| CA: Foster kids would be removed from cells in Sacramento County if new lawsuit prevails (May require subscription) (Includes audio) (Includes video) |
| Sacramento Bee – April 25, 2023 |
| The relative of a foster child allegedly being housed in a cell is suing Sacramento County, seeking a court order that would force the county to remove all children from the facility. The lawsuit, filed last week in Sacramento Superior Court by NAACP Sacramento President Betty Williams, alleges that while her 14-year-old relative was under the care of the county, she was preyed upon by a pimp and forced into sex work. The county has been housing foster children in a former juvenile detention facility in Rosemont for more than six months, despite receiving state letters requiring them to be removed. A September letter to the county from the California Department of Social Services Foster Care ombudsperson Larry Fluharty stated the county is housing teenagers in “jail-like” cells, containing metal bunk beds, and metal toilets covered with wood. The environment could “retraumatize” youth and make them feel “physically and psychologically unsafe,” he wrote. |
| https://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article274590056.html |
| CA: Volunteers reduce chances of foster children ending up homeless after 18 (Includes video) |
| Manteca/Ripon Bulletin – April 26, 2023 |
| The odds don’t bode well for the 1,500 children in San Joaquin County that are in foster care. Based on past history of those in foster care in California: *Less than 50 percent will graduate from high school. *Only 50 percent are employed by age 24. *One on five will be homeless after age 18. There are 90 people currently volunteering to improve the chances foster children into the system won’t be lumped in those statistics. They are trained volunteers with CASA – a Court Appointed Special Advocate. As such they are advocates for foster children. |
| https://www.mantecabulletin.com/news/local-news/volunteers-reduce-chances-foster-children-ending-homeless-after-18/ |
| GA: Project GRANDD helps grandparents raise their grandchildren |
| Rough Draft Atlanta – April 25, 2023 |
| Grandparents who raise grandchildren with disabilities can find aid and resources from Project GRAND, the largest kinship family services provider in metro Atlanta. Project GRANDD (Grandparents Raising and Nurturing Dependents with Disabilities) serves more than 300 grandparents and grandchildren and is the only one focusing on families with children with special needs. “Grandparents are the safety net right for the parents, but who’s the safety net when the grandparent has to take on this role?” Rainie Jueschke, the executive director for Innovative Solutions for Disadvantage and Disability (ISDD), which runs Project GRANDD, said. In Georgia, for every child in kinship foster care within the system there are 28 in relative care, which means many more children are outside the system and have no access to resources, she said. Of those grandparents raising grandchildren, 76% make less than $30,000 a year and single females make up 88% of them. |
| https://roughdraftatlanta.com/2023/04/25/project-grandd-helps-grandparents-raise-their-grandchildren/
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| CA: California lawmaker wants former jail housing Sacramento County foster kids shut down (Includes video) |
| KCRA – April 26, 2023 |
| There’s been a strong reaction to our KCRA 3 Investigation about Sacramento County being sued for housing foster kids in an old county jail. Assemblymember Mike Gipson, a Democrat representing the 65th Assembly district, is demanding change. He said Sacramento County is in violation of state law he helped write – the Foster Youth Bill of Rights – by placing children in the former Warren E. Thornton Juvenile Detention Center. |
| https://www.kcra.com/article/mike-gipson-wants-sacramento-county-jail-foster-youth-shut-down/43715794# |
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| CO: Colorado Moves to Enhance Its Child Welfare System |
| Pagosa Daily Post – April 26, 2023 |
| The Colorado Department of Human Services’ Office of Children, Youth and Families (OCYF) launched a new Child Welfare Family Advisory Council focused on strengthening and enhancing Colorado’s child welfare system. The council is an important step in Colorado’s efforts to re-envision, create, and deliver family-driven input to transform Colorado’s child welfare work. |
| https://pagosadailypost.com/2023/04/26/colorado-moves-to-enhance-its-child-welfare-system/ |
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| FL: Statewide Guardian ad Litem Office has an urgent need for volunteers (Opinion) (May require subscription) (Includes video) |
| Tallahassee Democrat – April 27, 2023 |
| More than 500 children are in dependency court in Florida’s Second Judicial Circuit, including Leon, Liberty, Wakulla, Franklin, Gadsden, and Jefferson counties. In recent months we have had an increase in cases. We need more Statewide Guardian ad Litem volunteers to fulfill the third person of each child’s multi-disciplinary team. In the Second Judicial Circuit, 54 children do not have a trained volunteer or pro bono attorney on their team. |
| https://www.tallahassee.com/story/opinion/2023/04/27/statewide-guardian-ad-litem-office-has-an-urgent-need-for-volunteers/70151487007/ |
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| TN: New homes help children entering foster care (Includes video) |
| WSMV – April 26, 2023 |
| Children entering foster care in Tennessee no longer must wait in DCS offices until they are placed with a family thanks to several community organizations that have stepped up to help. Isaiah 117 House opened its first temporary home in Middle Tennessee this week. The group of volunteers try to ease the toughest day of a child’s life and help with the transition into their foster home. |
| https://www.wsmv.com/2023/04/27/new-homes-help-children-entering-foster-care/ |
| US: More than a Dozen States Fail to Guarantee Lawyers for Children in CPS Cases, New Report Finds |
| Imprint – April 26, 2023 |
| Despite evidence that foster kids with lawyers are more likely to reunify with their families and stay in the same school, Minnesota and more than a dozen states fail to guarantee children have lawyers after CPS enters their lives, according to a report released today. In Seen, Heard, and Represented: A Policymaker’s Guide to Counsel for Kids, the National Association of Counsel for Children explains why children need quality attorneys, and how states that do not provide them can develop legal representation programs. |
| https://imprintnews.org/representation/minnesota-among-states-without-guaranteed-counsel-in-cps-cases/240688 |
| US: Want to Help Foster Youth Heal? Try Guitar Lessons, Rhianna or Meek Mill |
| Imprint – April 26, 2023 |
| Foster parents are called on to make sure the kids in their homes receive talk therapy, cognitive therapy and family therapy. But experts who treat trauma in kids removed from their homes say there’s another modality that can be highly effective – bringing out a child’s love of rap, pop or rock ‘n’ roll. “Music helps you get through the day; if you are down or if you are happy, music gives you a train of thought, it helps you think better,” a then-17-year-old foster youth identified as Steve told music therapy researchers for a 2012 study. |
| https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/want-to-help-foster-youth-heal-try-guitar-lessons-rhianna-or-meek-mill/240647 |
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