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US: Kline Leads Bipartisan Legislative Effort to Help Prevent Child Abuse and Neglect (Press release)
Office of Congressman John Kline – April 28, 2016
The House Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Rep. John Kline, today approved H.R. 4843, the Infant Plan of Safe Care Improvement Act. The bipartisan legislation will require the Department of Health and Human Services to better ensure states are meeting current child welfare requirements, particularly protections for infants born with illegal substance exposure. The bill passed the committee by a voice vote.
http://kline.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=397945
US: Promising Practices to Address the Developmental Needs of Young Maltreated Children in Contact with the U.S. Child Welfare System
The Chronicle of Social Change – April 28, 2016
Policies put into place in 2003-2004 promoted early intervention in such cases, but surveys and research since have illustrated that very few children have received access to these interventionist programs. Report: https://www.upbring.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/white-paper-vi_developmental-needs-of-young-children-final.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/research-and-resources/promising-practices-address-developmental-needs-young-maltreated-children-contact-u-s-child-welfare-system/17685
US: Promoting Healing and Well-Being for Victims of Child Sexual Abuse (Press release)
United States Department of Justice – April 28, 2016
The Pediatric SAFE Protocol was developed through a collaborative process with national experts represented by child abuse pediatricians, pediatric sexual assault nurse examiners (SANEs), children’s hospitals, emergency departments, child advocacy centers, community and systems-based advocacy programs, law enforcement agencies and prosecutors. Protocol: https://www.justice.gov/ovw/file/846856/download
https://www.justice.gov/opa/blog/promoting-healing-and-well-being-victims-child-sexual-abuse
US: HRC Participates in #40toNoneDay to Raise Awareness of LGBTQ Youth Homelessness (Opinion)
Human Rights Campaign – April 27, 2016
The consequences of homelessness in the United States, particularly for LGBTQ youth, are far reaching and can last a lifetime. Homelessness is harmful to mental and physical health and youth who are homeless are at an increased risk for sexual abuse and exploitation, chemical and alcohol dependency, social stigma and discrimination. These youth also experience lower levels of long-term educational attainment-placing them at an even greater disadvantage when they enter the job market.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/hrc-participates-in-40tononeday-to-raise-awareness-of-lgbtq-youth-homelessn?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss-feed
US: Time to Take Close Look at Family First Act (Opinion)
Youth Today – April 27, 2016
Like so much in child welfare, the original proposal was born of good intentions – and it might have made a pretty good bill. But it was quickly watered down. In its present form, it opens up funding only to very limited forms of prevention. And it does nothing to curb the current huge, open-ended entitlement for foster care.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/04/time-to-take-close-look-at-family-first-act/
US: 5-decade study reveals fallout from spanking kids
CBS News – April 26, 2016
Spanking a child leads to bad behaviors, not the better manners some parents may think a smack on the bottom will elicit, a new study suggests. Researchers from the University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan analyzed 75 studies involving more than 150,000 children that spanned 50 years.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/5-decade-study-reveals-fallout-from-spanking-kids/
US: Everything You Think You Know About Child Sex Trafficking is Wrong … Alexandra Lutnick Tells You Why (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – April 26, 2016
Alexandra Lutnick had such interesting things to say about trafficking, particularly about child sex trafficking. So many people try to help and end up making things worse. Now that her book Domestic Minor Sex Trafficking: Beyond Victims and Villains is out, I thought I’d pick her brain about what is to be done.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/david-henry-sterry/everything-you-think-you-_1_b_9772910.html?utm_hp_ref=books&ir=Books
INTERNATIONAL
Norway: Norway vows to change child welfare practices
The Local – April 28, 2016
In the face of global protests against the Norwegian Child Welfare Service (Barnevernet), Norway this week announced two changes that could affect the controversial agency’s future operations.
http://www.thelocal.no/20160428/norway-vows-to-change-child-welfare-practices
US: New parents would get more time at home, under proposal in defense bill
Military Times – April 28, 2016
Servicemembers whose spouses give birth would get at least 14 days leave and dual military couples who adopt a child would both get two weeks off under House proposals approved as part of the annual defense authorization bill on Wednesday.
http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2016/04/27/ndaa-hasc-family-leave-time/83625140/
US: For kids’ sake, let’s get lead out of the water (Opinion)
Child Trends – April 19, 2016
Nationwide data have reported that the percentage of tested children with elevated blood lead levels has declined dramatically since 1997. The number has even stayed below 1 percent for the last several years. How can there be such a disconnect between the positive news from national data and the ground-level reality in many cities? For one, we’re not measuring lead in drinking water at the right times or the right places.
http://www.childtrends.org/for-kids-sake-lets-get-lead-out-of-the-water/#more-19083
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Failure to investigate child abuse led to deaths, advocate says
CBC News – April 27, 2016
Saskatchewan’s children’s advocate says the deaths of two children can be linked to a failure by officials to adequately report and investigate suspected child abuse. The case was highlighted in Bob Pringle’s annual report, which was released Wednesday.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/saskatchewan/child-abuse-report-children-s-advocate-1.3556233
Canada: Trudeau Government Put on Short Leash by Canadian Human Rights Tribunal
The Epoch Times – April 27, 2016
As Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met indigenous youth in Saskatoon on Wednesday, April 27, his government grappled with an order from the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal demanding immediate action on the panel’s landmark child welfare ruling.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/2042134-trudeau-government-put-on-short-leash-by-canadian-human-rights-tribunal/
India: Child adoption directive: WCD seeks explanation
NYOOOZ – April 27, 2016
Women and Child Development Department has sought an explanation from the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) for alleged violation of Central Adoption Resources Authority’s (CARA) guidelines in issuing directions for adoption of a six-month-old child to a Burhanpur-based couple.
http://www.nyoooz.com/indore/442930/child-adoption-directive-wcd-seeks-explanation
International: Kids’ best interests must come first in cross-border custody cases, urge MEPs
European Parliament News – April 28, 2016
It is children who pay the price when EU member states fail to cooperate and protect children’s best interests in legal proceedings such as cross-border parental custody disputes and adoption decisions, Parliament points out in a non-binding resolution voted on Thursday. MEPs want specialised chambers within EU countries’ family courts to ensure that transnational cases are processed faster.
http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/en/news-room/20160426IPR24708/Kids%E2%80%99-best-interests-must-come-first-in-cross-border-custody-cases-urge-MEPs
Uganda: Govt launches handbook to protect juveniles
New Vision – April 28, 2016
The Government of Uganda and UNICEF on Wednesday launched a child-friendly justice handbook to guide prosecutors and other actors in the criminal justice system, in handling child-related cases in a child-friendly and gender responsive manner.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1423301/govt-launches-handbook-protect-juveniles
US: Bureau of Prisons changes policies for prisoners with children
The Hill – April 26, 2016
The federal Bureau of Prisons announced new policies Tuesday aimed at helping inmates visit with their children and other family members. The agency said it’s also working with the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention on a pilot program that will allow incarcerated parents to take part in positive youth development activities with their children.
http://thehill.com/regulation/administration/277746-bop-announces-new-priorities-for-prisoners-with-children
US: Unadoptable is Unacceptable (Press release) (Opinion)
Just Means – April 26, 2016
At the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, we believe that “unadoptable” is unacceptable.Each year 23,000 children age out of the foster care system in the United States without being adopted into a forever family. To us, that is unacceptable.
http://www.justmeans.com/multimedia-with-summary/unadoptable-is-unacceptable
US: What scientists know–and don’t know–about sexual orientation (Press release)
Medical News Today – April 26, 2016
In many parts of the world, political and popular support for LGB rights hinges on questions about the prevalence, causes, and consequences of non-heterosexual orientations. In a new report, a team of researchers bring the latest science to bear on these issues, providing a comprehensive review of the scientific research on sexual orientation. Report: http://psi.sagepub.com/content/17/2/45
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/309564.php
US: Risks of Harm from Spanking Confirmed by Analysis of Five Decades of Research
UT News – April 25, 2016
The more children are spanked, the more likely they are to defy their parents and to experience increased anti-social behavior, aggression, mental health problems and cognitive difficulties, according to a new meta-analysis of 50 years of research on spanking by experts at The University of Texas at Austin and the University of Michigan.
http://news.utexas.edu/2016/04/25/risks-of-harm-from-spanking-confirmed-by-researchers
INTERNATIONAL
International: Child Homicide – Speaking of the Unspeakable
Science Newsline – April 27, 2016
New estimates published in PLOS Medicine suggest that homicide could be responsible for just over 1% of all neonatal deaths in South Africa. Together with other studies reporting on child homicide from other countries, these findings emphasize the importance of child protection, and highlight a need for cross-sector services to support vulnerable mothers. Report: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1002004
http://www.sciencenewsline.com/news/2016042700440033.html
US: How Black Boys Suffer Sexual Abuse in Silence
Vice – April 25, 2016
At issue in the allegations against Bambaataa is the statute of limitations in New York State. Despite its reputation as a center of liberal progressive politics, New York has the dubious distinction of having one of the most restrictive limitations on child sexual abuse — on par with that of Mississippi and Alabama. Victims can only sue until they reach the age of 23, and children who allege abuse in public institutions, like schools or foster care, are forced to file an “intent to sue” within 90 days of the original incident.
http://www.vice.com/read/how-black-boys-suffer-sexual-abuse-in-silence
US: President Obama orders more compliance with ICWA
Lakota Country Times – April 25, 2016
With the Indian Child Welfare Act facing a barrage of criticism and multiple lawsuits intended to undermine the law, the White House is stepping forward to make sure that federal entities comply with it.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2016/021109.asp
US: Report: Parents in prison affects kids’ health
Houston Chronicle – April 25, 2016
Texas children who have incarcerated parents suffer from trauma and emotional instability at the same magnitude as abuse and domestic violence, according to research study released Monday. The study could carry a significant message in Texas, a state with a historically high-incarceration rate that also has had limited funding for mental-health programs that could divert additional people from the nation’s largest state criminal-justice system. Also: One in 10 Oklahoma kids have parent in jail or prison during childhood: http://newsok.com/one-in-10-oklahoma-kids-have-parent-in-jail-or-prison-during-childhood/article/5494180?custom_click=rss Also: Nearly 90,000 Wisconsin kids have had a parent behind bars: http://host.madison.com/ct/report-nearly-wisconsin-kids-have-had-a-parent-behind-bars/article_cf059ac2-f7a4-596f-9853-9e67e5f60cd6.html Also: Report: 8 percent of Maine children have parent in prison: http://www.sunjournal.com/news/maine/2016/04/25/report-8-percent-maine-children-have-parent-prison/1912833 Also: Parents’ Prison Time Affects 8 Percent of SD Kids: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-04-26/childrens-issues/parents-prison-time-affects-8-percent-of-sd-kids/a51613-1 Also: IA: The Costs Of Parental Incarceration: http://iowapublicradio.org/post/costs-parental-incarceration#stream/0 Also: Tennessee among states with most incarcerated parents (Includes video): http://www.wbir.com/news/tennessee-among-states-with-most-incarcerated-parents/152807433 Report: A Shared Sentence, The Devastating Toll of Parental Incarceration on Kids, Families and Communities: http://www.aecf.org/resources/a-shared-sentence/ Information Gateway Resource: Child Welfare Practice With Families Affected by Parental Incarceration: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/parental-incarceration/
http://www.chron.com/news/politics/texas/article/Report-Parents-in-prison-affects-kids-health-7330112.php
US: The Criminalization of Parenthood: Why Are Good Parents Being Charged With Child Neglect? (Opinion)
Reader’s Digest – April 25, 2016
Doring’s story is emblematic of a disturbing trend. Parenting practices common a couple of decades ago — letting your child play outside or stay in the car so Dad could run a quick errand — are now considered neglectful, even criminal. “The pendulum has swung hard in favor of highly protective parenting,” according to David Pimentel, an associate professor of law at the University of Idaho and an expert on how the legal system addresses child neglect.
http://www.rd.com/culture/free-range-parenting-child-neglect/
US: Here’s how people are trying to protect kids at religious day cares
Reveal from the Center for Investigative Journalism – April 18, 2016
Hundreds of religious day cares across America face little oversight, thanks to religious exemption laws that shield them from child safety requirements. Many religious day cares are not required to be inspected, train their workers or follow any staff-to-child ratios. Related: Alabama bill to license religious child cares introduced: https://www.revealnews.org/blog/alabama-bill-to-license-religious-child-cares-introduced/
https://www.revealnews.org/article/heres-how-people-are-trying-to-protect-kids-at-religious-day-cares/
INTERNATIONAL
Ireland: Neglect and death of 800 kids in Galway happened in plain sight
Irish Central – April 25, 2016
Following early reports on the research of Tuam historian Catherine Corless, who brought the story to light, Liam Hogan, a Limerick-based historian and librarian, began uncovering a trail of damning news clips dating from before the Home’s founding in 1925 to after its closure in 1961. The articles show that the Home was very much a matter of both public and governmental knowledge. And the way in which they discuss the Home’s occupants (or “inmates” as they are more often referred to) makes clear the totally normalized disdain with which all the “illegitimate children” and “fallen women” were held.
http://www.irishcentral.com/news/The-Home-babies-in-the-news-A-timeline-of-neglect-in-plain-sight.html
US: Christian nonprofit opposes House Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill (Press release)
New Hope Network – April 24, 2016
The House of Representatives’ Education and Workforce Committee Child Nutrition Reauthorization Bill would impose strict restrictions on families’ and schools’ ability to participate in free and reduced-price meals programs, according to Bread for the World, a Christian nonprofit organization that focuses on solving hunger.
http://newhope.com/legislation-regulation/christian-nonprofit-opposes-house-child-nutrition-reauthorization-bill
US: When does disciplining a child become abuse under military law? (Opinion)
Navy Times – April 24, 2016
Under certain circumstances, service members are allowed to resort to reasonable physical force to discipline their children. However, if too much force is used, or if force is used for the wrong reasons, service members could face a charge of assault consummated by a battery upon a child under 16 years or aggravated assault in which grievous bodily harm is intentionally inflicted when committed upon a child under the age of 16 years, both of which are violations of Article 128 of the Uniform Code of Military Justice (UCMJ).
http://www.navytimes.com/story/military/advice/ask-the-lawyer/2016/04/24/when-does-disciplining-child-become-abuse-under-military-law/83186588/
US: National Service Agency Announces More than $11 Million in My Brother’s Keeper Commitments (Press release)
Corporation for National and Community Service – April 22, 2016
As part of today’s release of the My Brother’s Keeper 2016 Progress Report, the Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS), the federal agency that administers AmeriCorps, announced new commitments that will help meet the My Brother’s Keeper (MBK) milestones. More than $11 million in new programming includes new AmeriCorps VISTA programs with the My Brother’s Keeper Alliance and Social Innovation Fund grants through the Annie E. Casey Foundation and Youthprise. Report: https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/images/MBK-2016-Progress-Report.pdf
http://www.nationalservice.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/national-service-agency-announces-more-11-million-my-brother%E2%80%99s-keeper
INTERNATIONAL
India: Parents Of Abducted Children Lobby Washington In Hopes Of Influencing India
News India Times – April 22, 2016
Along with the umbrella organization, Coalition to Stop International Parental Child Abduction, Parmar’s group ascended on Washington D.C. April 20-22, pressing not just the U.S. but also foreign governments, including the Government of India to get their children back.
http://www.newsindiatimes.com/parents-of-abducted-children-lobby-washington-in-hopes-of-influencing-india/19761
Nepal: International bodies’ raise concern over Nepal quake-affected children
Siasat Daily – April 24, 2016
A year after Nepal was jolted with devastating earthquake, various international organisations working for the rights of children have raised their concerns over the present living conditions of quake-affected children in the country. Also: Nepal Earthquake Response: Reflections and Results – One Year Later: http://reliefweb.int/report/nepal/nepal-earthquake-response-reflections-and-results-one-year-later
http://www.siasat.com/news/international-bodies-raise-concern-nepal-quake-affected-children-950659/
United Kingdom: Child Refugees – We Must Not Turn Our Backs (Opinion)
Huffington Post – April 25, 2016
Some 95,000 children and teenagers in Europe as part of the refugee crisis are alone with no one to look after them. Lord Alf Dubs’ amendment – which had overwhelming cross party support in the House of Lords – asks Britain to take just 3,000 of those children, so we do our bit to help. Because urgent help is needed. Thousands are sleeping rough because children’s homes are full and child protection services are overwhelmed. They face huge risk from cold, sickness, abuse, exploitation, violence and rape.
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/yvette-cooper/child-refugees-we-must-not-turn-our-backs_b_9769850.html
US: International adoptions decline, hope remains
Mission Network News – April 22, 2016
Christianity Today reports 2004 saw an all-time high when Americans adopted 22,884 children from foreign nations. Yet over the last 12 years, international adoptions have taken a major hit. Only 5,648 international adoptions took place in 2015.
https://www.mnnonline.org/news/international-adoptions-decline-hope-remains/
US: Taking the fight against risky pain pill use to the ER: Study shows promise
Medical News Today – April 22, 2016
Just a single half-hour session with a trained therapist during an ER visit was enough to motivate people who misused prescription opioid painkillers to reduce their use as well as their riskiest behaviors, the study finds. Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2016.03.018
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/309406.php
US: Teen moms and infant sleep: Mother doesn’t always know best (Press release)
Medical News Today – April 22, 2016
Sudden unexpected infant death (SUID), which includes sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), is the leading cause of death in infants 1 month to 1 year of age in the United States. Although the reason is unknown, maternal age less than 20 years is associated with an increased risk of SIDS. In a new study scheduled for publication in The Journal of Pediatrics, researchers found that although teenage mothers know the recommendations in regards to safe sleeping practices, many deliberately do not follow those recommendations. Report: http://www.jpeds.com/article/S0022-3476(16)00346-2/pdf
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/309408.php
US: Child abuse a Calvinist problem, podcast says
Baptist News Global – April 21, 2016
Mortification of Spin, a weekly podcast from the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals–a coalition of pastors, scholars, and churchmen seeking to recover and promote biblical doctrines central to the Protestant Reformation–this week examined highly publicized scandals involving celebrity preachers accused of turning a blind eye at the expense of victims of child sexual abuse.
https://baptistnews.com/2016/04/21/child-abuse-a-calvinist-problem-podcast-says/
US: States weigh costs, benefits of undocumented immigrant parents
Herald Sun – April 21, 2016
As U.S. Supreme Court justices weigh whether President Barack Obama has the power to grant legal work status to about 3.5 million undocumented immigrant parents, states are weighing the costs of the decision. And they are divided on whether they will be helped or hurt economically–regardless of how the justices rule. Information Gateway resource: Understanding Immigration and Child Welfare: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/immigration/understandingimm/
http://www.sunherald.com/news/article73214277.html
US: Department of Justice Releases the 2016 National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction (Press release)
U.S. Department of Justice – April 19, 2016
Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch today announced that the Department of Justice released the 2016 National Strategy for Child Exploitation Prevention and Interdiction. The strategy provides a comprehensive threat assessment of the nature and scope of the current dangers facing our nation’s children, including child pornography offenses, sextortion and live-streaming of child sexual abuse, child sex trafficking, child sex tourism and sex offense registry violations. For the first time, the strategy also dedicates an entire section to the unique challenges confronting child exploitation in Indian Country. Report: https://www.justice.gov/psc/file/842411/download
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-releases-2016-national-strategy-child-exploitation-prevention-and
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Police seek suspects who posed as Child Protection Services employees
CTV Atlantic News – April 21, 2016
Police in Nova Scotia are warning the public after two incidents in which people appeared to misrepresent themselves as Child Protection Services employees. In both cases, parents were told they could lose custody of their child.
http://atlantic.ctvnews.ca/police-seek-suspects-who-posed-as-child-protection-services-employees-1.2869052
South Africa: Child welfare adoption services now accredited
News 24 – April 21, 2016
PORT Shepstone Child Welfare manager Sagree Naicker said they are now fully accredited to offer permanent adoption services after the organisation was awarded accreditation by Department of Social Development. Naicker said for a child protection organisation to be accredited they require a social worker with special skills. Child Welfare Port Shepstone social worker Khosi Tshazi will be responsible for facilitating processes.
http://www.news24.com/SouthAfrica/Local/South-Coast-Fever/child-welfare-adoption-services-now-accredited-20160420
US: 3 Tips for New Foster-Adoptive Parents (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – April 20, 2016
We were seriously under-prepared for our journey as foster parents. If you’re starting the process to become a foster parent, or if you’re fairly new to this gig (like me) — consider these three things I wish I would’ve known as a new foster-adoptive parent.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/danielle-helzer/3-tips-for-new-fosteradop_b_9722494.html
US: Prison’s extended punch–Female children of inmates at greater risk for neurological problems
Medical News Today – April 20, 2016
A secondary analysis of data gathered in scores of interviews with female inmates suggests girls who have an incarcerated adult in the family may be at greater risk for lifelong neurological problems. Study: http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07399332.2016.1140768?journalCode=uhcw20#.VxhF7aT2Z3s Information Gateway Resource: Children in Out-of-Home Care With Incarcerated Parents: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/casework/children/incarcerated/
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/309308.php
US: States weigh costs, benefits of undocumented immigrant parents
Stateline – April 20, 2016
As U.S. Supreme Court justices weigh whether President Barack Obama has the power to grant legal work status to about 3.5 million undocumented immigrant parents, states are weighing the costs of the decision. And they are divided on whether they will be helped or hurt economically — regardless of how the justices rule.
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/04/20/states-weigh-costs-benefits-of-undocumented-immigrant-parents
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Referrals to Australian child protection services increase 6% in a year
The Guardian – April 21, 2016
The number of children who received child protection services has jumped by 6% in one year, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children are seven times more likely to have accessed the system than their non-Indigenous counterparts, a new report has found.
http://www.theguardian.com/society/2016/apr/21/referrals-to-australian-child-protection-services-increase-6-in-a-year
Georgia: UN Special Envoy Concerned About Children’s Rights in Georgia
Georgia Today – April 20, 2016
The Dutch-born de Boer-Buquicchio emphasized that despite the government’s effort to better protect children from abuse, violence and exploitation significant problems remain for involving children living and working on the streets and the integration of children who live in special child care institutions into their families and communities.
http://georgiatoday.ge/news/3592/UN-Special-Envoy-Concerned-About-Children%E2%80%99s-Rights-in-Georgia
Greenland: The Arctic Suicides: It’s Not The Dark That Kills You (Includes audio)
National Public Radio – April 21, 2016
Her observations are in line with something psychologists and sociologists think is fundamental to the causes of suicide in Greenland. When communities are disrupted, like Kangeq was, families start to collapse. There’s an increase in alcoholism, child neglect and physical abuse, all of which are risk factors for suicide.
http://www.npr.org/sections/goatsandsoda/2016/04/21/474847921/the-arctic-suicides-its-not-the-dark-that-kills-you?utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=storiesfromnpr
International: Placing Muslim orphans into real homes (Opinion)
Altmuslimah – April 20, 2016
While sending money from afar to an orphanage is admirable, we need to do more. New Star Kafala is the only Muslim American adoption agency whose mission centers around convincing Muslim governments to allow it to place children from their orphanages into Muslim American homes.
http://www.altmuslimah.com/2016/04/placing-muslim-orphans-real-homes/
US: Child Welfare Solutions: Paging Captain Obvious (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 19, 2016
When foster parents tell me about their ill-treatment I always say the same thing: The system really needs you. If that’s how they treat you, how do you think they treat the birth parents? Think about that long enough, and you might start to do what former foster parent Mary Callahan did — start questioning what child welfare agencies told her about the children they were placing with her.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/child-welfare-solutions-paging-captain-obvious/17391
US: Preventing Child Abuse Before it Occurs
US News & World Report – April 19, 2016
April is Child Abuse Prevention Month, an important time when concerned citizens and organizations host public awareness events and educational activities focused on drawing attention to the urgent need to stop child abuse before it starts. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, very few cases of abuse or neglect are reported in the news, and many are not even reported to police or social services. According to 2012 data, 1,640 children died in the U.S. from abuse and neglect, and 686,000 children were found to be victims of maltreatment by child protective services.
http://health.usnews.com/health-news/patient-advice/articles/2016-04-19/preventing-child-abuse-before-it-occurs
US: States With Punitive Justice Systems Have Higher Rates of Foster Care, Study Finds
Newswise – April 19, 2016
The number of children in foster care across the country is driven not solely by child abuse and neglect, but by states’ varying politics and approaches to social problems, a new University of Washington (UW) study finds.
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/651921/?sc=rsla
INTERNATIONAL
China: Hidden Children: Abandonment, Adoption, and the Human Costs of the One-Child Policy
Foreign Affairs – April 19, 2016
The recent gradual loosening of the one-child policy does not change the fact that “out of plan” children may be seized from loving birth or foster parents, inflicting enduring pain on both generations. Johnson’s extraordinary book conveys the intense suffering of ordinary people struggling to build families against the will of an implacable bureaucracy.
https://www.foreignaffairs.com/reviews/capsule-review/2016-04-15/china-s-hidden-children-abandonment-adoption-and-human-costs-one
Guatemala: Mom Puts Groceries Away While 2-Year-Old Plays on Front Patio. She Has No Idea Someone’s Watching
Independent Journal – April 19, 2016
Anyeli had just become another victim of human trafficking, and her parents haven’t been in contact with her since. But they have seen her. She lives in Missouri with her adoptive parents under the name Karen Abigail Monahan.
http://www.ijreview.com/2016/04/587893-mom-coming-home-from-shopping-trip-with-daughter-lets-her-play-outside-she-had-no-idea-someone-else-was-with-her/
US: ACF at 25: Impacting People, Affecting Change, Empowering Families (Press release)
HHS.gov – April 18, 2016
Twenty-five years ago, on April 15, 1991, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) was born. ACF was created to bring together a wide range of programs for children, families and communities, under a single division of the Department of Health and Human Services. HHS Secretary Louis Sullivan explained at the time: “For the first time, the government will have a single agency bringing together the many child and family programs.” In doing so, a key goal was to encourage existing federal programs, now under the same roof, to find ways to work with each other to address the needs of the same populations being served.
http://www.hhs.gov/blog/2016/04/18/acf25-impacting-people-affecting-change-empowering-families.html
US: More than half of homeless youth were asked to leave
San Diego Union Tribune – April 18, 2016
More than half of the young people with no place to live first became homeless when a parent or guardian asked them to leave, according to a first-of-its-kind study by federal social workers. The report from the Administration for Children and Families within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services also said more than half of homeless young people who were interviewed by researchers had tried to stay at a shelter but were turned away for lack of space.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/2016/apr/18/homeless-youth/
US: Standardizing care improves outcomes for infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome
Medical News Today – April 18, 2016
Standardizing hospital care policies across institutions for infants diagnosed with drug withdrawal symptoms at birth reduces their length of treatment and hospitalization, according to new collaborative research led by Vermont Oxford Network, Vanderbilt and the University of Michigan Health System.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/309197.php
US: Starving the Foster Care Beast Hurts Only the Children (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 18, 2016
In his brilliant column of April 5, Sean Hughes explains why 20 years after the federal Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) was replaced, states still have to document a child’s AFDC eligibility in order to receive federal reimbursement for foster care. This Title IV-E “lookback” has potentially cost state and local child welfare systems billions of dollars over the past two decades.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/starving-foster-care-beast-hurts-children/17383
US: Supreme Court Seems Divided on Obama Immigration Showdown
NBC News – April 18, 2016
Sixteen other states are urging the justice to let the policy take effect. It would allow “millions of hard-working immigrants to work legally, dramatically increasing their incomes and state tax revenues,” says Bob Ferguson, Washington’s attorney general. And it would allow families to remain intact, instead of deporting the parents and leaving the children in the child welfare system at great expense to states. Information Gateway Resource: Understanding Immigration and Child Welfare: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/immigration/understandingimm/
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/supreme-court-hear-obama-immigration-showdown-n556841
US: The religious freedom battles playing out across the U.S.
Linn County Leader – April 18, 2016
More than 100 religious freedom bills have been proposed in state legislatures since the Obergefell v. Hodges ruling. Their sponsors argue that religious organizations, faith-based charities, small-business owners who object to same-sex marriage on religious grounds and other groups need to be guaranteed the freedom to follow their conscience without the threat of legal action.
http://www.linncountyleader.com/news/20160411/religious-freedom-battles-playing-out-across-us?rssfeed=true
US: Religious day cares get freedom from oversight, with tragic results (Includes audio)
Reveal News – April 12, 2016
Sixteen states have carved out exceptions for some faith-based day cares. Freedoms vary from state to state, ranging from the minor, such as waiving a registration fee, to the extreme, where religious day cares aren’t licensed and follow virtually no rules.
https://www.revealnews.org/article/religious-day-cares-operate-with-little-oversight-and-accountability/
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Aboriginal children are statistically over-represented in the foster system
Regina Leader-Post – April 18, 2016
A recent Statistics Canada report put the number much higher in 2011 — 87 per cent of foster children were aboriginal, though aboriginal children made up only 27 per cent of the child population. (Social Services’ number from that year is 70 per cent.)
http://leaderpost.com/news/saskatchewan/aboriginal-children-are-statistically-over-represented-in-the-foster-system
India: ‘New IT enabled system would make child adoption easier’
The Sentinel – April 18, 2016
Union Minister for Women & Child Development Maneka Gandhi today said that the revised Child Adoption and the Guidelines Governing Adoption of Children 2015 coupled with the new IT enabled adoption system will simplify the adoption process.
http://www.sentinelassam.com/meghalaya/story.php?sec=2&subsec=8&id=264160&dtP=2016-04-19&ppr=1
India: Working to stop women, child trafficking: Maneka
Morung Express – April 18, 2016
Shillong, April 18 (IANS) India is in the process of finding a solution to thwart trafficking of women and children from Nepal, Bangladesh and Pakistan, union Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi said here on Monday. Gandhi, who inaugurated the “Regional Conference of North Eastern States on Child Adoption” here, also directed all the northeastern states to appoint a special woman police official in each village to prevent trafficking of women and children.
http://morungexpress.com/india-working-to-stop-women-child-trafficking-maneka/
International: Sneakers4Funds and American World Adoption Announce Their Partnership to Help Adoptive Families Raise Money on Earth Day and Beyond (Press release)
PRNewswire – April 18, 2016
AWAA has recently formed One Orphan; a division tasked with raising money, with the support of champions, to support orphans in 9 countries. Funds raised through One Orphan will provide dental and medical care, education, clothing, and even travel expenses when children are matched with a forever family.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/sneakers4funds-and-american-world-adoption-announce-their-partnership-to-help-adoptive-families-raise-money-on-earth-day-and-beyond-300253050.html
Viet Nam: Lack of protection, education causes child sex abuse
Vietnam.net – April 19, 2016
The number of childhood sexual abuse cases in Viet Nam has been increasing in recent years. Many cases have been detected and denounced. But many cases of childhood sexual harassment remain undetected
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/fms/society/154854/lack-of-protection–education-causes-child-sex-abuse.html
US: Federal PSA Campaign and Study Aim to Increase Awareness of Youth Homelessness
Youth Today – April 18, 2016
“I really didn’t feel safe anymore at home,” says the first young person in a new public service announcement campaign that aims to connect runaway and homeless youth with the support they need.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/04/federal-psa-campaign-study-aim-to-increase-awareness-of-youth-homelessness/
US: All Children Deserve to Be Safe (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 16, 2016
On April 7, four Los Angeles County social workers were charged with felony child abuse and falsifying public records as a result of the 2012 death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. The Palmdale boy died as a result of injuries caused by his mother and her boyfriend. County social workers were later investigated for missing several troubling signs of abuse. What is being perceived by many as “justice” in an innocent child’s death will create a county that will be crushed by more detentions of children, higher caseloads for social workers and an attack on a system of the most vulnerable parts of our society.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/opinion/children-deserve-safe/17500
US: Emancipation from Foster Care: A Cruel Joke (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 15, 2016
The average length of time spent in foster care in 1999 was 32 months. By 2014, the average time had dropped to 19.5 months. Progress, but still unacceptably high. Much more unsettling, however, are the statistics on emancipation. In this same time period, the number of children aging out to a life on their own has increased from 18,964 to 22,392, despite a smaller foster care population.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/emancipation-foster-care-cruel-joke/16971
US: No effect for kids of same-sex parents
CNN – April 15, 2016
Study finds no difference between children of same-sex, opposite-sex parents.
http://www.kspr.com/news/health/no-effect-for-kids-of-samesex-parents/21051714_39053728
US: Senate hearing searches for common ground on heroin scourge
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – April 15, 2016
“We are now in the midst of a public health emergency, and we have a responsibility to guarantee that our communities and families have the resources they need to fight this,” Democratic U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin said in her opening statement.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/senate-hearing-searches-for-common-ground-on-heroin-scourge-b99707788z1-375916591.html
INTERNATIONAL
Columbia: Government reaches deal with striking child welfare workers
Columbia Reports – April 16, 2016
Colombia’s government has reached an agreement with child care workers who have been on strike for 11 days, allowing the women to return to work in child care centers on Monday.
http://colombiareports.com/colombias-government-reach-agreement-striking/
India: Child marriages prevented
The Hindu – April 18, 2016
Officials of the Women and Child Welfare Department, with their timely intervention, prevented eight child marriages at a mass marriage function held during the Amatayya Tata temple fair at Honagera village on Sunday.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/karnataka/child-marriages-prevented/article8488086.ece
US: GIS and Child Welfare: A Map Is Worth More Than a Thousand Words (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – April 14, 2016
Over the past fifteen years, while GIS emerged as crucial tools for practice and research in multiple fields, child welfare caseworkers have been slow to adopt the technology.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/map-worth-thousand-words/17416
US: Grassley Bill to Aid States, Public in Tracking Sex Offenders Advances to Full Senate (Press release)
Office of U.S. Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley – April 14, 2016
The Senate Judiciary Committee today reported to the full Senate Chairman Chuck Grassley’s legislation to assist states in preventing future abuses by registered sex offenders. The Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act Reauthorization, which Grassley introduced last month, helps to improve tracking of sex offenders through federal support of state registries and dedicated resources to target offenders who fail to comply with registration requirements. It cleared the Senate Judiciary Committee unanimously.
http://www.grassley.senate.gov/news/news-releases/grassley-bill-aid-states-public-tracking-sex-offenders-advances-full-senate
US: Letting them die: parents refuse medical help for children in the name of Christ
The Guardian – April 13, 2016
The Followers of Christ is a religious sect that preaches faith healing in states such as Idaho, which offers a faith-based shield for felony crimes — despite alarming child mortality rates among these groups.
http://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/13/followers-of-christ-idaho-religious-sect-child-mortality-refusing-medical-help
US: Why Rapid Rehousing May Be Increasing Family Homelessness (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – April 12, 2016
Rapid rehousing’s key component is the provision of rental vouchers. But could rent vouchers distributed in the name of ending homelessness be incentivizing people to enter the shelter system when they otherwise would not? And because those vouchers come with time limits and little or no support, are we essentially setting families up to fail?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ralph-da-costa-nunez/why-rapid-rehousing-may-b_b_9664600.html
US: The Brief: Foster Care Pressures Mean Longer Psych Stays
The Texas Tribune – April 08, 2016
Time spent in psychiatric facilities by abused children is up from six years ago, an effect of increased federal scrutiny of the foster care program and new restrictions on placing abused children in the care of relatives. Also: Foster Home Crunch Strands Children in Psych Facilities: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/04/08/foster-care-home-crunch-means-length-psych-stays-g/
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/04/08/the-brief/?utm_source=texastribune.org&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Tribune%20Feed:%20Main%20Feed
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Fact check: Are Indigenous children 10 times more likely than non-Indigenous children to be living out of home? (Includes video)
ABC News Australia – April 13, 2016
Are Indigenous children 10 times more likely to be living out of home than their non-Indigenous counterparts? ABC Fact Check investigates.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-13/are-indigenous-kids-ten-times-more-likely-to-live-out-of-home/7177866
US: Openness of adoption records vary state to state
Sioux Falls Argus Leader – April 14, 2016
The decision to seek out biological parents or children can be tense, difficult and at times impossible. How a person goes about finding and reconnecting with their biological family depends on who they are, where they live and how willing the family on the other side of the adoption is to being found.
http://www.argusleader.com/insider/extras/2016/04/13/openness-adoption-records-vary-state-state/82977054/
US: New federal law extends support to homeless preschool students
EdSource – April 13, 2016
Homeless preschool students will soon be able to remain enrolled at their schools even if their families move, thanks to the Every Student Succeeds Act, the new federal education law. In order to provide stability for homeless youth, current law requires that schools allow K-12 students to stay enrolled in their home school if they move outside of that school’s attendance boundary during the school year. They can remain at those schools in subsequent years until they have permanent housing.
http://edsource.org/2016/new-federal-law-extends-support-to-homeless-preschool-students/562761
US: New federal study provides insights on homeless youth
Southwest Journal – April 13, 2016
More than half of homeless youth surveyed for a new federal study became homeless for their first time after a parent or caregiver asked them to leave. Study: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/fysb/data_collection_study_final_report_street_outreach_program.pdf
http://www.southwestjournal.com/news/2016/04/new-federal-study-provides-insights-on-homeless-youth/
US: Good Parents, Good Kids: Anger–What is it, really? (Opinion)
Record-Bee – April 12, 2016
Anger frequently becomes a default emotion children use when a different feeling would have accomplished a lot more. But that part of their brain–the prefrontal cortex, which should make it possible for them to stop short of rage–is not yet fully developed, and won’t be until several years into adulthood. It becomes immensely important, then, to attempt to unearth the real source of the child’s feelings, and sadness is usually where I begin.
http://www.record-bee.com/lifestyle/20160412/good-parents-good-kids-anger-x2014-what-is-it-really
INTERNATIONAL
Kenya: Street kids struggle for survival in Kenya
Agence-France Presse – April 14, 2016
One estimate, by the Consortium of Street Children (CSC), an international charity, suggests the number of street children could be as high as between 250,000 and 300,000 throughout Kenya, including 60,000 in Nairobi alone. Some children are pushed onto the street following the death of parents — sometimes due to HIV/AIDS — or after running away from violence at home. Others live on the street simply because their families are too poor to look after them.
http://www.newvision.co.ug/new_vision/news/1422090/street-kids-struggle-survival-kenya
South Korea: For adoptees, DNA is game changer for finding roots
Yonhap News – April 13, 2016
Adopted by a white American couple in California in 1961, Kim said she knows she had a better life in the U.S. than she would have had as a biracial child in Korea. But that didn’t stop her from wanting to make peace with the first three and a half years of her life, which were spent here with her single mother and then at an orphanage.
http://english.yonhapnews.co.kr/news/2016/04/11/0200000000AEN20160411005300315.html?input=rss
United Kingdom: Britain ‘lagging behind developed world’ on child poverty, Unicef report reveals (Includes video)
Independent – April 14, 2016
The Unicef report, Fairness for Children, emphasised the importance of a strong welfare system in reducing inequality–and carried a strong suggestion that the Government should reconsider its cuts to benefits. Report: http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_90833.html
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/britain-lagging-behind-developed-world-on-child-poverty-unicef-report-reveals-a6983291.html
United Kingdom: Refugee kids ‘as young as SIX are arriving in UK without parents’ sparking sex trafficking fears
Mirror – April 14, 2016
Desperate refugee kids aged just six are arriving in Britain without their parents, a top official revealed on Wednesday. The children flee to the UK without their parents as part of a wave of migrants heading for British shores, a committee of peers heard.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/refugee-kids-as-young-six-7750313
US: Need Evidence That Child Welfare Sees Poverty As Neglect? Step One: Look (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – April 12, 2016
The data are “hard to see” only if you refuse to look. And that also turns out to be part of the problem.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/need-evidence-child-welfare-sees-poverty-neglect-step-one-look/17253
US: Pediatricians, health professionals speak against legislation targeting trans youth (Press release) (Includes video)
Human Rights Campaign – April 12, 2016
“Lawmakers introducing bills that make it difficult for trans kids to survive in school or society – it’s horrific when that happens,” said Dr. Carolyn Wolf-Gould, a family physician in New York. “We need to support all of our citizens, and make the world safe for these kids.” Information Gateway Resource: Supporting Your LGBTQ Youth: A Guide for Foster Parents: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/LGBTQyouth.pdf
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Pediatricians-health-professionals-speak-against-legislation-targeting-trans-youth/54886.html
INTERNATIONAL
India: Will frame model rules for adoption: Centre to Bombay HC
Times of India – April 12, 2016
The Centre on Tuesday told Bombay high court within two months it will frame model rules for States to follow before Central Adoption Resources Authority (CARA) brings out new guidelines for adoption.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Will-frame-model-rules-for-adoption-Centre-to-Bombay-HC/articleshow/51801117.cms
International: Child refugees in Europe need better protection from traffickers-Unicef
Thomson Reuters Foundation – April 12, 2016
Europe’s refugee crisis has created a “huge business opportunity” for human traffickers, and governments should widen the legal routes of entry to protect refugee children, the U.N. children’s agency (Unicef) said on Tuesday.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3536288/Child-refugees-Europe-need-better-protection-traffickers-Unicef.html
Russia: Russian NGO proposes nationwide register of prospective adoptive parents
RT – April 13, 2016
A member of the Russian Public Chamber and the head of an NGO dealing with orphans has said that a nationwide database of people who want to adopt a child could lead to a radical increase in successful adoptions.
https://www.rt.com/politics/339427-russian-ngo-proposes-nationwide-register/
United Arab Emirates: New child protection law ‘a big move for UAE’s development’
The National – April 12, 2016
On Tuesday, President Sheikh Khalifa issued Federal Law No?3 of 2016 on children’s rights, which was originally named Wadeema’s Law after the eight-year-old Emirati girl who was tortured to death by her father.
http://www.thenational.ae/uae/new-child-protection-law-a-big-move-for-uaes-development
US: Here’s how witnessing violence harms children’s mental health
Deseret News – April 12, 2016
As researchers and clinicians who have studied the problem of violence over the past three decades, we have witnessed a steady increase in levels of children’s exposure to violence and its damaging effect on their mental health.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865652021/Heres-how-witnessing-violence-harms-children7s-mental-health.html?pg=all
US: Pay Foster Parents to Stay Home with Infants, Not Put Them in Daycare (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 11, 2016
On April 1 in The Chronicle, Jeremy Loudenback reported on a California budget proposal that would allocate $31 million to provide emergency child care vouchers to foster parents caring for children ages 0 to 3. Based on my experience as a social worker for foster children in the District of Columbia, I would recommend moving in the opposite direction and using the funds to pay foster parents for staying home with younger children.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/pay-foster-parents-stay-home-infants-not-put-daycare/17210
US: Pregnancy, Drug Use, and Why Prison Is Not the Solution (Opinion)
Huffington Post – April 11, 2016
In New Hampshire, a bill to redefine opioid use or addiction in pregnant women as child abuse is making its way through the legislature, despite vocal objection from the state’s medical community. Much media treatment of this bill and similar bills in other states presumes women are not generally held criminally responsible for terminating?or losing?a pregnancy.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marianne-mollmann/pregnancy-drug-use-and-wh_b_9665668.html
US: The Battle Against Prisons for Kids (Opinion)
The Nation – April 11, 2016
For as long as youth prisons have existed in the United States, so too has the pretense that there are no youth prisons. And so began the unending march of euphemisms, in which children’s prisons have been known by any other name?residential treatment facilities, youth camps, youth-development centers, to name a few?exposing juveniles to many the same cruelties and racial discriminations of the adult prison system.
http://www.thenation.com/article/the-battle-against-prisons-for-kids/
INTERNATIONAL
International: Breaking the adoption taboo in Dubai
The Islamic Monthly – April 11, 2016
In the UAE and in many other Muslim countries, many people eschew the idea of adopting a child. Some concerns are religious and others are cultural. While Islam highly stresses the importance of caring for orphans, it forbids stripping away a child’s sense of his or her own biological lineage and biological rights, as commonly happens under conventional adoption procedures.
http://theislamicmonthly.com/breaking-the-adoption-taboo-in-dubai/
US: Details of state legislation seeking religious protections
Associated Press – April 10, 2016
While some are narrowly tailored to protect clergy, others are written more broadly, potentially applying to an array of businesses. Some bills already have been sent to governors while others are pending in the legislature. A few already have failed to pass before legislative sessions ended.
http://www.stuttgartdailyleader.com/news/20160408/details-of-state-legislation-seeking-religious-protections?Start=1
US: Conservative groups try to strike down Indian Child Welfare Act
Indianz – April 08, 2016
The battle is largely taking place in the courts. The Goldwater Institute of Arizona, for example, is seeking class action status for a lawsuit that claims ICWA violates the U.S. Constitution because, in the views of conservatives, it only applies to one “race” — Indian children. Also: Why A Conservative Legal Organization Is Desperately Trying To Kill The Indian Child Welfare Act: http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/04/08/3754462/indian-child-welfare-act-case-goldwater/
http://www.indianz.com/News/2016/020925.asp
US: Good Riddance to Term ‘Child Prostitute’ (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 08, 2016
As a children’s social worker I believe the term “child prostitute” is inaccurate, misleading and should be removed from the conversation when discussing issues of sexually trafficked children. Thankfully the Associated Press now agrees. Information Gateway Resource: Child Welfare and Human Trafficking: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/trafficking.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/journalism-for-social-change/childrens-social-worker-sees-no-use-term-child-prostitute/17212
US: Poverty’s Link to Foster Care Removals? It’s in The Eyes Of The Workers (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 08, 2016
In his recent post about financing child welfare, Sean Hughes implied that it is an exaggeration to say that children are removed from their families solely due to poverty. I suppose that depends on what one means by “due to poverty.”
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/povertys-link-removals-eyes-workers/17271
US: Protect Foster Parents from Unwarranted Allegations (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 08, 2016
A major reason that many foster parents quit is the way our welfare systems handle allegations against them.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/protect-foster-parents-unwarranted-allegations/17145
US: When to Seek Out a Pediatric Social Worker – Q&A with an Expert
Huffington Post – April 08, 2016
I recently had the opportunity to speak with Liz Disterhoft & ask her a whole bunch of questions about the field of social work. Liz received her MSW from Simmons School of Social Work, & she has been working as a social worker in community health for eight years. She is currently a social worker at a unique pediatric practice that utilizes a team-based approach to care. This experience made her the perfect person to talk to about concerns that many parents have regarding their children & social work services.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/shari-medini/when-to-seek-out-a-pediat_b_9638046.html
US: How Air Pollution Affects Babies Before They’re Born
Mother Jones – March 30, 2016
Air pollution leads to a whopping 16,000 premature births every year and costs the nation billions of dollars in medical costs and lost productivity, according to a study published Tuesday in Environmental Health Perspectives. This is the first study to estimate the number of preterm births due to air pollution, adding to a growing body of evidence linking air pollution to myriad health problems, from cardiovascular and respiratory illnesses to endocrine disruption and dementia.
http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2016/03/air-pollution-premature-birth-study
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Early start making a big difference in child protection
Brisbane Times – April 09, 2016
Child protection experts are cutting the need for children and teenagers to be removed from their families.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/national/early-start-making–a-big-difference-in-child-protection-20160331-gnv5z6.html
Canada: Open adoptions in Alberta hindered by online profile ban, say potential parents
CBC News – February 04, 2016
Birth moms can’t see web profiles of potential Alberta parents like they can in other provinces.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-adoption-publicity-ban-challenged-1.3432932
International: Outcomes for Orphans in Low- and Middle-Income Countries Consistent, Regardless of Care Setting
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development – April 08, 2016
Several prominent studies, mainly focused on very young children in European countries, have suggested that institutional care in a group home is more damaging to children than family-based or foster care. As a result, institutional care is often viewed as an option of last resort. The Positive Outcomes for Orphans (POFO) study explored individual, family, community, and structural factors that influence positive outcomes for orphaned and abandoned children.
https://www.nichd.nih.gov/news/releases/Pages/040816-orphan-outcomes.aspx
Uganda: Cleveland pastor and his family create a family restoration center in Uganda
Chattanooga Times Free Press – April 09, 2016
On March 9, after an emotional send-off from family and friends, Bucky and Julie Rogers boarded a plane with 15 suitcases containing everything they owned. The next day, they landed in an African country that would become their permanent home — Uganda.
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/life/entertainment/story/2016/apr/09/building-community-love-uganda/359249/
US: Breaking: Federal Agency Publishes Proposed Rule, Announces Major Grant to Implement ICWA
Indian Country Today – April 07, 2016
Signaling continued federal intent to support the Indian Child Welfare Act, today the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a supplemental proposed rule that will require state child welfare agencies to collect and report data on American Indian children in foster care under the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System (AFCARS). Proposed rule: https://www.federalregister.gov/articles/2016/04/07/2016-07920/adoption-and-foster-care-analysis-and-reporting-system Information Gateway Resource: Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/americanindian/icwa/
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/04/07/breaking-federal-agency-publishes-proposed-rule-announces-major-grant-implement-icwa
US: Eight Years Later, “Foster Care to 21” Moving Toward a Majority in U.S.
The Chronicle of Social Change – April 07, 2016
The Alaska House of Representatives unanimously approved a bill late last week that would enable foster youth to remain in care until age 21.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/youth-services-insider/alaska-might-extend-care-21/17163
US: What Children’s Brains Tell Us About Trauma: Invest Early (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – March 09, 2016
If we are serious about helping children, we must ask ourselves with greater urgency: At what point should we begin to pay attention to families who are at risk?
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/what-childrens-brains-are-telling-us-about-trauma-invest-early/16468
INTERNATIONAL
Finland: Partnership between Fazer and SOS Children’s Villages continues — co-operation enables building new types of children’s villages (Press release)
Fazer Group – April 07, 2016
The three-year partnership agreement between Fazer and SOS Children’s Villages was renewed in the end of March. The co-operation has continued for 40 years. During the next few years, financial support will be directed especially to the Children’s Villages in Espoo and Vantaa, representing a new type of children’s villages where foster homes are integrated into the rest of the population in the neighbourhood. Fazer supports SOS Children’s Villages’ child welfare work also in other countries.
http://news.cision.com/fazer-group/r/partnership-between-fazer-and-sos-children-s-villages-continues—co-operation-enables-building-new-,c9950323
Norway: Norwegian Christian Family Regains Custody of Youngest Son
KPDQ – April 07, 2016
Although corporal punishment is illegal in Norway, many protested the Barnevernet’s removal of the Bodnariu’s children. Christian Today reports that a petition calling for the return of all the children to their family has been signed by around 60,000 people. Additionally, hundreds of Christians have protested outside Norwegian embassies across Europe.
http://www.kpdq.com/11752733/
US: For Nontraditional Families, The Tax Code Can Be Especially Confusing (Includes audio)
National Public Radio – April 07, 2016
“Every year up until now, we’ve been fine doing our taxes,” says Franklin, who works in a warehouse. But this year, the IRS rejected both his and his fiancée’s returns. He says it could be because they aren’t married, don’t share a last name, or because the kids have different fathers. “It is hard for a blended family when you’re not married as of yet, to try to claim taxes and get the money for supporting your kids over the year,” he says. After receiving notice they would be audited, he’s spent 10 to 12 hours at tax clinics trying to refile.
http://www.npr.org/2016/04/07/472663018/for-nontraditional-families-the-tax-code-can-be-especially-confusing?ft=nprml&f=2,3,46
US: So Little to Ask For: A Home (Opinion)
New York Times – April 07, 2016
In a year in which there finally is serious talk about inequality, the ultimate poverty is lack of shelter. And the good news is that in the last decade or so, we’ve figured out what works to address it; the problem is not inevitable. The Housing First approach, which gets people quickly into permanent housing and then offers support services to keep them there, seems particularly cost-effective. Family homelessness is down almost one-fifth since 2010, and veteran homelessness is down much more — two states say they have functionally ended homelessness of veterans.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/opinion/so-little-to-ask-for-a-home.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Olympic chief: Child abuse laws as important as anti-doping
Associated Press – April 07, 2016
The head of the Australian Olympic Committee says child abuse prevention needs to be elevated to the same importance as the anti-doping code within the Olympic charter. AOC president John Coates gave evidence on Thursday at a national commission hearing which is investigating child protection policies and strategies within sporting institutions.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/olympics/2016/04/07/olympic-chief-child-abuse-laws-as-important-as-anti-doping/82735576/?utm_source=feedblitz&utm_medium=FeedBlitzRss&utm_campaign=usatodaycomolymp
Commonwealth of the Bahamas: 142 Child Abuse Cases In Grand Bahama
Bahamas Tribune – April 06, 2016
There were 142 child abuse cases reported in Grand Bahama in 2015, Assistant Director of Social Services Paula Marshall said on Tuesday while announcing this year’s plans for Child Protection Month.
http://www.tribune242.com/news/2016/apr/06/142-child-abuse-cases-grand-bahama/?news
US: Our children must be protected — no matter the cost (Opinion)
Galveston County Daily News – April 06, 2016
When states cut budgets, the first cut is to unleveraged budget items (straight general revenue line items) while agencies maintain funding for line items receiving federal matches. Title IV-E and Title IV-B funds should be gradually shifted to paying for proven, cost-effective prevention initiatives that yield a positive return on investment.
http://www.galvnews.com/opinion/guest_columns/article_cc1ca954-0d8a-59d9-81b3-ba7c5c845cab.html
US: The IV-E “Lookback” Is a Bureaucratic Nightmare; Here’s Why We Should Keep It
The Chronicle of Social Change – April 05, 2016
Before a state can be reimbursed for much of the cost of a given placement under Title IV-E, the state has to “look back” and determine whether the birth parents from whom the child was taken would have qualified for Aid to Families with Dependent Children – based on income limits in effect when that program was abolished in 1996. Because eligibility is linked to this standard, getting rid of this approach is called “delinking.” Also: The $2 Billion Question: Why Haven’t We De-Linked? https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/finance-reform/2-billion-question-havent-de-linked/17125
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/iv-e-lookback-bureaucratic-nightmare-heres-keep/17193
INTERNATIONAL
Colombia: Child welfare workers strike over starving children
Colombia Reports – April 05, 2016
Approximately 7,000 “community mothers” began an indefinite strike on Monday, amid ongoing concerns over the deteriorating humanitarian situation of the poorest of Colombia’s children.
http://colombiareports.com/colombias-community-health-workers-strike-starving-children/
Singapore: Christopher de Souza: Make compulsory adoption information in abortion counselling
The Independent – April 05, 2016
The MP asked the government to include information about adoption in the mandatory pre-abortion consultations pregnant women in Singapore have to go through before terminating their pregnancies.
http://theindependent.sg/christopher-de-souza-make-compulsory-adoption-information-in-abortion-counselling/
United Kingdom: Lack of professional assertiveness a factor in case where child died, review finds
Community Care – April 05, 2016
A lack of professional assertiveness in the face of high workloads and obstructive parents was a factor in agencies’ failure to protect a 10-day-old child who died, a serious case review has found.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/04/05/lack-professional-assertiveness-factor-case-child-died-review-finds/
US: Federal Agencies Launch Initiative to Support the Implementation and Enforcement of ICWA
Indian Country Today Media Network – April 04, 2016
Today at the opening session of the 34th annual National Indian Child Welfare Association in St. Paul, Minnesota, acting Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Indian Affairs Lawrence S. Roberts announced an interagency memorandum of understanding (MOU) in collaboration with the Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services to ensure compliance with and implementation of the Indian Child Welfare Act.
http://indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com/2016/04/04/federal-agencies-launch-initiative-support-implementation-and-enforcement-icwa-164026
US: Let’s Study What Works Best for Homeless Youth
Huffington Post – April 04, 2016
As part of its laudable goal to end family, youth, and child homelessness by 2020, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has issued national instructions in its funding announcements, prioritizing investments in rapid re-housing, putting homeless people in apartments first, and then working to address their need for social services.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kevin-m-ryan/lets-study-what-works-bes_b_9609140.html
US: Study stresses need for home visits to ensure safety of children
Montana Standard – April 04, 2016
The Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) has unanimously recommended that evidence-based home-visiting programs need to be reauthorized at the federal level to ensure the safety of children at risk for death or injury from maltreatment. Report: Within our Reach: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/cecanf_final_report.pdf
http://mtstandard.com/blogs/the_publics_health/study-stresses-need-for-home-visits-to-ensure-safety-of/article_1c345b6c-7b35-562f-a6da-7cfbabc9b710.html
US: When Foster Parents Face Allegations (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – April 04, 2016
Allegations against foster parents are common. They come from everywhere and nowhere, often as a surprise. No one warned you that this was likely. Someone calls in to say that you spanked your child. The child may have told her teacher that you touched him “improperly” during a bath. The birth mother charges that you left her child alone or locked him in his room. The caseworker may even charge you with neglect for failing to keep a doctor’s appointment. In order to encourage the reporting of abuse, the accuser is granted anonymity. Consequently, you cannot confront your accuser directly.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/foster-parents-face-allegations/17142
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Frank Brennan, S.J. on the Sex Abuse Scandal in Australia
America Magazine – April 02, 2016
As a lawyer, professor and human rights activist, Frank Brennan, S.J., occupies a unique position in Australian civil and religious society. He is well known throughout the country, both inside and outside the church, for his decades-long work as an advocate in the areas of law, social justice and reconciliation with Aboriginal Australians.
http://americamagazine.org/content/all-things/frank-brennan-sj-sex-abuse-scandal-australia
US: Reframing the Opioid Epidemic: Lawmakers Must Put Children First (Opinion)
Youth Today – April 04, 2016
In Congress, the Senate recently held a hearing to discuss policy to address the epidemic, Examining the Opioid Epidemic: Challenges and Opportunities, and recently passed the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act (CARA). Among other provisions included in CARA, the bill would help young people with addiction gain access to treatment and create a pilot program to improve treatment for pregnant and postpartum women.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/04/reframing-the-opioid-epidemic-lawmakers-must-put-children-first/
US: Important Bipartisan Report on Child Abuse Deaths: Will It Be Ignored As With Prior Studies? (Opinion)
Huffington Post – April 01, 2016
On March 17, the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities released its long awaited report. This effort involved two years of hearings throughout the nation, contributions from experts and review by a diverse commission appointed to make recommendations to the Congress. Also: Child abuse report’s recommendations are tepid: http://m.mysanantonio.com/opinion/commentary/article/Child-abuse-report-s-recommendations-are-tepid-7223483.php
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-c-fellmeth/important-bipartisan-repo_b_9589012.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: These Indigenous Elders Are Fighting To Stem The Rising Tide Of Child Removals
BuzzFeed News – April 04, 2016
Gomeroi elders distraught at the high rates of Indigenous child removals in northern New South Wales have created a program designed to keep families together and keep children out of the welfare system.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/allanclarke/these-indigenous-elders-are-fighting-to-stem-the-rising-tide#.tagAkw1Vd
Canada: Children’s aid societies launch major training reforms
Toronto Star – April 03, 2016
Children’s aid societies in Ontario have launched a major reform of training for child protection workers, setting province-wide standards designed to eventually have workers regulated by a professional college. “We want to make sure that the people who are doing the work have the very best training and competence to be able to do it,'”says Mary Ballantyne, CEO of the Ontario Association of Children’s Aid Societies (OACAS)
http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/04/03/childrens-aid-societies-launch-major-training-reforms.html
Senegal: & Mali: New beginnings for child beggars in Senegal and Mali
Relief Web – April 01, 2016
Child beggars, known as ‘talibés’, are a familiar sight in cities across Senegal and Mali. Far from home, and forced to beg, their situations have been likened to modern slavery. SOS Children’s Villages together with the European Commission is running a project to protect these children, bring them home to their families, and give them access to formal education.
http://reliefweb.int/report/mali/new-beginnings-child-beggars-senegal-and-mali
US: A crisis with little data: States begin to count drug-dependent babies
Kaiser Health News – March 31, 2016
Many states — including some that have been hardest hit by the opioid crisis — don’t know how many of their youngest residents each year are born physically dependent on those drugs.
http://khn.org/news/a-crisis-with-little-data-states-begin-to-count-drug-dependent-babies/
US: Foster Caretaker Must Be Ready to Be Thoroughly Supportive of LGBT Youth (Opinion)
Youth Today – March 31, 2016
For many youth, foster care can be a safe place for care and support when the biological family does not provide appropriate care. However, foster care experiences can be impacted by many factors, such as sexual and identity orientation.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/03/foster-caretaker-must-be-ready-to-be-thoroughly-supportive-of-lgbt-youth/
US: Know Someone Who Grew up in Foster Care? Three Things They Need From Us (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – March 31, 2016
As National Social Work Month winds down, I’ve been thinking about what older foster youth and those aging out of state care need from their social worker, counselor or other supportive people in their lives. What do they want and need to help them make the leap from dependence on the system to successful independent adulthood? The best way, the only way, to find out what these young people need is to listen.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mary-lee/know-someone-who-grew-up_b_9584598.html
US: My adopted daughter is part Native American — and I was terrified she’d be taken away (Opinion)
She Knows – March 31, 2016
“She’s legally free,” I said. “Her birth father has relinquished his rights”. “It doesn’t matter” he said, his voice tense. “Being legally free is a state law. The Indian Child Welfare Act is federal law; it supersedes everything else.”
http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/1117475/adopted-daughter-is-part-native-american
US: National Child Abuse Prevention Month: Honoring Our Most Innocent Victims (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – March 31, 2016
This April marks the 33rd anniversary of National Child Abuse Prevention Month. It is a time dedicated to child abuse education, awareness and prevention. The issue, which is in the media every day causes one to shiver at the thought of what happens to our children, yet it is the most ignored issue because it’s so ugly. Also: April is Child Abuse Prevention Month and Sexual Assault Awareness Month: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-heroux/april-is-child-abuse-prev_b_9586460.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ross-ellis/national-child-abuse-prev_1_b_9577188.html?utm_hp_ref=impact&ir=Impact
US: Presidential Proclamation–National Child Abuse Prevention Month, 2016 (Press release)
The White House – March 31, 2016
During National Child Abuse Prevention Month, we recommit to giving every child a chance to succeed and to ensuring that every child grows up in a safe, stable, and nurturing environment that is free from abuse and neglect. Information Gateway resource: National Child Abuse Prevention Month 2016 Community Involvement Resource Guide: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/preventionmonth/
https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2016/03/31/presidential-proclamation-national-child-abuse-prevention-month-2016
US: Relapse rates fall with use of long-acting medication to treat opioid addiction among criminal justice-involved adults
Medical News Today – March 31, 2016
Opioid addiction is a rapidly escalating public health crisis in the United States. Now, new research findings could shed important light in addressing this epidemic. “We believe our study is the first of its kind to look at the real-world effectiveness of extended-release naltrexone in community settings,” says lead author Joshua D. Lee, MD, MSc, associate professor in the Departments of Population Health and Medicine at NYU Langone. “It may be particularly effective with populations, such as recently released prisoners, who typically don’t have access to other evidence-based daily medications for opiate disorders, like methadone or buprenorphine.” Study: http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa1505409
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/308523.php
US: Same-Sex Couples Can Now Adopt Children In All 50 States
The Huffington Post – March 31, 2016
A federal judge ruled Thursday that Mississippi?s ban on same-sex couples adopting children is unconstitutional, making gay adoption legal in all 50 states.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/mississippi-same-sex-adoption_us_56fdb1a3e4b083f5c607567f
US: Why the Lexi Page case may go to the US Supreme Court
The Christian Science Monitor – March 31, 2016
The case echoes several other cases pitting the foster care system against the ICWA. In 2013, Adoptive Couple v. Baby Girl, a case involving Veronica, a young Cherokee girl, reached the US Supreme Court.
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/0331/Why-the-Lexi-Page-case-may-go-to-the-US-Supreme-Court
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Child welfare in Manitoba election spotlight
The Canadian Press – March 31, 2016
Manitoba’s beleaguered child-welfare system came under the provincial election spotlight Wednesday with promises from all parties to cut a record number of kids in care.
http://globalnews.ca/news/2608630/child-welfare-in-manitoba-election-spotlight/
International: Longer maternity leave linked to better infant health (Press release)
Medical News Today – March 31, 2016
For each additional month of paid maternity leave offered in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), infant mortality is reduced by 13%, according to a new study by researchers from McGill University and UCLA Fielding School of Public Health. The finding, published in the journal PLOS Medicine, marks the first time that research has examined the impact of paid maternity leave on infant mortality in LMICs. Previous work has shown that paid time off is consistently associated with lower mortality of babies under one year old in high-income countries. Report: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1001985
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/308504.php
Mali: & Senegal: Transforming the lives of child beggars (Press release)
SOS Childrens’ Villages – March 31, 2016
A new programme is transforming the lives of 1,500 street children in Mali and Senegal by restoring their basic human rights. In collaboration with SOS Children and the European Union, child beggars are being reunited with their families and given access to quality education.
http://www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/news/transforming-the-lives-of-child-beggars
