includes video)
WGBA – October 14, 2015
New legislation is targeting people who abuse children. The package of bills was introduced by a Republican Senator in Brown County, an area where child abuse is a growing problem.
http://www.nbc26.com/news/raises-awareness-new-legislation-aimed-at-fighting-child-abuse-and-neglect

US: Child Abuse: Emotional Abuse Might Hurt Just As Much As Neglect
Science World Report – October 14, 2015
New findings published in JAMA Psychiatry examine how different types or patterns of abuse relating to emotional and physical pain actually activate similar parts of the brain.Though many assume that physical abuse would be more harmful than other types of abuse, researchers found that they were both associated with similar consequences. Information Gateway Resource: Identification of Emotional Abuse: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/can/identifying/emotional-abuse/
http://www.scienceworldreport.com/articles/31357/20151014/child-abuse-emotional-abuse-might-hurt-just-as-much-as-neglect.htm

US: How Racism is Hurting Our Nation’s Foster Children (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 14, 2015
According to the Administration for Children and Families, more than half of the children entering the foster care system in 2013 were children of color. The Children’s Bureau reports that African American and Native American children are present at double the rate in out-of-home foster care as they are in the general U.S. population.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dashanne-stokes/how-racism-is-hurting-our_b_8273368.html

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Call for law exemption
The Catholic Leader – October 14, 2015
Melbourne’s Catholic adoption agency will be breaking the law for adhering to the Church’s teachings on the family if new Victorian adoption legislation passes.
http://catholicleader.com.au/news/call-for-law-exemption

India: Government Can’t Force Missionaries Of Charity To Continue Adoption Work Say Legal Experts!
Times of India – October 14, 2015
A recent decision by the Missionaries of Charity (MoC) to discontinue adoption work has been criticized by Union minister for women and child development Maneka Gandhi, but legal experts have struck a more balanced note in favour of the charitable organization.
http://www.indiatimes.com/news/world/government-can-t-force-missionaries-of-charity-to-continue-adoption-work-say-legal-experts-246240.html

India: Women and child development ministry hardens stand on adoption guidelines
Times of India – October 14, 2015
The ministry of women and child development (WCD) on Wednesday hardened its stand reiterating that all child care institutions will have to follow the new adoption guidelines.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Women-and-child-development-ministry-hardens-stand-on-adoption-guidelines/articleshow/49356634.cms

International: Putin’s Hidden Victims–Analysis (Opinion)
Foreign Policy Research Institute – October 14, 2015
Back in 2012, as Russia banned US adoptions, the government promised to ramp up its efforts to de-institutionalize children and place them in families. But for the hundreds of thousands of children trapped in the system, Putin’s promises have amounted to very little. His adoption ban, ostensibly aimed at harming the United States, has denied thousands of children the opportunity to escape Russia’s orphanages and become part of a family.
http://www.eurasiareview.com/14102015-putins-hidden-victims-analysis/

Ireland: Call to press ahead with child abuse law
Irish Examiner – October 15, 2015
Children’s charities have urged the Government to give children a Christmas present of protection by pressing ahead with a new law on sexual predators. The bill will make it an offence to groom children for sexual exploitation and strengthen measures against online predators and child pornography.
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/call-to-press-ahead-with-child-abuse-law-359392.html

New Zealand: Sarah’s story of abuse promotes child protection course
Nelson Mail – October 14, 2015
Sarah shares her story of child abuse to promote a new child protection e-learning course developed by Nelson’s Safeguarding Children Initiative.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/nelson-mail/news/73016947/sarahs-story-of-abuse-promotes-child-protection-course

AR: Getting informed on foster care could help drastic need (Includes video)
The Herald – October 13, 2015
More and more children are going into foster care in Northeast Arkansas and that is causing issues across the state because there are hardly any homes available for them.
http://www.astateherald.com/news/getting-informed-on-foster-care-could-help-drastic-need/article_12d957a0-71c8-11e5-a537-df08e763f5c8.html

CA: Sonoma County foster kids fight to save their group home from closing (Includes video)
KGO 7 News – October 12, 2015
State funding to run the village has vanished. Governor Brown just signed legislation to close most group homes in Calif. Getting kids into family-based foster homes is the new focus.
http://abc7news.com/society/sonoma-co-foster-kids-fight-to-save-group-home-from-closing/1030444/

CO: Denver to spend $60,000 on Department of Human Services review after child deaths (Includes video)
ABC 7 News Denver – October 13, 2015
Denver Human Services will pay $60,000 to a researcher and his team from Colorado State University for a third-party review of its casework and supervision in the deaths of two children.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/call7-investigators/denver-to-spend-6000-on-department-of-human-services-review-after-child-deaths

LA: Family Justice Center Takes Clients From Crisis To Confidence (Includes audio)
WWNO New Orleans Public Radio – October 13, 2015
The New Orleans Family Justice Center Alliance is a partnership of agencies dedicating to ending family violence, child abuse, sexual assault and stalking by providing comprehensive client-centered empowerment services in a single location.
http://wwno.org/post/family-justice-center-takes-clients-crisis-confidence

LA: The Archdiocese of New Orleans has received passing grades for its safe environment training and its strict adherence to the U.S. bishops’ Charter for the Protection of Children and Young People
Clarion Herald – October 13, 2015
Stonebridge Business Partners, which every three years examines adherence to the child protection charter for all dioceses in the United States, gave the archdiocese high marks in its training of employees, adult volunteers, priests, deacons and seminarians on how to keep children and young people safe from sexual abuse or neglect.
http://clarionherald.info/clarion/index.php/news/latest-news/155-breaking-news/4922-the-archdiocese-of-new-orleans-has-received-passing-grades-for-its-safe-environment-training-and-its-strict-adherenc

MA: State Senate eyes bill curbing underground market for adopted children
MassLive – October 14, 2015
The state Senate this week plans to take up legislation cracking down on underground transfers of adopted children that occur primarily online.
http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/state_senate_eyes_bill_curbing.html

MA: UMass pediatrician Dr. Linda Sagor hired as State DCF’s first full-time medical director
MassLive – October 13, 2015
Sagor’s hiring comes as a recommendation in 2014 Child Welfare League of America report. A medical director was needed to provide oversight and consultation to DCF’s nursing and social work staff, a news release from the state said.
http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2015/10/umass_pediatrician_linda_sagor_hired_as_ma.html

MT: Neighbors take complaints to county attorney (Includes video)
ABC Fox Montana – October 13, 2015
The Flathead county attorney is meeting privately with neighbors who say they spent months trying to report the neglect of Autumn Hawk to child protective services. Reports they say went unanswered.
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/30253996/neighbors-take-complaints-to-county-attorney

OK: DHS works to prevent child neglect, abuse
KSWO – October 13, 2015
Child abuse and child neglect cases happen all over the state. More than 11,000 children are currently in the custody of the state, and that’s a number Korina Gee, the Department of Humans Services district director of Comanche County, says she is trying to change. But it can be challenging because of the increase drug abuse in the area.
http://www.kswo.com/story/30254356/dhs-works-to-prevent-child-neglect-abuse

PA: Budget impasse forces Cumberland County to make changes (Includes video)
WHTM – October 13, 2015
“We’re looking at our foster care services and many of our placement services are the most expensive services to our agency,” McElwee said. “They’re the ones we do get reimbursement from the state, which is what we’re not receiving right now.”
http://abc27.com/2015/10/13/budget-impasse-forces-cumberland-county-to-make-changes/

TN: Prevent Child Abuse Tennessee and Healthy Families Tennessee works to strengthen families (Press release)
Rhea Herald-News – October 13, 2015
Our Healthy Families Tennessee program is designed to meet families where they are and offer support and encouragement as they work towards providing safe, stable nurturing environments for their own children and those in their community. The program uses an evidenced-based curriculum for pregnancy through the first five years of a child’s life to teach parents how to parent successfully and increase bonding and attachment with their baby.
http://www.rheaheraldnews.com/lifestyles/article_bb6a7a02-71d7-11e5-8113-afe81752b9ec.html

WI: Abuse legislation draws guarded support from child advocates
Milwaukee-Wisconsin Journal Sentinel – October 13, 2015
Child advocates voiced guarded support to a package of legislation that would require welfare providers to work with police when investigating allegations of abuse and neglect, saying they welcomed the increase in vigilance but worried the measure would disproportionately target the poor.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/abuse-legislation-draws-guarded-support-from-child-advocates-b99595059z1-332598222.html

US: Ben Carson Suggests that LGBT Families are not of “Equal Value” (Opinion)
Human Rights Campaign – October 13, 2015
With these latest statements, not only is Carson devaluing the estimated 3 million LGBT Americans with children, and the 6 million American children and adults who have an LGBT parent, he’s ignoring the fact that every major child welfare organization agrees that same-sex couples are just as capable of raising loved and well-adjusted children as their heterosexual counterparts.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/ben-carson-suggests-that-lgbt-families-are-not-of-equal-value?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed

US: FBI Announces Results of National Child Sex Trafficking Operation
United States Department of Justice – October 13, 2015
The FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and a number of local and state partner agencies in Oregon recovered three child sex trafficking victims and arrested six pimps as part of a national operation last week.
https://www.fbi.gov/portland/press-releases/2015/fbi-announces-results-of-national-child-sex-trafficking-operation

US: Foster Home Communities Slowly Taking Hold as Promising Practice (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 13, 2015
In past columns, I have spoken about the scarcity of good foster homes, and have suggested that one solution could be the provision of quality housing for foster parents in areas where housing is a barrier. This column highlights several programs around the country that have embraced that idea by creating clustered “communities” of foster homes.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/foster-home-communities-slowly-taking-hold-promising-practice/13704

US: Grandparents who are raising children need more support
Washington Post – October 13, 2015
Currently, about 2.7 million grandparents in the United States are responsible for raising their grandchildren. Many of these grandparents live below the poverty line. Information Gateway Resource: Resources for Foster Parents and Caregivers/For kinship caregivers: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/resources/parents/#caregivers
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/get-there/grandparents-who-are-raising-children-need-more-support/2015/10/13/963a68c0-71f3-11e5-8d93-0af317ed58c9_story.html

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: B.C. First Nation sues province over child welfare bylaw
Globe and Mail – October 13, 2015
Chief Christian, in an interview after the event, said the bylaw was introduced in 1980 and allows the band to make its own decisions on the protection of its children.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/bc-first-nation-sues-province-over-child-welfare/article26795272/

International: Vatican aims for child protection norms to be custom-fitted per culture
Catholic News Agency – October 12, 2015
When it comes to protection against abuse, guidelines need to be implemented according to the customs of each country if they are to be effective, said one official of the Vatican’s commission for the protection of minors, which met in Rome over the weekend.
http://www.angelusnews.com/news/vatican/vatican-aims-for-child-protection-norms-to-be-custom-fitted-per-culture-9166/#.Vh1PcyuE1eE

United Kingdom: New study finds significant increase in children being brought up by relatives in England (Press release)
University of Bristol – October 13, 2015
A University of Bristol study reveals the most comprehensive evidence to date on the extent of kinship care in England. Kinship care is when children are brought up by relatives in the absence of parent/s. Report: https://fluff.bris.ac.uk/fluff/u1/ficmc/tNNMOPX7_nYRh8MQTVlyQwTpd/13_Kinship_care_Briefing_Paper1_England_FINAL_Sept_2015__1_.pdfUnited
http://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2015/october/kinship-care.html

AZ: Hundreds of state’s poorest families will be dropped from a cash assistance program in July (Includes video)
Cronkite News – October 12, 2015
Arizona will become the first and only state to impose a one-year lifetime limit for impoverished households receiving federal benefits from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families program – a move that will cut payments to about 1,600 families in July.
http://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/10/12/hundreds-of-arizonas-poorest-families-will-be-dropped-from-a-cash-assistance-program-in-july/

CA: Pala Band of Mission Indians Will be First Tribe to Protect Native American Children in California’s Welfare System (Press release)
Pala Band of Mission Indians – October 12, 2015
The Pala Band of Mission Indians is the first tribe in California to receive clearance to conduct LiveScan background checks for tribal foster homes under new State law (Senate Bill 1460). The tribe is also the first to apply to the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ Office of Justice Services (BIA-OJS) program, Purpose Code X, to assist tribal services agencies within federally recognized tribes that are seeking to place children in safe homes during an emergency situation, when parents are unable to provide for their welfare.
http://markets.financialcontent.com/stocks/news/read?GUID=30795903

CA: Transgender foster kids in California can now go to homes that match their gender identity
Fusion – October 12, 2015
A new California law gives all transgender children in foster care the right to placements consistent with their gender identity, regardless of the sex listed in their court or child welfare records. Add Information Gateway resource: Resources for Foster Parents and Caregivers: https://www.childwelfare.gov/fostercaremonth/resources/parents/
http://fusion.net/story/213042/transgender-foster-kids-in-california-can-now-go-to-homes-that-match-their-gender-identity/

GA: UGA Gets $8.2M To Work With Families In Child Welfare System (Includes audio)
WABE – October 12, 2015
As Georgia’s foster care rolls continue to grow, the University of Georgia plans to start new work with families most at risk of entering the state’s child welfare system. The work, which will span the 13 northeast counties that make up the Division of Family and Children Services Region 5, is possible thanks to an $8.2 million federal grant.
http://news.wabe.org/post/uga-gets-82m-work-families-child-welfare-system

IN: “Domestic violence is child abuse”; new PSA delivers powerful message (Includes video)
WNDU – October 12, 2015
An estimated 3.3 million children are exposed to violence by family members and that can have long lasting emotional and psychological consequences.
http://www.wndu.com/home/headlines/Domestic-violence-is-child-abuse-new-PSA-delivers-powerful-message-331993282.html

MA: DCF’s new strategy could see more families split up: Balance between childrens safety, family stability is perennial challenge
Boston Globe – October 12, 2015
The tension is right there in the agency’s name — the Department of Children and Families — and in its mission statement, which charges it with both protecting children from abuse and holding together unstable families. “These dual obligations — to protect children and yet simultaneously to respect the right of families to be free from unwarranted state intervention — present an inherently difficult balance to strike,” notes the mission statement.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/11/conflict-inherent-dcf-mission-statement/hKkPNJ8tto1xp01yuHzP4I/story.html

ME: New Film Documents Maine’s Child Welfare Truth and Reconciliation Commission (Includes video)
Indian Country Today Media Network – October 12, 2015
First Light, the new independent documentary film that explores the historic Maine Wabanaki-State Child Welfare Truth & Reconciliation Commission (TRC), is making its world debut today on Indian Country Today Media Network. According to the film’s directors, Adam Mazo and Ben Pender-Cudlip, the short documentary film examines the historic collaboration between the five Wabanaki tribes and the state of Maine in response to the past abuses within the state?s child welfare system.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2015/10/12/ictmn-exclusive-new-film-documents-maines-child-welfare-truth-and-reconciliation

MI: Lawmakers propose registry for child abusers
Detroit Free Press – October 09, 2015
Today, just days shy of Wyatt’s birthday, his mother, Erica Hammel, stood with three Michigan legislators to announce proposed bills to create an online public, searchable statewide registry of those convicted of child abuse ? the first of its kind in the country.
http://www.freep.com/story/news/local/michigan/macomb/2015/10/09/child-abuse-registry-michigan-wyatts-law/73652222/

MT: Northern Cheyenne Tribe caught in middle of child custody case
Indianz – October 12, 2015
A non-Indian woman who turned to the Northern Cheyenne Tribe to protect her grandchildren is facing arrest in Montana. Also: Woman in custody case hides on reservation with grandsons: http://mynorthwest.com/15/2825813/Grandmother-in-custody-case-boys-hide-on-Indian-reservation
http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/019213.asp

NC: Many Hospitals Don’?t Follow Guidelines for Child Abuse Patients, Study Finds
North Carolina Health News – October 12, 2015
About half of young children brought to hospitals with injuries indicating that they have been abused were not thoroughly evaluated for other injuries, and the use of proper care is less likely to happen in general hospitals than in those that specialize in pediatrics, a study released this summer found. Study: Evaluation for Occult Fractures in Injured Children: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/136/2/232.full
http://www.northcarolinahealthnews.org/2015/10/12/many-hospitals-dont-follow-guidelines-for-child-abuse-patients-study-finds/

NC: County adoption program: Good deed or entitlement for wealthy?
Gaston Gazette – October 10, 2015
Months after forming, a volunteer panel on Tuesday will recommend changes to a controversial adoption reimbursement program for county employees.
http://www.gastongazette.com/article/20151010/NEWS/151019964/14885/NEWS?rssfeed=true

NE: Team Approach Softens Trauma for Kids (Includes video)
WOWT News – October 12, 2015
After the call, the Project Harmony team gets to work. Before the team was in place kids were taken to the police station but Executive Director Gene Klein knew they needed a more welcoming environment for children who may have been physically or sexually abused. That new place, in operation since 2011, is kid friendly and full of warmth. And it’s attracting attention.
http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/Team-Approach-Softens-Trauma-for-Kids-332260352.html

PA: Police Fielding More Child Abuse Reports
The Sanatoga Post – October 12, 2015
The series of laws approved in Pennsylvania during the past two years to protect children from abuse and neglect, portions of which took effect this year, have increased the number of alleged abuse cases being received by the Lower Pottsgrove police department, its chief told the Board of Commissioners.
http://sanatogapost.com/2015/10/12/police-fielding-more-child-abuse-reports/

RI: DCYF seeks to recoup nearly $500,000 that was not spent by nonprofit center
Providence Journal – October 12, 2015
Following an audit of the center released last week, DCYF said it had demanded it repay the money, most of which had gone unspent under contract with the agency. The DCYF also contends that the center should repay the state for money improperly spent on meals, entertainment and meetings, as well as pay interest on the funds.
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151012/NEWS/151019819/-1/breaking_ajax

SC: State to change policy on driver’s permits (Includes video)
WYFF – October 12, 2015
A WYFF News 4 Investigates story has led to a change in South Carolina policy, and an Upstate foster child who had his driver’s permit taken away is now allowed to drive again.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/state-to-change-policy-on-drivers-permits/35800982

WI: Jailed for Using Drugs While Pregnant
Atlantic Monthly – October 12, 2015
A Wisconsin mother, imprisoned to protect her fetus, fought back in federal court — and won the first round.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/10/a-win-against-prenatal-protection-laws-in-wisconsin/410131/

US: Heroin Overburdening Foster Care Systems
Governing – October 12, 2015
“What we?re finding more and more is that the parents are addicted to opiates. And more often than not, it’s heroin,” said Timothy Dick, assistant director of child protective services in Clermont County, Ohio.
http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/how-heroin-is-hitting-the-foster-care-system.html

US: Parents Aren’t Teachers — They’re Parents (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 12, 2015
It is not particularly novel to say that parent-child relationships matter, but it is new to suggest that schools should help families strengthen them. Evidence for adopting that approach comes from a just-released Search Institute study, Don’t Forget the Families. Based on a national survey of a diverse sample of 1,085 parents of 3 to 13 year olds, our research underscores the powerful role that parent-child relationships play in children’s learning and development. Study: http://www.search-institute.org/research/developmental-relationships/families
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kent-pekel/parents-arent-teachers-th_b_8282028.html

US: Using Data to Measure Performance of Home Visiting
Pew Charitable Trusts – October 12, 2015
Across the country, state legislatures are turning to evidence-based policymaking to ensure that taxpayer dollars are spent efficiently and effectively. One example is family support and coaching. In response to research confirming that the early years of childhood affect learning, behavior, and health for a lifetime, many states have invested in these programs, commonly referred to as “home visiting.” Evidence shows that families that participate in home visiting programs, which focus on strengthening vulnerable families with children under age 5, are often more self-sufficient and better able to handle the challenge of parenting and to raise healthier, safer children. Report: Using Data to Measure Performance: A New Framework for Assessing the Effectiveness of Home Visiting: http://www.pewtrusts.org/~/media/assets/2015/10/hv_datainitiativereport.pdf
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/reports/2015/10/using-data-to-measure-performance-of-home-visiting

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Manitoba child welfare system hiding behind privacy law: Nepinak
CBC News – October 09, 2015
On Friday, AMC Grand Chief Derek Nepinak said confidentiality issues are giving rise to a blanket authority to deny anyone from knowing anything about how files are being treated. “We’re seeing an agency that’s perhaps relying a little bit too heavily on legal opinions and bureaucracy to prevent families [from reaching] out to the family advocate, which is really too bad. The role of the advocate is as much for the family as it is to help the agencies with reunification of families,” he said.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-child-welfare-system-hiding-behind-privacy-law-nepinak-1.3264861

India: Simply put: What it takes to adopt a child in India today (Includes video)
The Indian Express – October 12, 2015
The changed adoption norms were to have been part of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Bill, 2014, but the law was stuck, first over the controversial provision to try heinous offenders aged between 16 and 18 years under provisions of the Indian Penal Code, and then because of continuous disruptions in Parliament. About four months ago, the Ministry of Women & Child Development decided to notify the changed rules under the existing Act.
http://indianexpress.com/article/explained/simply-put-what-it-takes-to-adopt-a-child-in-india-today/

Nigeria: Exposed: Notorious Baby Factories
Daily Beast – October 12, 2015
Eze claimed to be able to get me babies in less than 24 hours. He said that a baby, due to be born in a couple of days, was meant to go to a couple in Sweden but could be mine if I paid the cash in full immediately.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/10/12/exposed-nigeria-s-notorious-baby-factories.html

AZ: Child Welfare CPS Assessment 2015
Arizona Department of Child Safety – September 30, 2015
Transmitted herewith is a report of the Auditor General, A Special Report of the Arizona Department of Child Safety — Child Safety, Removal, and Risk Assessment Practices.
http://www.scribd.com/doc/284221610/Arizona-Child-Welfare-CPS-Assessment-2015

CA: L.A. Supervisors Commit $100K to Improve Services for LGBTQ Foster Youth
Chronicle of Social Change – October 10, 2015
Third District Supervisor Sheila Kuehl submitted the motion, which calls on a bevy of county departments, led by the recently formed Office of Child Protection, to report back to the board in 60 days with a plan to hire an expert consultant who would focus on support for LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, questioning) youth in the county’s child welfare system, which is the largest of its kind in the nation.
http://www.socialjusticesolutions.org/2015/10/10/l-supervisors-commit-100k-improve-services-lgbtq-foster-youth/

CA: Sweeping New Legislation Limits Psychotropics Among Foster Children
Think Progress – October 09, 2015
California?s foster children and child welfare advocates scored a huge win this week when Gov. Jerry Brown (D) signed three pieces of legislation aimed at curbing use of psychotropic drugs in foster homes. Also: California Curbs Overuse of Psychiatric Meds on Foster Children: http://youthtoday.org/2015/10/california-curbs-overuse-of-psychiatric-meds-on-foster-children/
http://thinkprogress.org/health/2015/10/09/3711057/california-limit-drugs-foster-care/

FL: Ahead Of Upcoming Session, Top DCF Officials Looking At More Child Welfare Reforms
MyInforms – October 11, 2015
The head of Florida’s child welfare agency says he’s still in the process of reforming the Florida Department of Children and Families and it’s going to take a lot of work. Florida lawmakers got that update in both the House and Senate this week.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/17539662-ahead-of-upcoming-session-top-dcf-officials-looking-at-more-child-welfare-reforms/

FL: Lawmakers Looking To Build On Florida Law Extending Foster Care Age (Includes audio)
WJCT – October 08, 2015
It’s been almost two years since a law took effect extending the age for foster care youth in the system. Florida lawmakers are now looking to build on that effort. Information Gateway Resource: Extending Out-of-Home Care for Youth Past Age 18: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/independent/outofhomecare/
http://news.wjct.org/post/lawmakers-looking-build-florida-law-extending-foster-care-age

IN: Lawyers think this law doesn’t apply to them
Indianapolis Star – October 12, 2015
State Bar Association says lawyers may report suspected child abuse and neglect only in certain circumstances. Child welfare officials say the opinion is wrong and endangers kids.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/10/12/lawyers-think-law-doesnt-apply-them/73674066/

KY: South Central Kentucky groups working to stop child abuse (Includes video)
WBKO – October 09, 2015
A group made up of police, attorneys, and the coroner meet anytime someone under 21 dies in Warren County, abuse or not, to discuss ways to make things better.
http://www.wbko.com/home/headlines/South-Central-Kentucky-groups-working-to-stop-child-abuse-331794021.html

LA: Renovated visitation room helps put foster kids at ease
Daily Comet – October 11, 2015
Local foster kids now have a safe space to visit their biological parents in the recently renovated children’s room at the Terrebonne office of the state Department of Children and Family Services.
http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20151010/ARTICLES/151019957/1320?Title=Renovated-visitation-room-helps-put-foster-kids-at-ease

MA: State senate president says DCF has myriad issues
Cape Cod Times – October 12, 2015
Of particular concern was the state of child welfare in Massachusetts and issues within the Department of Children and Families. The department has been under scrutiny since charges were filed in the case of Bella Bond, a toddler whose body was found in a trash bag on Deer Island in June.
http://www.capecodtimes.com/article/20151012/NEWS/151019864/101015?rssfeed=true

MA: Courts need stronger oversight role in DCF decisions (Opinion)
Boston Globe – October 10, 2015
We applaud the governor’s commitment to improving foster care screening and monitoring policies. However, if the Commonwealth continues to remove children from their families and place them into foster care at its current rate, DCF workers will likely remain under pressure to place children in homes that are not adequately vetted and monitored.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2015/10/09/courts-need-stronger-oversight-role-dcf-decisions/yeoKn8AY7hz4J5JthiuuHO/story.html

MA: Law reflects importance of child protection and family preservation (Opinion)
Boston Globe – October 10, 2015
As Governor Baker noted, DCF caseloads must also decline. In addition, DCF should provide more services to families, to meet what the Child Welfare League of America has called the agency’s “dual obligations — to protect children and . . . respect the right of families to be free from unwarranted state intervention.”
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2015/10/09/law-reflects-importance-child-protection-and-family-preservation/ywhMCvcbtb1qEjhxNnUOwN/story.html

MN: Human Services chief’s job is tough — but so is she
Pioneer Press – October 11, 2015
As head of the state’s largest agency, Jesson is in charge of administering services for the sickest of the sick, the poorest of the poor, abandoned and abused children, the frail elderly and disabled, drug and alcohol abusers, sex offenders and mentally ill and dangerous people.
http://www.twincities.com/politics/ci_28948015/human-services-commissioner-lucinda-jessons-job-is-tough

MT: Neighbors want CPS held accountable
ABC Fox Montana – October 09, 2015
Neighbors say even before the fire they had made numerous complaints of child neglect to both the sheriff’s department and to child protective services. Complaints they felt were not being properly addressed.
http://www.abcfoxmontana.com/story/30228984/neighbors-want-cps-held-accountable

MT: New child protection staff to be aides to caseworkers
Associated Press – September 23, 2015
Montana won’t be increasing the number of caseworkers under the governor’s plan to improve the effectiveness and oversight of the state Division of Child and Family Services, but it will hire 33 assistants to help existing caseworkers.
http://ravallirepublic.com/missoula/news/state-and-regional/article_165e2766-6094-55e5-af87-73fa521ff33a.html

NJ: Advocate: New Jersey making progress getting kids adopted
New Jersey 101.5 – October 12, 2015
Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said she believes overall, progress is being made in the state, from kids going from foster care into legal, permanent families through adoption.
http://nj1015.com/adoption-picture-brightening-in-nj/

NV: County approves new positions for Child Haven
Las Vegas Review-Journal – October 11, 2015
Clark County officials have approved new hires to counter staffing shortages and cut overtime costs at the county’s emergency shelter for abused and neglected children.
http://www.reviewjournal.com/news/las-vegas/county-approves-new-positions-child-haven

NY: Erie County social workers headed into Springville-GI
Springville Journal – October 09, 2015
Erie County Executive Mark C. Poloncarz has announced an initiative to increase collaboration between the Erie County Department of Social Services and local suburban school districts. Under the new partnerships, Child Protective Services employees will be assigned to many local schools several days per week, providing district staff faster access to child welfare expertise while streamlining and expediting the investigation process.
http://springvillejournal.com/erie-county-social-workers-headed-into-springville-gi/

NY: Family Court hosts annual Teen Day event to help kids in foster care
Brooklyn Daily Eagle – October 09, 2015
The Kings County Family Court hosted its annual Teen Day event on Wednesday, where the court shuts down the eighth floor and invites a group of Brooklyn teenagers in the foster care system to come in for advice, resources, lunch and even clothes.
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2015/10/9/family-court-hosts-annual-teen-day-event-help-kids-foster-care

PA: Pennsylvania Council Of Children, Youth & Family Services Sues State To Force Foster Care Payments During Budget Impasse
Open Minds – October 11, 2015
On September 15, 2015, the Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth and Family Services (PCCYFS) sued the state to force the Department of Human Services (DHS) to release funds for non-Medicaid child welfare and juvenile justice services. Since July 1, 2015, Pennsylvania has been without a signed budget. During this period, DHS has lacked authority to pay certain contractors. This includes organizations that have contracts with county children and youth offices to provide a range of non-Medicaid interventions for children and families involved with the child welfare and juvenile justice systems.
https://www.openminds.com/market-intelligence/news/pennsylvania-council-children-youth-family-services-sues-state-force-foster-care-payments-budget-impasse.htm/

US: Bill Would Let Former Foster Youths Keep Health Insurance in Other States
East County Magazine – October 11, 2015
Seeking to help hundreds of thousands of young people who are currently a part of the foster care system and the tens of thousands who leave the system each year, Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) — Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth, have introduced H.R. 3641, the “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act of 2015.” The measure would close a loophole and guarantee that foster youth will still receive health insurance through Medicaid until they turn 26 years old, regardless of their state of residence.
http://www.eastcountymagazine.org/bill-would-let-former-foster-youths-keep-health-insurance-other-states

US: Military Children Often Bear Brunt of Parents’ Service
US Medicine – October 11, 2015
Based on offspring’s age and their parents deployed status, adverse effects can range from maltreatment in younger children to higher rates of violence and drug use in teens. Those issues present serious concerns for military health providers, especially because so many youngsters are potentially affected.
http://www.usmedicine.com/agencies/department-of-defense-dod/military-children-often-bear-brunt-of-parents-service/

US: Failure To Ratify UN Convention on Rights of the Child Is Embarrassing and Unacceptable
Huffington Post – October 09, 2015
Noting that 196 countries had ratified the Convention, making it the most widely-ratified human rights convention in history, the Secretary-General went on to encourage the United States, as the only holdout, “to join the global movement and help the world reach the objective of universal ratification.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/brooke-de-lench/us-failure-to-ratify-un-c_b_8270982.html

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Poor funding has B.C. social workers stretched to the limit
CKNW – October 09, 2015
The child protection lead for the body representing B.C. social workers says poor funding has staff stretched to the limit. Carol Ross says social workers are doing their best for kids in care but there are limits to what they can do with the resources they have.
http://www.cknw.com/2015/10/09/99542/

India: Mother Teresa’s charity stops adoptions in India
DHNS – October 11, 2015
The Missionaries of Charity, which was founded by Mother Teresa, has opted out of adoption service, because the new guidelines for adoption are not in conformity with belief of the charity inspired by Roman Catholic religious views.
http://www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=361882

Kenya: Tougher time for orphaned children
Kenya News Agency – October 09, 2015
Charitable children’s institutions in Kiambu are appealing to the government to lift the ban on international adoption as it has led to population inflation in the already strained institutions where children are committed by the courts.
http://kenyanewsagency.go.ke/en/tougher-time-for-orphaned-children/

South Korea: Almost 10% of Korean adoptees may be stateless
Korea Herald – October 11, 2015
In March, the life of Adam Crapser, a Korean adoptee who was facing deportation after his adoptive parents never filed for his American citizenship, made headlines worldwide. As the 40-year-old automatically lost his South Korean citizenship when he left the country at the age of four to be adopted, Crapser has always been effectively stateless. Newly released South Korean government data showed that almost 10 percent of 166,138 registered Korean adoptees who left the country since the 1950s may be in Crapser’s shoes.
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20151011000437

United Kingdom: Rise in child abuse cases involving witchcraft claims – police
Press Association – October 11, 2015
Project Violet, the specialist faith-based abuse team within the Metropolitan Police Service, has identified 60 incidents so far in 2015.
https://uk.news.yahoo.com/rise-child-abuse-cases-involving-witchcraft-claims-police-233208020.html#F5Mcuxu

United Kingdom: Focus on VIP sex offenders is putting victims at risk, says NSPCC chief
The Guardian – October 10, 2015
The focus on alleged VIP and celebrity sex abuse scandals is putting victims at risk, according to the man who led a review into how the Home Office investigated claims of a Westminster paedophile network.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/oct/10/children-risk-nspcc-chief-vip-sex-offender-focus

AR: DHS Director John Selig leaving department at end of year
Arkansas Times – October 08, 2015
The Arkansas Department of Human Services announced this morning that DHS director John Selig is leaving his position at the end of the year. Selig’s departure is huge news for the sprawling agency, which handles everything from Medicaid to child welfare to SNAP benefits. He’s been in the top DHS job for a decade.
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2015/10/08/dhs-director-john-selig-leaving-department-at-end-of-year

AZ: ASU’s Public Service Academy is a model that must be emulated (Opinion)
Arizona Capitol Times – October 08, 2015
Michael Crow and his wife Sybil Francis recently made headlines for their donation of $1.2 million to fund an Arizona State University program to train the next generation of leaders. The Public Service Academy is the first of its kind in the nation.
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2015/10/08/asus-public-service-academy-is-a-model-that-must-be-emulated/

AZ: Don’t give up on DCS yet! What the agency needs is inspiring leadership (Opinion)
Arizona Capitol Times – October 08, 2015
More targeted funding is needed to stabilize the workforce. But to have actual impact it will need inspiring, professional, effective leadership–as Senator Kavanagh noted should be a condition of more funding. Also: Robb: Tilting at the windmill of child safety reform (Opinion): http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/robertrobb/2015/10/08/robb-tilting-windmill-child-safety-reform/73616572/
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2015/10/08/dont-give-up-on-dcs-yet-what-the-agency-needs-is-inspiring-leadership/

CA: Bayfront, controversial Long Beach home for troubled teens, to lay off employees
Press-Telegram – October 08, 2015
A controversial Long Beach youth group home that drew the ire of neighbors and whose staff and management were criticized in a state investigation will lay off more than 100 employees when it closes its doors Oct.31, an official said.
http://www.presstelegram.com/social-affairs/20151008/bayfront-controversial-long-beach-home-for-troubled-teens-to-lay-off-employees

CA: Child care unaffordable for more Californians, new analysis shows
KPCC – October 08, 2015
Paying for preschool and infant care is now so expensive that, in California, it could take a minimum wage worker from January until June to earn enough to cover a 4-year-old’s full-time preschool fees for one year, a new report finds. The analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) concludes that child care is out of reach for most low-wage families. Last year, research by Child Trends, a nonpartisan research institute, found that spending on child welfare had declined in most states. With less help for poor families, the percentage of the family budget for rent, food and other basic expenses may push child care down the priority list. EPI Report: http://www.epi.org/publication/child-care-affordability/
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/10/08/54889/child-care-unaffordable-for-more-californians-new/

CA: Intervention at Heart of Her Job
Mountain News – October 08, 2015
No one wants to see children end up in the juvenile justice system, least of all Officer Lisa Holloman of the San Bernardino County Probation Department. In addition to working to prevent truancy, Holloman said she also “identifies at-risk youth so we can offer services to them, try to get them to make better choices so they don’t end up in the juvenile justice system.”
http://www.mountain-news.com/mountain_living/article_9e779758-6d4b-11e5-9490-139045a6a0a8.html

CA: Mercury News editorial: ‘Drugging our kids’ will be reduced by new laws (Opinion)
San Jose Mercury News – October 08, 2015
Thousands of California foster children have a brighter future thanks to a package of bills signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday — a direct result of this newspaper’s years-long and ongoing investigative reporting on “Drugging Our Kids.”
http://www.mercurynews.com/editorials/ci_28941313

CA: S.F. supervisor hopes Prop. B serves as model for private sector (Requires registration)
San Francisco Chronicle – October 08, 2015
Supervisor Katy Tang already is looking past the Nov. 3 vote on Proposition B, which would expand the city’s parental leave policy to allow both new parents to take the full 12 weeks now allowed under city rules.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/S-F-supervisor-hopes-Prop-B-serves-as-model-for-6559671.php

CA: Labor union schedules strike, Solano County makes final offer
The Reporter – October 07, 2015
Last Friday, Local 1021 announced that 90 percent of its members voted to give their bargaining team the power to call an Unfair Labor Practice strike if necessary. SEIU represents nearly 1,800 Solano County workers who provide community services across the county, including social workers, infant nutrition counselors, mental health specialists, public health nurses, librarians, Child Support and Child Welfare specialists, public safety dispatchers, veterans? services workers and clerical staff.
http://www.thereporter.com/general-news/20151007/labor-union-schedules-strike-solano-county-makes-final-offer

CO: Women call for quicker responses to child abuse cases (Includes video)
Fox 21 – October 08, 2015
Two women we spoke with are concerned after they said their calls of suspected child abuse were left unresolved by CSPD.
http://fox21news.com/2015/10/08/women-call-for-quicker-responses-to-child-abuse-cases/

FL: Howard Bishop Middle selected to become a ‘community school’
Gainesville Sun – October 08, 2015
A community school would address the welfare, social, emotional and medical needs of students and the community outside of the classroom. It would include bringing programs such as tutoring services, medical services and other initiatives that would help improve student success. “This is not an academic program. This is a set of services that is provided at the school,” Roberts said.
http://www.gainesville.com/article/20151008/articles/151009699

FL: Lawmakers Looking To Build On Florida Law Extending Foster Care Age (Includes audio)
WFSU – October 08, 2015
It’s been almost two years since a law took effect extending the age for foster care youth in the system. Florida lawmakers are now looking to build on that effort.
http://news.wfsu.org/post/lawmakers-looking-build-florida-law-extending-foster-care-age

GA: UGA researchers aim to build stronger families with $8.2 million federal grant
Athens Banner-Herald – October 08, 2015
“Our ultimate goal is to provide support to reduce the risk of parents entering the DFCS system and to create safe and stable homes,” said Ted Futris, a professor in UGA’s College of Family and Consumer Sciences and the lead researcher in the five-year project.
http://onlineathens.com/mobile/2015-10-08/uga-researchers-aim-build-stronger-famlies-82-million-federal-grant

IN: Advocates for Children sees record number of cases
Greensburg Daily News – October 08, 2015
The number of new recruits has been outpaced by the volume of cases, and Advocates for Children now has over 400 abused and neglected children on a waiting list, without an advocate to serve as their voice in the courts.
http://www.greensburgdailynews.com/news/local_news/advocates-for-children-sees-record-number-of-cases/article_9c6da7ff-0354-5d1d-9f74-fb5125b2644a.html

IN: DCS: High caseloads, lack of support fuel case manager exodus
Indy Star – October 08, 2015
A higher percentage of Indiana Department of Child Services family case managers is leaving the agency than in the past, Director Mary Beth Bonaventura said Thursday.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2015/10/08/dcs-high-caseloads-lack-support-fuel-case-manager-exodus/73591516/

MA: ‘Game changer’ for child abuse reporting
Foxboro Reporter – October 08, 2015
The town’s efforts to widen the scope of a state law designating who must report child sexual abuse has taken the next step, thanks to Rep. Jay Barrows (R-Mansfield).
http://foxbororeporter.com/articles/2015/10/08/news/17805900.txt

MA: House and Senate bills differ on funding for UMass
State House News Service – October 08, 2015
The Department of Children and Families, which has been a focus of legislative attention in light of recent high-profile failures of child welfare, is set to receive about $5.5 million from the Senate bill, including $2.5 million “to address immediate staffing and training needs at the department.”
http://natick.wickedlocal.com/article/20151008/NEWS/151006191/12581/NEWS?rssfeed=true

MD: Family League Of Baltimore Wins $300,000 Competitive Grant From Governor Larry Hogan’s Office For Children
CityBizList – October 08, 2015
The grant will support Family League’s Baltimore City Children of Incarcerated Parents Initiative, an effort to reduce the impact of incarceration on children, their families, and communities. The initiative seeks to examine and alleviate structural challenges for children and their caregivers when working with child welfare, juvenile justice and educational systems. Information Gateway resource: Children in Out-of-Home Care With Incarcerated Parents: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/casework/children/incarcerated/
http://citybizlist.com/article/305764/family-league-of-baltimore-wins-300000-competitive-grant-from-governor-larry-hogans-office-for-children

MT: Child protection supervisor placed on paid leave
Great Falls Tribune – October 08, 2015
The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services confirmed on Thursday that one of the top officials in the Child and Family Services Division has been placed on paid administrative leave.
http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2015/10/08/child-protection-supervisor-paid-leave/73610118/

MT: Neighbors: Officials ignored reports before fire kills girl
Associated Press – October 08, 2015
Neighbors of an 8-year-old Kalispell-area girl who died in a motor home fire say the Flathead County sheriff’s office and child protective services didn’t act on numerous reports alleging drug use and child neglect in the months before the fire.
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Neighbors-Officials-ignored-reports-before-fire-6558791.php

NJ: Several N.J. child welfare offices receive death threats
nj.com – October 08, 2015
Eight state child welfare offices have received calls this week “threatening to shoot up the site or kill everyone in the building,” according to emails from the Department of Children and Families obtained by NJ Advance Media.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/several_nj_child_welfare_offices_receive_death_thr.html

NY: New Moms on SI Graduate from Guiding Program (Includes video)
NY1 – October 09, 2015
New moms on Staten Island graduated from a program that helps give their children a brighter future. NY1’s Aaron Dickens filed the following report.
http://www.ny1.com/nyc/staten-island/news/2015/10/9/new-moms-on-si-graduate-from-guiding-program.html

NY: Program Pairs “Grannies” With Children Growing Up in Institutions (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 09, 2015
After previously only offering the service overseas, a New York City-based nonprofit launches it’s first domestic volunteer “Granny” program, which aims to provide consistent care for children in institutions.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-09/childrens-issues/program-pairs/a48469-1

OH: How heroin is hitting the foster care system
Pew Charitable Trust: Stateline – October 09, 2015
Timothy Dick’s office receives all kinds of reports of child abuse and neglect. Perhaps a child has a broken bone, or is underfed, or has been left home alone for too long. But when caseworkers drive to the child?s home to investigate, they often discover the same root cause. “What we’re finding more and more is that the parents are addicted to opiates. And more often than not, it’s heroin,” said Dick, assistant director of child protective services in Clermont County, Ohio.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2015/10/09/how-heroin-is-hitting-the-foster-care-system

OK: Oklahoma governor names ex-assistant AG as special adviser
Associated Press – October 08, 2015
Gov. Mary Fallin has named a former longtime assistant in the Oklahoma Attorney General’s Office as her special adviser on child welfare and implementation of the Pinnacle Plan. Tom Bates served 15 years in the attorney general’s office, mostly recently as first assistant to Attorney General Scott Pruitt from 2012 to 2014.
http://www.wral.com/oklahoma-governor-names-ex-assistant-ag-as-special-adviser/14956646/?comment_order=forward

PA: Who is running out of money during Pennsylvania’s budget impasse? (Opinion)
PennLive – October 08, 2015
Pennsylvania schools are have trouble paying bills, nonprofit organizations may have to close doors and others are in trouble after nearly 100 days without a state budget.
http://www.pennlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/who_is_running_out_of_money_du.html#0

RI: The Pulse: Digging Deeper Into Financial Irregularities At DCYF (Includes audio)
RI-NPR – October 08, 2015
This week, new details have emerged about financial mismanagement at the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. A second audit has revealed the former director of the child welfare agency may have violated state ethics rules by getting paid to be a consultant for a vendor DCYF was overseeing. The audits are part of an ongoing effort to reform the agency responsible for abused or neglected children.
http://ripr.org/post/pulse-digging-deeper-financial-irregularities-dcyf

US: Corporate responsibility by helping community youth
Examiner.com – October 08, 2015
youthSpark provides services to at-risk youth with a special emphasis on helping kids who experience abuse and sexual exploitation. youthSpark is now reaching out to companies because when they get involved with the youth of today–they are actually building a connection with their customers of tomorrow!
http://www.examiner.com/article/corporate-responsibility-by-helping-community-youth

US: DoD targeting child neglect with research, programs
Mlitary Times – October 08, 2015
Defense Department officials say they are digging into the potential factors behind a recent increase in child neglect, and building more preventive programs.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/10/08/dod-targeting-child-neglect-research-programs/73582572/

US: If You Want To Stop Violence Against People, Stop Violence Against Animals: “It is Never Just the Dog” (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 08, 2015
From Colorado to Australia, research on predictors of child abuse, domestic violence and other criminal behavior increasingly points to a link between animal abuse and violent crime. Now law enforcement and animal safety experts — as well as veterinarians, social workers, lawyers, judges and even the FBI — are working together to redouble their efforts to identify and prosecute perpetrators in cases of animal abuse. Keeping animals safe, they argue, helps keep people safe, too.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/animal-abuse-human-violence-link_560f2269e4b0af3706e0fd5b

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: B.C.’s aboriginal child welfare system needs overhaul, union report says
CKNW – October 08, 2015
The BC Government and Service Employees Union says the province’s aboriginal child welfare system needs a top-to-bottom overhaul. Report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/284098959/Closing-the-Circle-Report Also: ‘We have systemically starved the child protection service:’ B.C. watchdog says: http://www.cknw.com/2015/10/08/98873/
http://www.cknw.com/2015/10/08/b-c-s-aboriginal-child-welfare-system-needs-overhaul-union-report-says/

Canada: Social worker shortage highlighted in two reports on child welfare system
News 1130 – October 08, 2015
Two new reports have come out today highlighting what critics say are significant deficiencies with the child welfare system in this province.
http://www.news1130.com/2015/10/08/social-worker-shortage-highlighted-in-two-reports-on-child-welfare-system/

India: Endless wait to bring baby home
Times of India – October 09, 2015
Queues for adopting orphan children have never been longer. For the 42 such children who are “legally free for adoption” in Delhi, 667 people had applied at last count on Wednesday. Many of them were from outside Delhi-not only neighbouring Haryana and Uttar Pradesh but also from distant states like Assam and West Bengal.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/Endless-wait-to-bring-baby-home/articleshow/49279601.cms

Japan: Editorial: Local support for isolated parents needed to prevent child abuse
Asahi Shimbun – October 09, 2015
Child consultation centers around the nation dealt with a record-high 88,931 cases of child abuse in fiscal 2014, which ended in March this year. But the figure only represents cases that were actually handled by these centers. The actual situation concerning maltreatment of children in Japan is probably much more serious. Many deaths of children from abuse become criminal cases without the local child consultation centers being aware of them.
http://ajw.asahi.com/article/views/editorial/AJ201510090023

Uganda: Uganda: Adoption or Trafficking? Fears Grow for Uganda’s ‘Orphans’
The Monitor (Kampala) – October 05, 2015
The case is just one example of international adoption gone wrong through misunderstanding, negligence or even criminality, a trend that has Ugandan lawmakers worried, with a 400 percent increase in orphans going to the US alone between 2006 and 2013.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201510071023.html

CA: Council celebrates 40 years of advocating for children
Chico Enterprise-Record – October 05, 2015
It’s a complicated topic, but one thing has remained the same: The Child Abuse Prevention Council of Butte County works to prevent child abuse, and educate the public about its importance.
http://www.orovillemr.com/lifestyle/20151005/council-celebrates-40-years-of-advocating-for-children

FL: Housing program helps former foster kids adjust to life on their own (Includes video)
ABC Action News – October 07, 2015
Foster children in Florida face many challenges when they turn 18 and age out of the foster care system. For the first time, many of them are completely on their own with no support system.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/housing-program-helps-former-foster-kids-adjust-to-life-on-their-own

FL: Restoring kids of human trafficking: Front & Center (Opinion) (Requires registration)
Orlando Sentinel – October 06, 2015
New laws do little for youth who’ve already been exploited. That’s why Devereux Florida, a group that cares for youth who’ve endured sexual traumas, is recruiting foster parents to tend to their specialized needs. Lindsey Phillips, Devereux’s director of external affairs, discusses that push and Florida’s ascension as a leader in human trafficking.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-child-human-trafficking-front-and-center-20151005-story.html

IN: Foster Parents Needed to Help Change Lives (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 08, 2015
While there is always a need for foster parents in Indiana, state officials say the need is especially great this year. According to the Indiana Department of Child Services there are over 18,000 children in the state’s care, about four thousand more than at this time last year.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-08/youth-issues/foster-parents-needed-to-help-change-lives-in-indiana/a48456-1

MD: Empower Me program focuses on preventing child abuse in Talbot County
The Star-Democrat – October 08, 2015
Ninety Talbot County community members from more than 20 organizations took part in the first Empower Me training program, which was offered during two sessions, Tuesday, Sept. 29, at St. Mark’s United Methodist Church in Easton.
http://www.stardem.com/news/local_news/article_38b27358-1420-5037-bec3-d8716bfd425b.html

MI: Child Abuse and Neglect Council gets upgrade with community support (Includes video)
WNEM – October 07, 2015
Thanks to community support an expansion of the Child Abuse and Neglect Council was made possible. “Have the space now we’re accessible, it’s child friendly and we are available to do whatever it takes to stop child abuse,” Greenberg said.
http://www.wnem.com/story/30209402/child-abuse-and-neglect-council-gets-upgrade-with-community-support

MO: A look behind the scenes of CALO: Origins of the Change Academy
Lake News Online – October 07, 2015
This is the first story in a multi-part series that will explore CALO, a residential teen and pre-teen facility located in Lake Ozark that specializes in treating developmental trauma in adopted children. The next story in this series will explore the treatment methods, staff and facilities of CALO.
http://www.lakenewsonline.com/article/20151007/NEWS/151009120#

NC: Family Resource Centers Support Children, Families (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 08, 2015
As many people wait for the economic recovery to benefit them, communities across the state count on family resource centers to help support parents in the form of food-and-clothing access, parent education and after school care.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-10-08/childrens-issues/n-c-family-resource-centers-support-children-families/a48387-1

OH: Foster care still a concern
Times-Gazette – October 07, 2015
Highland County commissioners said during their Wednesday meeting that “some general fund money” will likely have to fund foster care services.
http://timesgazette.com/news/3111/foster-care-still-a-concern

US: McConnell Bill To Help Families Adopting Children From Congo
SurfKY News – October 07, 2015
U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell announced Wednesday that the Adoptive Family Relief Act has passed the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives and is now on its way to the President for his signature. This legislation, which Senator McConnell cosponsored with Senator Diane Feinstein (D-CA), Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI), and 19 other bipartisan senators, will provide meaningful financial relief to families adopting children from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Earlier today, Senator McConnell spoke on the Senate floor regarding the legislation.
http://surfky.com/index.php/component/content/article/77-owensboro-news/65338-mcconnell-bill-to-help-families-adopting-children-from-congo

US: The New Battleground for Same-Sex Couples Is Equal Rights for Their Kids (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 07, 2015
When the Supreme Court invalidated same-sex marriage bans in June, the Justices acknowledged they had the kids in mind. In the majority opinion, Justice Kennedy cited the infringement of the interests of children being raised by same-sex couples as one reason for the Court’s ruling. Who are these kids? An estimated 220,000 children under the age of 18 are being raised in same-sex families in the United States. Half are nonwhite.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-conversation-us/the-new-battleground-for_b_8259688.html

US: When Adoptees Uncover Their Medical History
US News & World Report – October 07, 2015
Most of us take it for granted: knowing which medical conditions run in the family. However, for many adult adoptees, that health history is a blank. Adoption documents with scanty summaries of “non-identifying” information often bring more questions than answers.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2015/10/07/when-adoptees-uncover-their-medical-history

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Head of FN child welfare gets 3 years for sex assault
Winnepeg Sun – October 07, 2015
“Cases like this aren’t just about victims. they are about communities,” Justice Albert Clearwater said before sentencing James Cardy to three years in prison. “(Because) of the nature of his job and his position in the community, it is a breach of trust to the whole community.”
http://www.winnipegsun.com/2015/10/07/head-of-fn-child-welfare-gets-3-years-for-sex-assault

India: WCD ministry to review adoption, ICDS schemes
Times of India – October 08, 2015
The ministry of women and child development (WCD) will conduct a comprehensive review of adoption-related schemes and mandatory registration of childcare homes among other schemes across the country starting on Thursday.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/WCD-ministry-to-review-adoption-ICDS-schemes/articleshow/49266224.cms

 

AZ: Technology connects churches to child welfare needs
Arizona Daily Star – October 05, 2015
Called The Care Portal, the online tool allows DCS caseworkers who know of a specific need of a child or family to submit that request via email to nearby churches enrolled in the system.
http://tucson.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/technology-connects-churches-to-child-welfare-needs/article_6b75d730-ed4f-5b10-b4a4-921d8cb478bc.html

CA: LA County Supervisors cast first unanimous vote in support of LGBTQ community
Los Angeles Daily News – October 06, 2015
After an emotional discussion interrupted by speakers who wanted to be re-heard on another issue, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to examine services provided to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender youth in county departments.
http://www.dailynews.com/government-and-politics/20151006/la-county-supervisors-cast-first-unanimous-vote-in-support-of-lgbtq-community

CA: State foster care: New laws signed to restrict psychiatric drugs
Inside Bay Area News – October 06, 2015
Creating sweeping new protections for tens of thousands of California’s most traumatized children, Gov. Jerry Brown on Tuesday signed the nation’s most comprehensive set of laws to curb the overprescribing of psychiatric drugs in foster care.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_28930215/california-foster-care-new-laws-signed-restrict-psychiatric?source=rss

GA: UGA receives $8.2 million grant to support families in state child welfare system (Press release)
EurekAlert – October 06, 2015
With numerous state and local partners, including the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services, Georgia Family Connection, Great Start Georgia, Strengthening Families Georgia and Project Safe, the five-year project will reach nearly 1,500 families in a 13-county, mostly rural, region in northeast Georgia.
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2015-10/uog-ur100615.php

IL: Chicago mother wages 2-year fight against child neglect citation
Chicago Tribune – October 07, 2015
Mother’s decision to let 3 kids play at park while she watched from next door leads to court fight with DCFS.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-child-neglect-inadequate-supervision-law-met-20151007-story.html

MA: Can analytics help fix the DCF?
Boston Globe – October 07, 2015
Debate has swirled around nuts-and-bolts solutions such as more staffing and updated policies, but increasingly, child welfare professionals around the country are turning to sophisticated computer models to help them predict which children are most likely to suffer abuse. Those households then get closer scrutiny.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/10/06/child-protection-agencies-turn-analytics/AZ2kZ7ziiP8cBMOite2KKP/story.html

MI: State senator wants to make it easier to donate to foster youth college fund
Michigan Public Radio – October 07, 2015
A new state Senate bill would add the Fostering Futures Scholarship fund to Michigan’s voluntary contribution schedule.
http://michiganradio.org/post/state-senator-wants-make-it-easier-donate-foster-youth-college-fund#stream/0

NY: Group pushes for traction on issue of child sex abuse
Buffalo News – October 05, 2015
Fourteen people gathered in the early evening around a conference table in the Martin Luther King Jr. Park neighborhood last week — victims, advocates, educators. Some spoke with calm conviction. Some spoke in frustration. And some spoke from deep-seated pain. The challenge before them: How to ensure that sexual crimes against children stop being the subject of whispers and shame, and start being an openly confronted community issue tackled in pulpits, schools and legislative chambers.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/east-side/group-pushes-for-traction-on-issue-of-child-sex-abuse-20151005

OH: Children’s Protective Services seeks levy renewal
Cincinnati Enquirer – October 07, 2015
The levy renewal won’t raise taxes, supporters say, but it will enable Children’s Protective Services to maintain existing services for abused and neglected children, despite the loss of half of its state and federal funding since 2007, the result of budget cuts created by the recession.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/community-news/2015/10/07/election-clermont-levy-childrens-protective-services-judy-eschmann-vote-nov-ballot/73092386/

OH: More changes sought for legislation designed to reduce rehoming in state (Opinion)
Akron Legal News – October 06, 2015
The bill, a reintroduction from the last General Assembly, would require that school districts, medical personnel and other mandated reporters notify the county public children services agency with the name and address of any child named in a temporary physical care power of attorney or other document presented for school registration, medical care or other services.
http://www.akronlegalnews.com/editorial/13714

PA: Boy’s death led to Children and Youth license downgrade
Standard Speaker – October 07, 2015
The critical report by the state Office of Children, Youth and Families — an agency of the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services — downgraded Luzerne County Children and Youth’s operating license to provisional status. The report does not name Wilkes, but criticizes Luzerne County Children and Youth’s decision to place the four children with a “relative” without checking background clearances or reviewing internal agency records of the person.
http://standardspeaker.com/news/boy-s-death-led-to-children-and-youth-license-downgrade-1.1954068

PA: Somerset County to halt payments to vendors
Tribune-Democrat – October 06, 2015
Some of those vendors are service providers or placement providers, such as foster parents and facilities, according to Somerset County Children and Youth Services Director Chuck Crimone.
http://www.tribdem.com/news/somerset-county-to-halt-payments-to-vendors/article_f802aa9e-6c90-11e5-b01d-dbc673b126a4.html

RI: State suspends contracts with Center for Southeast Asians
Providence Journal – October 06, 2015
The state has discontinued contracts with the Center for Southeast Asians in light of an audit showing that the center failed to spend nearly $450,000 it received under an agreement with the Department of Children, Youth and Families. Also: State audit reveals questionable payments to former DCYF director: http://myinforms.com/en/a/17329608-state-audit-reveals-questionable-payments-to-former-dcyf-director/
http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20151006/NEWS/151009537

VT: Opiate Abuse Part of Child Neglect Cases
Valley News – October 06, 2015
There has been a significant rise in the number of childhood abuse and neglect cases in Vermont over the past few years, according to the Vermont Department for Children and Families. It is increasingly apparent that the opiate addiction crisis is heavily impacting children and leaving them exposed to dangerous levels of toxic stress.
http://www.vnews.com/news/18908225-95/opiate-abuse-part-of-child-neglect-cases

WI: State attorney general, Republican legislators introduce child abuse legislation
Associated Press – October 06, 2015
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel and a group of Republican legislators began a push Tuesday to crack down on child abusers with a package of bills that would make repeated abuse a formal crime and expand reporting requirements.
http://www.startribune.com/ag-republicans-introduce-child-abuse-legislation/330881551/

US: The Best Places to Work for Adoptive Parents: See Which Companies Made the List
Parents Magazine – October 06, 2015
The good news is that some companies are stepping up and offering more generous adoption benefits to their employees, including offering financial assistance. Today, the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption released its Top 100 list of Adoption-Friendly Workplaces. Companies applied for a spot on the list, reporting their maximum amount of financial reimbursement and weeks of paid leave for families who adopt. The list: https://dciw4f53l7k9i.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/DTFA_Top100_Final.pdf
http://www.parents.com/parents-magazine/parents-perspective/the-best-places-to-work-for-adoptive-parents-see-which/

US: Time to End ‘Nuclear Family Privilege’ – Let’s Overcome Irrational Nostalgia for a Version of Family Long Since Transformed (Opinion)
AlterNet – October 06, 2015
At its peak in the late 1950s, 65 percent of children were living in this type of “traditional” nuclear family unit (with a father employed and mother out of the labor force). Today, it’s just 22 percent. In other words, the “traditional” nuclear family unit is diminishing.
http://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/time-end-nuclear-family-privilege-lets-overcome-irrational-nostalgia-version

US: Writing a National Prescription to Improve the Mental Health of America’s Youth
Huffington Post – October 06, 2015
Mental illness affects up to 1 in 5 American youth, and are among the most economically costly conditions to treat in this population. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the cost of mental disorders including health care, use of services such as special education and juvenile justice, and decreased productivity for those under age 24 in the U.S. is an estimate $247 billion annually.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/susan-blumenthal/writing-a-national-prescr_b_8251238.html

US: Reps. Bass, McDermott introduce legislation to ensure former foster youth can keep health insurance in other states (Press release)
Office of Congresswoman Karen Bass – October 05, 2015
As they continue to address the needs of the hundreds of thousands of young people who are currently a part of the foster care system and the tens of thousands who leave the system each year, Reps. Karen Bass (D-Calif.) and Jim McDermott (D-Wash.)-Co-Chairs of the Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth?announced today they introduced H.R. 3641, the “Health Insurance for Former Foster Youth Act of 2015,” legislation that will close a loophole and guarantee that foster youth will still receive health insurance through Medicaid until they turn 26 years old regardless of their state of residence.
http://bass.house.gov/press-release/reps-bass-mcdermott-introduce-legislation-ensure-former-foster-youth-can-keep-health

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: No exemption in Vic same-sex adoption laws
Yahoo7 News – October 06, 2015
A bill introduced to the Victorian Parliament on Tuesday aims to remove discrimination in the adoption act which prohibits same sex couples from adopting a child. It also removes a provision of the equal opportunity act that allows religious organisations to use faith-based reasons to discriminate in adoptions.
https://au.news.yahoo.com/vic/a/29728148/no-exemption-in-vic-same-sex-adoption-laws/

United Kingdom: BBC Panorama Blasted By Metropolitan Police Over Westminster Paedophile Claims
Huffington Post UK – October 07, 2015
Scotland Yard said it had “serious concerns” about the Panorama broadcast and the impact it could have on its ongoing investigation into alleged sex abuse and murder. Also: BBC Casts Doubt on Claims of British Pedophile Ring: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/10/07/world/europe/westminster-vip-pedophile-claims.html?_r=0
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2015/10/07/police-panorama-bbc-paedophile-ring_n_8256088.html?utm_hp_ref=uk&ir=UK

Child Welfare in the News is distributed at no charge by Child Welfare Information Gateway (https://www.childwelfare.gov), a service of the Children’s Bureau/ACF/HHS (https://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb). It features news stories on topics of interest to child welfare and related professional. Inclusion does not imply endorsement of any view expressed in a resource, and opinions or views do not reflect those of Child Welfare Information Gateway, the Children’s Bureau, or staff. Other free subscriptions from Child Welfare Information Gateway are available at https://www.childwelfare.gov/subscribe.< /p>

 

 

AZ: Report: ‘Lack of structure’ hinders DCS decision-making
Howard Fischer Capitol Media Services – October 01, 2015
A lack of structure in how the state’s child welfare agency decides whether someone is in danger leads to “poor documentation and subjective decision-making by caseworkers” on whether a child should be removed from a home, a new report says.
http://tucson.com/news/local/report-lack-of-structure-hinders-dcs-decision-making/article_e1f9d5a0-6881-11e5-b473-271a0570af73.html

FL: Grant boosts Spirit of Success Institute (requires free registration)
Sun Sentinel – October 01, 2015
4KIDS of South Florida recently received a $75,000 grant from the Jim Moran Foundation that will expand its Spirit of Success Institute. Ashley Williams, a program director for the North Lauderdale-based 4KIDS, said the money will boost its transitional independent living program for those ages 18 to 23 who have aged out of foster care.
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/north-lauderdale/fl-cn-kids-1004-20151001-story.html

IA: Editorial: Former foster kids give back
Muscatine Journal – October 02, 2015
Adopted from foster care, Amber and Amy know how tough it is for foster children, and they want to help children who are in the system. So, they created Closet2Closet, a program that provides free clothing to foster kids age 10 to 18.
http://muscatinejournal.com/news/opinion/editorial/iowa-editorial-former-foster-kids-give-back/article_5fe81aa3-c4da-5f93-9cf8-cadf05258802.html

KY: Doctors explain possible signs of child abuse (Includes video)
WLKY – October 01, 2015
According to data from the Department of Health and Human Services, Kentucky is one of the top 10 worst states for the number of children who are abused and neglected. “There is not a day that goes by in this hospital that we do not have a child admitted for some type of child abuse,” Dr. Erin Frazier with Kosair Children’s Hospital said.
http://www.wlky.com/news/Doctors-explain-possible-signs-of-child-abuse/35603242

MA: Editorial: Heroin plague spawns generation of innocent victims (Opinion)
Eagle-Tribune – October 01, 2015
Children bear witness to the grip the heroin epidemic has on the region and the fearful toll it is taking on the addicts, their families and society as a whole.
http://www.eagletribune.com/heroin_epidemic/opinion/editorial-heroin-plague-spawns-generation-of-innocent-victims/article_2296619d-2b14-534f-be8a-f7d1571f7930.html

MA: State: DCF to Blame for Death of Toddler in Foster Care
Associated Press – October 01, 2015
A state report on the death of a 2-year-old girl in foster care says the Department of Children and Families failed to properly assess the foster mother and evaluate risks to children in her care. Also: Review: DCF failed in assessment of Avalena Conway-Coxon’s foster mom: http://www.masslive.com/news/worcester/index.ssf/2015/10/review_dcf_failed_in_assessmen.html Report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/283355476/Case-Review-The-Foster-Home-of-Kimberly-Malpass-September-30-2015
http://www.sentinelandenterprise.com/breakingnews/ci_28906948/state-dcf-blame-death-toddler-foster-care#

MN: Foster parents are ignored too often (Opinion)
Minneapolis Star Tribune – October 01, 2015
Foster parents have little recourse to report dangerous situations in foster children’s biological homes. When they do attempt to say something they are often ignored–like the Meiers.
http://www.startribune.com/foster-parents-are-ignored-too-often/330336051/

MN: They survived Minnesota’s orphan trains to celebrate life
Pioneer Press – October 01, 2015
This Saturday, about 70 people will gather in Little Falls, Minn., to attend the 55th annual meeting of the Orphan Train Riders of New York-Midwest Organization, the oldest orphan train rider group in the nation.
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_28906927/minnesotas-orphan-train-survivors-relatives-meet-little-falls?source=rss

NH: Child Protection Agency Examines Case Of Dead NH Toddler
Associated Press – October 01, 2015
The head of New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services says the agency is examining what it could have done better before the death of a Manchester toddler.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/10/01/child-protection-agency-examines-case-of-dead-nh-toddler/

OK: Child advocates get update on how Laura Dester Shelter will close
Tulsa World – October 02, 2015
The closing of the Pauline Mayer Shelter in Oklahoma City provided a blueprint for shifting the use of Tulsa’s Laura Dester Shelter by the end of the year, officials from the state Department of Human Services told a group of advocates and stakeholders Thursday.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/government/child-advocates-get-update-on-how-laura-dester-shelter-will/article_91f0a7e6-9d79-5cd1-8732-70a76937bc59.html

OR: DHS flunks the common-sense test in ignoring foster-care home’s red flags: Editorial
The Oregonian – October 01, 2015
You would think DHS’ child welfare employees or investigators would be all over the nonprofit corporation. But it was the Oregon Department of Justice that did the legwork to shut down the venture.
http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/10/dhs_flunks_the_common-sense_te.html

PA: Penn State conference looks at long-term effects of child abuse
Centre Daily Times – October 01, 2015
Expert researchers from across the world gathered Wednesday and Thursday to showcase recent progress related to child maltreatment and other forms of trauma and chronic stress at Penn State’s fourth annual Conference on Child Protection and Well-Being. “I hope that there’s an exchange of information and ideas that will prompt additional research into the causes and effects of child maltreatment,” said Frank Vandervort, a representative of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children.
http://www.centredaily.com/2015/10/01/4948331_penn-state-conference-looks-at.html?rh=1

VT: Megan Palchak: Vermont’s child welfare system needs a watchdog (Opinion)
VTDigger – October 01, 2015
Why does a system designed to protect vulnerable children and promote healthy families, staffed by trained and well-intentioned professionals, fail so tragically and so completely?
http://vtdigger.org/2015/10/01/megan-palchak-vermonts-child-welfare-system-needs-a-watchdog/

US: From Trauma to Redemption: How My Teachers Helped Me Survive My Life (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 01, 2015
America’s Promise Alliance published a new study this fall, Don’t Quit On Me: What Young People Who Left School Say About the Power of Relationships, and invited young people to share their stories about the power of relationships. Amnoni’s story is the second post in a series by young people about the ways adults and peers can help more young people graduate from high school. Study: http://gradnation.org/report/dont-quit-me
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/americas-promise-alliance/from-trauma-to-redemption_b_8227264.html

US: What I Wish Others Knew About How Foster Parents Grieve (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 01, 2015
Perhaps one of the most difficult aspects of being a foster parent is the moment when our child from foster care leaves our homes.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-degarmo/what-i-wish-others-knew-about-how-foster-parents-grieve_b_8226504.html

 

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Backlog Forces Adoptees To Wait Longer For Newly Unsealed Records
CJOB – October 01, 2015
Manitobans who have waited decades for their adoption information are being forced to wait even longer. 680 CJOB News has learned the province is behind in processing applications.
http://www.cjob.com/2015/10/01/88690/

United Kingdom: Child abuse survivor urges anyone fearing for youngster’s safety to speak up
Scottish Daily Record and Sunday Mail – October 01, 2015
The shocking figures have emerged just as the Scottish Government launch an inquiry into historical abuse of children in care. The NSPCC estimate that for every child identified as needing protection from abuse, another eight are also victims. They are calling on anyone who suspects they know a victim who is suffering emotional, physical or sexual abuse or neglect, to seek help.
http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/lifestyle/family-relationships/child-abuse-survivor-urges-anyone-6556054

United Kingdom: Number of children up for adoption plummets by a quarter in a year
The Independent – October 01, 2015
Adoption placement orders, which mean children are ruled eligible to be adopted, fell to just 7,320 between March 2014 and March 2015, according to the Department for Education’s latest Looked After Children statistics. Those placed for adoption also fell by 15 per cent in 2015 to 3,320.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/number-of-children-up-for-adoption-plummets-by-a-quarter-in-a-year-a6676026.html

United Kingdom: Two in five children in care ‘have behavioural difficulties’
Belfast Telegraph – October 01, 2015
Two out of five children in care in Northern Ireland have behavioural difficulties, academic research has indicated.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/two-in-five-children-in-care-have-behavioural-difficulties-31572735.html

 

AL: When the ‘war on drugs’ became the ‘war on pregnant women’ (Opinion)
AL.com – September 29, 2015
Our state’s War on Drugs has turned into a War on the Rights of Pregnant Women. Under a bizarre interpretation of the chemical endangerment statute, originally and specifically not intended to be applied to fetuses, women are being prosecuted for positive drug tests during pregnancy, in some cases even when the drug was prescribed for the mother.
http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2015/09/when_the_war_on_drugs_became_t.html

AZ: Local agency feeling the strain of foster care crisis (Includes video)
ABC 15 Arizona – September 29, 2015
The foster care crisis in Arizona has local non-profits working overtime to meet the growing demand. Right now there are nearly 18,000 kids in the state system and only about 4,600 licensed foster families.
http://www.abc15.com/news/region-southeast-valley/chandler/local-agency-feeling-the-strain-of-foster-care-crisis

FL: Florida Community Bank Introduces Mortgage Incentive Program Benefiting Foster Care Organizations Throughout State (Press release)
Business Wire – September 29, 2015
The mortgage incentive program provides a $500.00 credit towards closing costs to all applicants that close an FCB residential mortgage loan according to the terms of the offer. In addition, for every residential mortgage loan closed during the term of the program, FCB will make a $200.00 donation to local organizations supporting children in foster care.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/florida-community-bank-introduces-mortgage-incentive-program-benefiting-foster-care-organizations-throughout-florida-2015-09-29

KS: Record number of kids in foster care system (Includes video)
KMBC – September 29, 2015
The number of children in foster care in Kansas is at an all-time high, in part because of the revival of some of the world?s most dangerous drugs.
http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-has-record-number-of-kids-in-foster-care-system/35560024

MA: Children’s Agency to Be Investigated for Its Handling of the Bella Bond Case
People – September 29, 2015
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has announced that the Department of Children & Families will be investigated for its handling of the Bella Bond case.
http://www.people.com/article/dcf-to-be-investigated-for-handling-bella-bond-case

NC: Durham’s Hirsch to head Prevent Child Abuse N.C. (Requires free registration)
Herald Sun – September 29, 2015
Prevent Child Abuse North Carolina (PCANC) on Tuesday selected Sharon Hirsch of Durham as the organization’s next president and CEO.
http://www.heraldsun.com/news/durham-s-hirsch-to-head-prevent-child-abuse-n-c/article_8013b6d0-66d8-11e5-aadc-bb0dff9e451c.html

PA: Child abuse victim: Change law
Daily Item – September 29, 2015
“I was afraid that if I told I would be put in foster care,” said Rearick, now 50 and living in South Carolina. The married mother of three is speaking out in support of a proposed Pennsylvania law to eliminate the statute of limitations on criminal and civil actions involving child sexual abuse.
http://www.dailyitem.com/news/child-abuse-victim-change-law/article_c70ec03c-66f3-11e5-a1a4-0b2d93ca2aae.html

PA: Homeless shelter for battered spouses, children sues Allegheny County over $530K in funding
Associated Press – September 29, 2015
The 20-year-old shelter in Shaler Township is called HEARTH, short for Homelessness Ends with Advocacy, Resources, Training and Housing, and it caters to victims of domestic abuse. Officials there said Tuesday that Allegheny County officials have wrongly denied them a designation as a “victim service provider” under federal Housing and Urban Development funding rules.
http://triblive.com/state/pennsylvania/9180453-74/shelter-funding-homeless#axzz3nEKcTQ57

PA: Those hardest hit by latest state budget veto says there’s enough blame for everybody
PennLive.com – September 29, 2015
The next best chance to ease the squeeze from Pennsylvania’s protracted state budget stalemate fizzled Tuesday when Gov. Tom Wolf vetoed an emergency stopgap funding bill. Also: Wolf vetoes latest GOP spending Plan: http://www.pottsmerc.com/general-news/20150929/wolf-vetoes-latest-gop-spending-plan
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/09/those_hardest_hit_by_latest_bu.html

WV: Shepherd University and WV DHHR renew social work contract
State Journal – September 29, 2015
Under a renewed contract between Shepherd University’s social work program and the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources, Shepherd will provide training in a 15-county area for potential foster parents and for DHHR employees. Shepherd has been involved in the program for 22 years. Information Gateway Resource: University Partnerships: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/workforce/recruit-hire/recruitment/university/
http://www.statejournal.com/story/30142932/shepherd-university-and-wv-dhhr-renew-social-work-contract

 

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Ontario Helping More Children in Care Connect with Waiting Families
Ontario Newsroom – September 29, 2015
Ontario is making it easier for children and youth in the care of children’s aid societies to find forever families, while providing more support to adoptive parents.
http://www.news.ontario.ca/mcys/en/2015/09/ontario-helping-more-children-in-care-connect-with-waiting-families.html

Canada: Foster kids turning 19 need range of supports (Includes audio)
CBC News – September 28, 2015
Youth aging out of foster care need social supports that in many cases aren’t there, advocate says.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/foster-kids-turning-19-need-range-of-supports-1.3247649

International: Avoiding Sibling Separation in Adoption (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 29, 2015
It is important to ask if the child you are planning to adopt has any siblings that have been placed with families elsewhere and try everything possible to ensure all the siblings maintain contact. Also ask to be notified if the mother of the child you’re adopting has a subsequent child who also needs placement. Every effort should be made to facilitate contact between the children.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/post_10114_b_8202044.html

International: Childhood stress may raise risk for diabetes, heart disease in adulthood
Medical News Today – September 29, 2015
Winning notes that there is increasing evidence that adversity in a child’s social environment influences the risk of high stress levels. “Thus, early prevention and intervention strategies focused not only on the child but also on his or her social circumstances may be an effective way to reduce the long-lasting harmful effects of distress,” she adds.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/300143.php?tw

Korea: Child abuse claims 12 lives, over 5000 victims in H1: report
Yonhap News – September 29, 2015
The report by the National Child Protection Agency showed that eight out of 10 cases of child abuse were perpetuated by parents and other close family members.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2015/09/29/0200000000AEN20150929003600320.html

child death

Weekly update ⋅ October 6, 2015NEWS

WHIO

Former Makayla Norman nurse guilty in child’s death

WHIO

A former nurse has been found guilty in connection with the 2011 death of a 14-year-old child partially under her care. Mary Kilby is guilty of failure to …

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KERO 23ABC News

Kern County Child Death Review Team Releases 2014 Annual Report

KERO 23ABC News

The Kern County Child Death Review Team will present their annual report for 2014 at the Kern County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, …

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WMUR Manchester

Defense seeks to exclude evidence in child’s death

WMUR Manchester

Court records said that an examination of the child’s body showed a variety of injuries to her face, head, back of her hands, chest, thigh, feet and legs.

Mom charged in daughter’s death says child fell down stairs – SFGate

Mother charged in 3-year-old daughter’s beating death says child fell down stairs – Daily Journal

Full Coverage

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Vader man gets nearly 35 years for child’s death

 

Q13 FOX

The Daily News of Longview reports that 26-year-old Danny Wing of Vader was sentenced Friday in Lewis County Superior Court for the death of …

Washington Man Gets Nearly 35 Years for Child’s Death – KEZI TV

Full Coverage

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Boston Herald

Gov cites DCF’s ‘blatant lack of oversight’ in Auburn foster child’s death

Boston Herald

Child welfare bosses moved to discipline two state workers after an internal investigation revealed multiple agency missteps before the death of a …

Gov. Baker to Update Case of 2-Year-Old Foster Child’s Death – NECN

Gov. Baker to release new information on death of Auburn foster child – Worcester Telegram

DCF: Auburn child in foster care suffered from heat stroke – My Fox Boston

Full Coverage

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New York Times

New child–death case for mom

Fort Wayne Journal Gazette

NEW YORK – A woman charged this week with tossing her newborn daughter to her death from a seventh-story window had an infant son die seven …

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WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

Hartford mother charged in child’s death

WTNH Connecticut News (press release)

HARTFORD, Conn. (WTNH) — A Hartford mother heads to court after being charged with manslaughter in her child’s death. 27-year-old Tamara Lee …

Mom Charged in Child’s Death Left Baby in Tub: Court Documents – NBC Connecticut

Full Coverage

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TV Newsroom

State reviews DCYF after child’s death

WMUR Manchester

CONCORD, N.H. —The state of New Hampshire will perform an independent review of its child protective services agency after the death of a …

NH reviews protection agency after child’s death – The Daily News of Newburyport

New Hampshire Reviews Protection Agency After Child’s Death – NECN

The state is planning an independent review of child protective services within the Division of … – The Union Leader

Full Coverage

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WVTM13

Mother, boyfriend plead guilty to charges in child death

WVTM13

GADSDEN, Ala. —The mother of a 2-year-old who died in 2011, as well as her boyfriend, have pleaded guilty to lesser charges in the child’s death.

Lee, Smith plead guilty in child’s death – Gadsden Times

2 plead guilty in 2011 death of 2-year-old Etowah County boy – AL.com

Full Coverage

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Idaho State Journal

Local hospitals react to child’s death from wrong medication

Idaho State Journal

The child who died after getting the wrong medication at a south central Idaho hospital was 7-month-old August Dean Elliott, an attorney for the family …

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WEBHospital: Nurse switched medication causing child’s death

 

Post Register

TWIN FALLS, Idaho (AP) — Officials in south-central Idaho say the child who died last month at a local hospital was given an adult dose of a saline …

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E

Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights

GENEVA (2 October 2015) – A group of United Nations human rights experts* today reiterated their call on Pakistan to reinstate a moratorium on the …

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Unattended Child Now Linked To Death Investigation

MSN.com

Police have linked the child found unattended in a parking lot late Sunday night with the dead body of a woman found in a home.

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Indiana man formally charged in death of girlfriend’s child

953MNC.com

Indiana man formally charged with murder in death of girlfriend’s 5-week-old child.

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NEWS

WEAU Milwaukee police investigating child’s death in fire as homicide WBAY MILWAUKEE (AP) – Milwaukee police say the death of a 2-year-old girl in a … Authorities say the grandmother was able to guide four other children, … Police investigating child’s death in fire as homicide – Leader-Telegram Police investigating child’s death in fire as homicide – Channel3000.com – WISC-TV3 Girl who died in Tuesday house fire identified, death ruled homicide – WISN Milwaukee Full Coverage Flag as irrelevant

The Australian Detectives probe child’s death in Vic 9news.com.au The suspicious death of a child has shocked neighbours in a town in … Wangaratta, where paramedics discovered the body of the child on Sunday … Detectives probe child’s death in Vic – The Australian (blog) Wangaratta schoolgirl, 11, death provokes murder investigation in Victoria – Daily Mail Man arrested, under police guard in hospital after 11yo girl found dead in Wangaratta – ABC Online Full Coverage Flag as irrelevant

CBS Local DCF Secretary Points To ‘System Failure’ In Child Deaths CBS Local TALLAHASSEE (NSF) – Florida Department of Children and Families Secretary Mike Carroll told a Senate panel Thursday that the state’s … Flag as irrelevant

KSFY Madison man pleads not guilty to murder in child’s death KSFY MADISON, – A Madison man charged in the death of a 3-year-old boy has pleaded not guilty to murder and manslaughter. Twenty-one-year-old Jacob … Man pleads not guilty to murder in child’s death – Rapid City Journal Madison Man Pleads Not Guilty To Murder In Child’s Death – KDLT News Madison man pleads not guilty to murder in child’s death – Sioux Falls Argus Leader Full Coverage Flag as irrelevant

CBS Local Prosecution: Messy house led to child’s drug death Detroit Free Press A judge is considering whether a suburban Detroit couple whose 11-month-old daughter died after eating a prescription morphine pill that authorities … Flag as irrelevant

CBC.ca Child death spurs call for review of St. John’s traffic lights CBC.ca The province’s child death review committee is recommending that the City of St. John’s review its current traffic signal system, after a child died from … Recommendations made in two separate child deaths – The Telegram Full Coverage Flag as irrelevant

KFGO Bemidji woman convicted in child death accused of probation violation KFGO BEMIDJI (MNN) — The Bemidji woman convicted of manslaughter in the death of her six-year-old cousin has been charged with theft, and the … Flag as irrelevant

Santa Fe New Mexican Police make arrest in child’s death in suspected road-rage shooting Santa Fe New Mexican Albuquerque police said Tony Torrez, 32, has been charged in the death of 4-year-old Lilly Garcia, who was riding in the back seat of her father’s truck … Man Charged With Murder in Road-Rage Killing of Girl, 4 – ABC News Police: Child dies in road-rage attack on New Mexico freeway – 6abc.com ‘Desperate’ police describe suspect sought in road rage shooting that killed 4-year-old – Fox News Full Coverage Flag as irrelevant

Washington baby sitter sent to prison for child’s death

Yakima Herald-Republic

TACOMA, Wash. (AP) — A baby sitter in Washington will spend more than eight years in prison after an 8-month-old died while in her care. The News …

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78-year-old driver gets one-year sentence in child’s death

Washington Times

Pennock, who said she has one glass eye and has glaucoma in the other, claims that she had not seen the child, who was pronounced dead at the …

78-year-old driver gets one-year sentence in child’s death – KULR-TV

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