| CA: Students in foster care: a quick guide |
| EdSource – December 31, 2019 |
| Under a 2003 California law (AB 490), all county offices of education and school districts must appoint an educational liaison to ensure proper enrollment, transfer and placement of foster children in their schools. Before this law, when students in care were suddenly moved to a new placement and had to change schools, their academic records, credits and grades often were not transferred in a timely manner. As a result, the students were often not assigned to appropriate classes and did not receive essential academic services. |
| https://edsource.org/2019/students-in-foster-care-a-quick-guide/621586 |
|
| CO: Colorado has a big shortage of volunteers to speak up for foster kids in court |
| Colorado Sun – December 30, 2019 |
| The person volunteering their time to make sure a child’s voice is heard is a Court Appointed Special Advocate, or CASA, and only about one-third of children who were abused or neglected in Colorado last year were lucky enough to get one. Of the more than 13,200 cases of child abuse and neglect in Colorado in 2018, just 4,800 kids were appointed a CASA. That means about 8,400 children were not. |
| https://coloradosun.com/2019/12/30/court-appointed-special-advocate-shortage/ |
|
| CT: Foster system to alter how it handles school employee abuse |
| Associated Press – December 30, 2019 |
| Connecticut’s foster care system plans to restructure its evaluation process for complaints of abuse or neglect involving school employees, according to department officials. The state Department of Children and Families will form two units starting in mid-January that will solely focus on complaints against school employees, according to Ken Mysogland, the department’s bureau chief of external affairs. Both units will be staffed by five social workers who will report back to supervisors at the department’s headquarters. Each school case will also be reviewed by agency lawyers. |
| https://www.mrt.com/news/education/article/Foster-system-to-alter-how-it-handles-school-14939772.php |
|
| NC: New NC law means school workers must be trained to spot signs of sex trafficking (Includes video) |
| Herald-Sun – December 30, 2019 |
| All North Carolina school districts must pick by Wednesday an employee training program for reporting and preventing child sexual abuse and sex trafficking. |
| https://www.heraldsun.com/news/local/education/article238829023.html |
|
| NY: NYC foster care program to get up to $50M in federal funding under spending deal |
| New York Daily News – December 30, 2019 |
| The city will get up to $50 million in federal funding to help kids in foster care under legislation passed this month as part of the year-end spending bill, officials said. The Family First Transition Act, included in the budget deal signed by President Trump, provides the Administration for Children’s Services with roughly $40 million to $50 million for each of the next two years for a program that aims to reduce the time children spend in the foster care system. |
| http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/ny-nyc-foster-care-federal-funding-spending-deal-20191230-3j3ip357fvc4pex55iq2nab5om-story.html |
|
| NY: NYC parents overwhelmingly approve of parenting support from child services agency: survey |
| New York Daily News – December 30, 2019 |
| Therapy and assistance with finding childcare helped parents create better homes for their kids, according to a new survey of vulnerable families referred to the city’s child services agency. Officials at the Administration for Children’s Services, the city’s child protective services agency, surveyed more than 3,000 families who’d received “preventive services” – support given families instead of the immediate placement of children into the foster care system. |
| http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/education/ny-acs-services-survey-20191230-xlsrwgn6fbhdlfxvyjftviswo4-story.html |
|
| US: A preventative approach to reducing child abuse and neglect fatalities (Opinion) |
| Hill – December 30, 2019 |
| Based on the commission’s findings, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Victims of Crime announced earlier this year a demonstration initiative to develop multidisciplinary strategies to address severe or near-death injuries as a result of child abuse or neglect. This effort will provide what has been sorely lacking in previous attempts to reduce child fatalities – the identification and evaluation of evidence-based practices. |
| https://thehill.com/opinion/civil-rights/476247-a-preventative-approach-to-reducing-child-abuse-and-neglect-fatalities |
|
| US: Top Stories of 2019: A Youth-Led Effort to Prevent Homelessness for Teens in Foster Care |
| Chronicle of Social Change – December 30, 2019 |
| Research on youth aging out of the foster care system shows a staggering number of them will experience bouts of homelessness as they shift from state supervision to the sometimes scary independence of adulthood. This year, a group led by current and former foster youths helped craft and implement a new federal policy to help address this problem. The Fostering Stable Housing Opportunities (FSHO) Coalition – which includes youth-led ACTION Ohio and the National Center for Housing and Child Welfare – convinced Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Secretary Ben Carson to free up millions of existing dollars for a targeted voucher that can be used by aging out foster youths to quickly access public housing. |
| https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/a-youth-led-effort-to-prevent-homelessness-for-teens-in-foster-care/39878 |
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|
| AZ: Mom, dad and 2 kids? It’s time to rethink what family looks like in Arizona (Opinion) |
| AZCentral – December 28, 2019 |
| Should the traditional definition of family change? If we want strong resilient communities, more than a thousand diverse Arizonans say it should. Arizona Town Hall held more than 20 community town halls throughout the state and a statewide session in mid-November. They were part of a year-long effort by the 57-year-old organization to ask diverse Arizona voices how to keep families strong and allow children to thrive. |
| https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2019/12/28/arizona-town-hall-rethink-definition-family/2662749001/ |
|
| CA: Share the Spirit: For Youth Homes, Inc. foster children, dreams occasionally come true |
| Bay Area News Group – December 29, 2019 |
| It was a pleasant development for Youth Homes, too. The nonprofit organization has been around since 1965, serving the needs foster youth in Contra Costa County. The agency has received funding this year from Share the Spirit, an annual holiday campaign that serves disadvantaged residents in the East Bay. Donations helped support 49 nonprofit agencies in Contra Costa and Alameda counties. The grant will be used to furnish two therapy rooms with furniture, rugs, blankets, pillows, art, therapeutic toys and plants. |
| https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/12/29/share-the-spirit-for-youth-homes-inc-foster-children-occasionally-dreams-come-true/ |
|
| CO: College to open homeless shelter for degree-seeking students |
| Denver Post – December 29, 2019 |
| In Colorado, it’s unclear exactly how many college students are trying to do their homework without a stable home, The Denver Post reports. Some institutions and national organizations survey students about housing and food insecurity, but the numbers are self-reported with many students never filling out the information. Still, 18% of the 3,011 students surveyed in 2018 at four Denver schools – Community College of Denver, Metropolitan State University of Denver, University of Colorado Denver and the University of Denver – said they experienced homelessness during the previous year, according to a report released in September by the Hope Center for College, Community and Justice at Pennsylvania’s Temple University. |
| https://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/national-politics/article238807443.html |
|
| FL: Foster parents: The next millennial trend? Local advocates hope so |
| Palm Beach Post – December 27, 2019 |
| While some festivals have boosted numbers, it can take years of “nurturing” to turn those relationships into foster families, Reese said. Of the 1,200 children in out-of-home care in November in Palm Beach County, nearly 44 percent were age 4 or younger, according to the most recent Department of Children and Families data available. Of all the children in out-of-home care in Palm Beach County, 372 are in licensed foster care, according to DCF. Another 542 are with an approved relative, and 139 are with an approved nonrelative. About 150 are in group care or have another living situation. |
| https://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/20191227/foster-parents-next-millennial-trend-local-advocates-hope-so |
|
| FL: OUR VIEW: All Star Children’s Foundation makes a bright beginning (Opinion) |
| Herald-Tribune – December 27, 2019 |
| Florida law requires its child protection system to “preserve and strengthen the child’s family ties whenever possible, removing the child from parental custody only when his or her welfare cannot be adequately safeguarded without such removal.” This has to be one of the toughest decisions in the world, often made in a rush to rescue a young victim from apparent harm, and find an empty bed where he or she might be physically safe – but also bewildered, terrified and bereft, torn from a familiarity that felt like home, no matter how dangerous or unpredictable. |
| https://www.heraldtribune.com/opinion/20191227/our-view-all-star-childrens-foundation-makes-bright-beginning?rssfeed=true |
|
| NM: Carlsbad, NM, Oil Windfall Makes It Harder to Keep Caseworkers |
| Youth Today – December 29, 2019 |
| At-risk children and foster youth have been negatively impacted by oil production. Over the last two years, the New Mexico Children, Youth, and Families Department (CYFD) in Eddy County has been called more often to investigate allegations of child abuse and neglect. “With more people living here, there have been more referrals and more kids in foster care,” said Maria Calderon, who works at the Carlsbad and Artesia regional offices of CYFD. |
| https://youthtoday.org/2019/12/carlsbad-nm-oil-windfall-makes-it-harder-to-keep-caseworkers/ |
|
| NM: Provider In Las Cruces, NM, Left Stretched Thin After 2013 Ruling |
| Youth Today – December 29, 2019 |
| Jolene Martinez of Las Cruces couldn’t be more thrilled to be an adoptive parent to a second foster child, who she adopted weeks before Thanksgiving. “The joy for our family is being able to fulfill what we believe in, and that’s to help a child that might not be able to have permanency otherwise,” she said. But for many foster and adoptive families in the state, there are lows with the highs as well as extraordinary challenges. New Mexico children aren’t just one of the state’s most vulnerable populations, they’re also one of the nation’s most challenged groups. In 2017 and 2018, New Mexico ranked 50th nationwide in overall child well-being, according to the Annie E. Casey Foundation Kids Count report. |
| https://youthtoday.org/2019/12/provider-in-las-cruces-nm-left-stretched-thin/ |
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| NM: Lack of Affordable Housing, Enough Foster Families Hurt Taos, NM, Area |
| Youth Today – May 29, 2019 |
| It’s November 2019, and the hysteria from the emergency meeting in 2013 is still palpable for Yasmin Haque. After then-New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez made the call to suspend Medicaid reimbursements to 15 statewide private behavioral health service providers, panicked Taos community members gathered at the former Casa de Corazón. “Everyone was shell-shocked. We all wondered what we were going to do with these families,” said Haque, Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteer coordinator at Taos-based child advocacy group Youth Heartline. “It was devastating. I would say we’re still struggling to recover.” |
| https://youthtoday.org/2019/12/lack-of-affordable-housing-enough-foster-families-hurt-taos-nm-area/ |
|
| RI: Diocese challenges law allowing more time to file suit |
| Providence Journal – December 27, 2019 |
| The Roman Catholic Diocese of Providence argued in a legal filing that the state’s new deadline to sue over childhood sexual abuse is, in part, unconstitutional. The legal wrangling comes in the first test case after a new state law extended – in some cases retroactively – the deadline to sue over child sexual abuse. A man sued the diocese in September, saying he was abused hundreds of times when he was a child by a North Providence priest in the 1970s and 1980s. |
| https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20191227/diocese-challenges-law-allowing-more-time-to-file-suit?utm_content=GTAO_PJ&utm_term=123019 |
|
| RI: Jackson Reis: Opioid fight faces unique county issues |
| Berkshire Eagle – December 27, 2019 |
| In recent weeks, news reports of multi-million dollar settlements with opioid manufacturers raised hopes in many rural communities. This newfound optimism, however, fails to account for the underlying structural issues that limit the ability of communities in Berkshire County, among many other rural regions, to successfully manage the opioid epidemic. |
| https://www.berkshireeagle.com/stories/jackson-reis-opioid-fight-faces-unique-county-issues,593411 |
|
| TX: As More Mothers Fill Prisons, Children Suffer ‘A Primal Wound’ |
| New York Times – December 29, 2019 |
| Every month, Lila Edwards wakes up early for a two-hour road trip with a group of girls that ends with them walking single file through a metal detector. Inside an empty classroom, Lila eagerly and anxiously awaits Inmate 01740964. When the inmate, a woman serving a 40-year sentence for murder, walked in during a recent visit, Lila collapsed into her arms and didn’t let go for more than a minute. |
| https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/as-more-mothers-fill-prisons-children-suffer-a-primal-wound/ar-BBYq73C |
|
| WA: Seattle Shelter Focuses On Native Peoples Experiencing Homelessness (Includes audio) |
| WUWF – December 30, 2019 |
| A new homeless shelter in Seattle is exclusively serving Native Americans, Alaska Natives and Pacific Islanders. It’s one of the first facilities of its kind in the country helping to house the more than 1,000 Native people in the city experiencing homelessness. Echohawk says because of the history of mistreatment by the U.S. government a lot of Native people don’t trust traditional government-run shelters. “If you had attended boarding school, for instance, or you were in the foster care system or you were one of those folks who have been forcibly sterilized,” she says, “the likelihood of you going into a shelter which has those same kind of systems, that same kind of feel, it’s unlikely because of how much it will trigger your trauma.” |
| https://www.wuwf.org/post/seattle-shelter-focuses-native-peoples-experiencing-homelessness#stream/0 |
|
| US: 2020 Should Launch Zero Tolerance on Psychotropic Drugging of Foster Youth (Press release) |
| PressCable – December 30, 2019 |
| This year highlighted the ongoing psychotropic drugging of foster care children and adolescents despite a decade of exposure of the risks of these drugs, according to Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) International. The group says 2020 should be the year to launch a government zero tolerance policy to using mind-altering drugs on children, especially those in foster care. Immigrant children being held in psychiatric institutions, including those owned by for-profit companies, deserve the same protections, CCHR says. |
| https://marketersmedia.com/2020-should-launch-zero-tolerance-on-psychotropic-drugging-of-foster-youth/88940838 |
|
| US: Paid Parental Leave Regulations Coming Soon |
| Fed Smith – December 29, 2019 |
| The Office of Personnel Management said in a short memo issued last week that the necessary regulations to implement the new paid parental leave benefit recently signed into law will be coming soon. The new benefit is set to take effect on October 1, 2020 which OPM noted in the memo. That leaves time for OPM to issue the necessary guidance anytime a new benefit such as this is implemented. These regulations are what will spell out exactly how the new paid parental leave benefit will work for federal employees who utilize it. We will continue to keep you updated as new details are released by OPM. |
| https://www.fedsmith.com/2019/12/29/paid-parental-leave-regulations-coming-soon/ |
|
| US: Lack of a healthy lunch at school hurts students more than you think |
| Hill – December 28, 2019 |
| Earlier this year, parents of students in the Wyoming Valley West School District received collection letters on the money they owed for student lunches. According to WNEP, in the letters, the school district wrote, “you can be sent to dependency court for neglecting your child’s right to food. The result may be your child being taken from your home and placed in foster care.” |
| https://thehill.com/opinion/healthcare/476119-the-lack-of-a-healthy-lunch-at-school-hurts-students-more-than-you-think |
|
| US: ‘Feeling Like We Belong’: U.S. Adoptees Return To South Korea To Trace Their Roots (Includes audio) |
| WEAA – December 27, 2019 |
| Kim was among the first wave of a 200,000-strong exodus of adoptees, as South Korea became the world’s first source of international adoptions. She was born in 1955, two years after the Korean War cease-fire. In recent decades, adoptees like Kim have been returning to South Korea to find out more about where they come from, build ties with their birth families and connect with others with similar experiences. |
| https://www.weaa.org/post/feeling-we-belong-us-adoptees-return-south-korea-trace-their-roots#stream/0 |
|
| US: More LGBTQ millennials plan to have kids regardless of income, survey finds |
| NBC News – December 27, 2019 |
| Family Equality polled 500 LGBTQ and 1,004 non-LGBTQ adults, and found that the desire to become parents is nearly identical among both lower- and higher-income lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer people. Forty-five to 53 percent of LGBTQ people between the ages of 18 and 35 are planning to become parents for the first time or add another child to their family (compared to 55 percent for their non-LGBTQ counterparts, a gap that has narrowed significantly compared to older generations).And those making less than $25,000 a year plan to have children at a similar rate to those making over $100,000, according to the report. |
| https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/more-lgbtq-millennials-plan-have-kids-regardless-income-survey-finds-n1107461 |
|
| US: Researchers look at factors outside the family that cause child neglect |
| Phys.org – December 03, 2019 |
| A recent paper by two UConn researchers and their colleagues highlights the importance of examining factors outside the family that contribute to child neglect. This research strategy could help policymakers and social agencies design programs to reduce child maltreatment-specifically, neglect. |
| https://phys.org/news/2019-12-factors-family-child-neglect.html |
|
| Finland: Children born preterm are more likely to be placed outside the home |
| EurekAlert – December 27, 2019 |
| Children born prematurely, i.e. before week 37, are more likely to be placed outside the home as a supportive child welfare measure than their full-term counterparts, according to a population study conducted by the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The more premature a child is born, the greater the probability that the child will be placed outside the home. |
| https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/nifh-cbp122719.php |
|
| CA: State court revives psychotherapist challenge to law on patients who reveal child porn activity |
| San Francisco Chronicle – December 26, 2019 |
| The California Supreme Court revived a challenge by psychotherapists Thursday to a state law requiring them to notify the government about any patient who has viewed child pornography. The law, passed in 2014, expanded statutes from the 1980s that required therapists to report to police or child welfare offices – or face loss of their licenses and criminal prosecution – when a patient has produced, distributed or duplicated images of juveniles engaged in sexual activity. The new law extended the requirement to patients who downloaded or viewed those images. |
| https://www.sfchronicle.com/news/article/State-court-revives-psychotherapist-challenge-to-14933190.php |
|
| FL: Non-profits use technology to match families with children in foster care (Includes video) |
| WPTV – December 26, 2019 |
| A local organization fighting to give foster children their dream of having a family is now using an algorithm-based technology to make that dream come true. Selfless Love Foundation, a non-profit that supports and provides resources to foster children, has partnered with another non-profit that developed Family-Match, a program that allows case workers to match parents looking to adopt with children searching for a forever family. |
| https://www.wptv.com/news/state/non-profits-use-technology-to-match-families-with-children-in-foster-care |
|
| IL: Illinois child welfare worker in Freund case defends record |
| Associated Press – December 26, 2019 |
| A state child welfare worker who investigated an abuse claim months before a 5-year-old suburban Chicago boy was found beaten to death has defended his record. Acosta, who is also the subject of a federal lawsuit stemming from the case, said department policy is that children’s statements become less reliable each time they are interviewed. He said he followed protocol in not going back to question the child about the bruise and that the child’s injuries didn’t meet the threshold to get a second opinion from a pediatric specialist. |
| https://www.kwqc.com/content/news/Illinois-child-welfare-worker-in-Freund-case-defends-record-566498291.html |
|
| KS: Oversight panel reports Kansas making progress on juvenile justice reform |
| Topeka Capital-Journal – December 26, 2019 |
| The panel monitoring juvenile justice reform in Kansas released a new report Thursday that documented progress in the third year of a transition to consistent methods of handling offenders within their communities, while acknowledging challenges with reinvesting millions of dollars of savings into proven interventions. The Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee, which includes legislative, judicial and executive branch representatives as well as people from outside state government, reported progress establishing statewide standards, imposing a prohibition on out-of-home placement for low-risk youths and directing resources to young people at highest risk of committing new crimes. |
| Also: 2019 Kansas Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee Annual Report: https://www.doc.ks.gov/juvenile-services/committee/2019-annual-report/view |
| https://www.cjonline.com/news/20191226/oversight-panel-reports-kansas-making-progress-on-juvenile-justice-reform |
|
| MA: Former Oxford foster children file $40M lawsuit against couple, state over “house of horrors” |
| Telegram – December 26, 2019 |
| Four former foster children who say they were sexually and physically abused inside the Oxford foster home of Susan and Raymond Blouin are suing the couple and the state for millions. In a 73-page lawsuit that lists damages “in excess of $40 million,” the former children say the Blouin home at 7 Pleasant Court was a “house of horrors” for more than a decade. They allege that the state, despite mounting evidence that the Blouin home was unsafe, continued to allow foster children to live there, and made things worse by conducting sloppy investigations of abuse that resulted in further retribution against kids. |
| https://www.telegram.com/news/20191226/former-oxford-foster-children-file-40m-lawsuit-against-couple-state-over-house-of-horrors |
|
| MI: State Taking Donations For Foster Kids Scholarship Fund |
| WSJM – December 26, 2019 |
| Michigan Department of Treasury is inviting everyone to contribute to the Fostering Futures Scholarship Trust Fund. The fund provides college scholarships to young adults who have experienced foster care and are enrolled at a Michigan college or university. Michigan Education Trust Director Robin Lott tells WSJM News kids in foster care face obstacles to higher education. |
| https://www.wsjm.com/2019/12/26/state-taking-donations-for-foster-kids-scholarship-fund-2/ |
|
| OH: Children’s Trust Fund Grant Aims to Help Families in 3 Ohio Counties (Includes video) |
| Spectrum News 1 – December 26, 2019 |
| A newly-announced grant for a few Ohio counties hopes to help families at risk of becoming part of the child welfare system. Children services officials say the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund grant for Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana Counties can address potential issues before they become serious. The $2.7 million grant would give each county a family coach to help with needs like financial planning and behavioral health resources. |
| https://spectrumnews1.com/oh/cincinnati/news/2019/12/26/children-s-trust-fund-grant-aims-to-help-families-in-3-ohio-counties |
|
| OH: Kent State to help children in foster care get to college |
| Record-Courier – December 26, 2019 |
| Kent State University’s resolution for 2020 is to help children in the foster care system in northeast Ohio realize they can succeed once they age out of the system, usually at age 18 or 21. Eighth-graders who have been placed into foster care and have been affected by the opioid crisis in nine northeast Ohio counties – Portage, Summit, Cuyahoga, Stark, Ashtabula, Tuscarawas, Geauga, Columbiana and Mahoning – will be eligible for First Star – Kent State Academy, which will provide extra support and tutoring so they can be ready to attend college, the military or to get a job after graduating from high school. Kent State plans to accept between 20 and 30 children into the program, depending on how many apply, and they’ll have support throughout the rest of high school. |
| https://www.record-courier.com/news/20191226/kent-state-to-help-children-in-foster-care-get-to-college |
|
| TX: New center in North Austin opening to help foster families (Includes video) |
| KVUE – December 26, 2019 |
| Foster Village will open a new location in North Austin to help provide access to their resources for the four counties that utilize their support services. The center provides resources like cribs, beds, strollers, clothing, backpacks and more therapy-oriented items, to caretakers in order to help them provide for their foster children. Since its opening, it has expanded to two more centers in the Central Texas area and multiple affiliate locations across the U.S. |
| https://www.kvue.com/article/news/local/new-center-in-north-austin-opening-to-help-foster-families/269-c7faf9fa-5e98-4a0d-bea9-3ae01ad63d9c |
|
| US: Top Stories of 2019: The Loss of a Lion in Child Welfare (Commentary) |
| Chronicle of Social Change – December 26, 2019 |
| Will there ever be another MaryLee Allen in the youth policy field? Allen, the policy director at Children’s Defense Fund who passed away this year, was intensely involved in virtually every federal policy shift for the past four decades. But her legacy is more than just laws passed and defeated. The reaction to her passing made clear that Allen worked harder than anyone to mentor and educate the next generation of advocates for America’s most vulnerable kids. |
| https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/the-loss-of-a-lion-in-child-welfare/39732 |
|
|
| IL: New Illinois DCFS guidelines take effect in 2020 |
| WIFR – December 24, 2019 |
| Reforms are coming for the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services in 2020. A new law, passed as HB 1551, sets new guidelines for the Illinois DCFS when a child is returned to the custody of a parent or guardian. Among the reforms, DCFS must provide a minimum of six months of aftercare services once the child returns home. |
| https://www.wifr.com/content/news/New-Illinois-DCFS-guidelines-take-effect-in-2020-566462491.html |
|
| MI: Here’s why MSU is keeping 6,000 documents from Nassar investigators (Includes audio) |
| Michigan Public Radio – December 25, 2019 |
| Michigan State University is still refusing to hand over some 6,000 internal documents to special investigators, saying they’re protected under attorney-client privilege. Ironically, those are the same investigators the trustees actually requested to come look into the Nassar case last year. |
| https://www.michiganradio.org/post/here-s-why-msu-keeping-6000-documents-nassar-investigators |
|
| MI: Officer launches non-profit to help homeless, foster care children |
| Davison Index – December 25, 2019 |
| Hart said she hasn’t had any luck in finding a place in Davison that will give her space. She said potential landlords should know the space can be donated as a tax write-off due to Hart’s Closet’s non-profit status. She said when she was a child she lived in shelters, her family’s car and at a hotel off and on for several years. It was that experience, coupled with her experiences as a police officer and seeing children removed from homes, that led her to found Hart’s Closet. |
| https://davisonindex.mihomepaper.com/articles/officer-launches-non-profit-to-help-homeless-foster-care-children/ |
|
| MI: Opinion: Launch Michigan should make bolder call for education equity (Opinion) |
| Detroit News – December 25, 2019 |
| Last week, the Launch Michigan campaign released its “Phase 1” proposal for statewide educational reform, which includes a weighted funding formula that would give extra per-pupil funding for students in poverty. As a former Detroit Public Schools teacher and a current educational policy researcher in Detroit, I support the call for more equitable funding. The problem is that Launch Michigan’s call does not go far enough. |
| https://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/2019/12/26/opinion-launch-michigan-should-make-bolder-call-education-equity/2733088001/ |
|
| NM: More youth in New Mexico run away from foster care |
| Associated Press – December 25, 2019 |
| In her youth, Micaela Baca ran away from foster care again and again. Now, the 23-year-old advocates for better treatment for vulnerable youth, and she shares her story with foster kids to tell them just how dangerous it was for her. “I feel like foster youth are more in danger because we feel like no one is going to believe us or protect us from anything,” she said. “We get ourselves into some pretty sticky situations, but it’s because we feel like we have no way out.” |
| https://www.ncadvertiser.com/news/article/More-youth-in-New-Mexico-run-away-from-foster-care-14931414.php |
|
| NY: Maternal nursing program aids parents |
| Observer – December 26, 2019 |
| The Nurse Family Partnership program began in 2015 and consists of five nurses who work specifically with first-time mothers from pregnancy until the child is 2 years old. The Maternal, Infant and Child Health Program began in 2012 and is a peer education program where community health workers are trained by the state Health Department. Then, they go into homes and work with high-risk pregnant women to provide education, make referrals and give support. Mothers can be referred to the program by schools, CPS, WIC, obstetricians and other means. Both programs require either Medicaid or WIC eligibility to participate. |
| https://www.observertoday.com/news/page-one/2019/12/maternal-nursing-program-aids-parents/ |
|
| OH: ‘They’re My Safe Place’: Children of Addicted Parents, Raised by Relatives |
| New York Times – December 26, 2019 |
| More than a quarter of the nearly 27,000 children who were removed from their homes last year in Ohio were placed in the care of relatives or other adults deemed “kinship” – coaches, teachers or family friends. From 2010 to 2018, the number of Ohio children placed in kinship homes increased by nearly 140 percent, with a nearly 50 percent surge from 2016 to 2018 alone. |
| https://www.nytimes.com/2019/12/26/us/opioids-kinship-ohio.html |
|
| WA: State money to help struggling students pay bills, stay in school |
| Courier-Herald – December 24, 2019 |
| The Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges has awarded nearly $2 million for colleges to help financially struggling students stay in school and complete their degrees. The awards were made possible by two grant programs established by the state Legislature during the 2019 legislative session. The Supporting Students Experiencing Homelessness Pilot Program, established under SB 5800, creates six pilot projects for students who are homeless or were in foster care. |
| http://www.courierherald.com/news/state-money-to-help-struggling-students-pay-bills-stay-in-school/ |
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| US: Top Stories of 2019: A Big Year for Parent Representation |
| Chronicle of Social Change – December 25, 2019 |
| At the dawn of 2019, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services opened up federal spending for the first time to support legal fees for parents involved in child welfare cases. And in the spring, a long-awaited study linked the use of interdisciplinary law offices – a robust team approach to representing parents – with shorter stays in foster care for children. |
| https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/a-big-year-for-parent-representation/39729 |
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| US: Adopted Children – Rehoming Legal Issues |
| HG.org – December 24, 2019 |
| Some adopted children will face situations where the biological parents want the youth to return home for some reason. The adoption paperwork may undergo a loss of consent. While the current adoption process may require a court case to dissolve the relationship, the child may suffer from the loss of his or her current family. Both legal and traumatic impact is possible that cause the young person injury. The legal aspects could tie up the adoption and biological parents in a case that could take years. If the youth is not able to stay with his or her adoptive family, this could further increase difficulties that could affect school and temperament. |
| https://www.hg.org/legal-articles/adopted-children-rehoming-legal-issues-48391 |
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| US: Top Stories of 2019: The Faith-Based Battle Comes to Washington (Commentary) |
| Chronicle of Social Change – December 24, 2019 |
| In 2018, three states – Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina – passed legislation that permits discrimination by faith-based child welfare providers in choosing who they serve. Those three join seven other states that let government-funded providers choose clients based on sexual orientation, marital status or religion. Legal battles over the legislation have already started in some states, and advocacy groups in other ones are contemplating similar challenges. The issue of using taxpayer dollars for child welfare services, but following religiously-influenced selection processes, seems destined for the Supreme Court one day. |
| https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/the-faith-based-battle-comes-to-washington/39726 |
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| US: Behind the troubling rise of uninsured American kids (Includes video) |
| PBS – December 23, 2019 |
| Over a million children have fallen out of public health insurance programs since December 2017. In some cases, their parents acquired coverage at work. But researchers also see a troubling rise in uninsured children — and say the Trump administration’s policies are partially to blame. Special correspondent Sarah Varney reports from Tennessee, where the rate of uninsured kids has soared. |
| https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/behind-the-troubling-rise-of-uninsured-american-kids |
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| Ghana: Islam does not condone child marriage – UWR Chief Imam |
| Ghana News – December 24, 2019 |
| Imam Alhaji Kanihi who stated this in an exclusive interview with the Ghana News Agency in Wa, pointed out clearly that the practice was still in effect today but stressed that the man only shares bed with such a girl when she attained the age of maturity as was in the case of Prophet Mohammed and Ayisha. He emphasized that even such a girl had the right to refuse to marry the man when she becomes of age, stressing that it was not compulsory for the girl to still go ahead to marry the man if she did not like him. |
| https://religion.einnews.com/article/505696565?lcf=wPYi6KY1O-Jhzw-LjOZgLQ%3D%3D |
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| International: Ten Feminist Victories Heard Around the World from the Last 10 Years |
| Ms. Magazine – December 24, 2019 |
| Women around the world fought hard to expand their rights over the last decade-and made significant gains in many areas, including political representation, reproductive health and combatting violence against women. In 2012, the UN passed a resolution outlawing female genital mutilation and declared the first UN Day of the Girl on October 11 to highlight the challenges and needs of girls and women across the world. Child marriage declined around the world over the last decade. |
| https://msmagazine.com/2019/12/24/ten-feminist-victories-heard-around-the-world-from-the-last-10-years/ |
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| Saudi Arabia: Saudi Arabia moves to ban child marriage with a new ruling |
| National (United Arab Emirates) – December 23, 2019 |
| Saudi Arabia on Monday issued a de facto ban on child marriages, in another social reform initiated since Mohammad Bin Salman became crown prince two years ago. The Justice Ministry issued an order to the courts that any marriage application for someone under the age of 18 would have to be referred to a special court to make sure that “marrying those below 18-years old will not harm them and will achieve their best interest, whether they are male or female”. |
| https://www.thenational.ae/world/gcc/saudi-arabia-moves-to-ban-child-marriage-with-a-new-ruling-1.955310 |
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| IL: A Chicago Psychiatric Hospital Is Under Fire After Child Abuse Allegations. Again. |
| ProPublica Illinois – December 18, 2019 |
| A federal lawsuit filed Wednesday by the Cook County public guardian alleged that children as young as 7 were sexually abused, while others were injected with sedatives to control them and physically attacked, at a Chicago psychiatric hospital. Child welfare officials, meanwhile, allegedly worked with the hospital to cover up the abuse. |
| https://www.propublica.org/article/chicago-lakeshore-hospital-child-abuse-allegations-federal-lawsuit |
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| MA: After nearly 20 years, secrets in Oxford foster home come to light (Includes video) |
| WCVB – December 23, 2019 |
| For a two-year period ending in October 2004, the state Department of Social Services, now called the Department of Children and Families, received at least 11 reports alleging abuse — known as 51As — in the Blouin home. Nine of them were supported, meaning the state found reasonable cause to believe a child suffered abuse or neglect, yet it wasn’t until October 2004 that the last child was removed from the home, according to a civil suit filed against the Blouins, DCF and others. |
| Also: More red flags, concerns raised amid horrific child abuse case (Video): https://www.wcvb.com/article/more-red-flags-concerns-raised-amid-horrific-child-abuse-case/30319654 |
| https://www.wcvb.com/article/after-nearly-20-years-secrets-in-oxford-foster-home-come-to-light/30301143 |
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| US: Top Stories of 2019: The Indian Child Welfare Act Under Fire (Commentary) |
| Chronicle of Social Change – December 23, 2019 |
| Forty-one years ago, Congress approved the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) after years of painstaking research and activism revealed that up to 30 percent of all Native American children had been removed from their parents by state and local governments, and were often placed into the homes of white families. ICWA has been challenged in court numerous times, most recently in the 2018 case Brackeen v. Zinke, which called into question the law’s connection to sovereignty as opposed to race. This year saw a number of developments in the Brackeen case. |
| https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/top-stories-of-2019-the-indian-child-welfare-act-under-fire/39530 |
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| Armenia: Four Arrested in Ongoing Illegal International Adoption Investigation |
| Armenia Weekly – December 23, 2019 |
| The Investigative Committee of Armenia arrested three civil servants late last week in connection with the National Security Service’s (NSS) ongoing investigation into illegal international adoptions. Officials arrested Liana Karapetyan, the director of a Yerevan orphanage; Razmik Abrahamyan, the director of the Republican Maternity Hospital; and Arshak Jerjeryan, Abrahamyan’s deputy director at the hospital. Abrahamyan had also served as head Obstetrician and Gynecologist of Armenia for several years. |
| https://armenianweekly.com/2019/12/23/four-arrested-in-ongoing-illegal-international-adoption-investigation/ |
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| 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. |
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