In 2023, at least 32 children died from maltreatment in Minnesota – the fifth year in a row of increases. That’s almost three children per month who spent their final hours in crisis; their deaths were entirely preventable. State agencies received over 82,000 reports about possible neglect, physical abuse, sexual abuse and other forms of child maltreatment in 2023 – an increase of 4 percent from
Finally removed from the home forever, but not healed. The invisible scars we carry remain.
Life with our painful childhood memories, triggered behaviors and habits in this world is terribly difficult to manage.
Healing from a broken past is difficult.
No more punishment please.
Child Sexual Abuse Online – A Campaign to End It
Isabella was taken into foster care when her birth home was raided by authorities for possession of drugs. She was found locked in a room by herself. She was silent – never spoke. Isabella had never been outside until she was placed into foster care at 7.
Ethan was removed from his parents at a young age. I have only come to know him briefly through the course of my work with him at an inpatient facility.
Portia died shortly after being brought into the operating room. Leroy called me early in the morning and told me that the surgery had been delayed too long. There was no way the doctors could save her at that point.
Emma and Daniel highlight the systemic issues of foster care in America, focusing on how foster youth struggle due to funding misallocation and harmful policies
APRIL IS NATIONAL CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION MONTH-Register for Child Advocacy Events on April 1 and 7 with Safe Passage for Children Day at the Capitol here.
If I had committed the crimes parents perpetrated upon their own children in my CASA guardian ad Litem cases, I would be writing this from jail.
Yanelin Montalvo-Valdez (yesterday Star Tribune) personifies the pain and punishment heaped upon the 50 innocent children I advocated for as a CASA Guardian ad Litem volunteer
KARA follows investigative reporting on child death and near death by caregivers while the children are known to CPS (Child Protective Services). Please send us links to the reports in your state and we will make them available to a larger audience.Parental Drug Use Killing Children in Pennsylvania at High Rates (investigative report)
…the economic impact of untreated child abuse. The mental health issues and behavior problems of high ACEs children drive much of the violence, desperation, and dysfunction afflicting so many American citizens
Commentary: Why We Need Volunteers to Work on Behalf of Our Most Vulnerable Children – Minnesota Women’s Press Commentary: Why We Need Volunteers to Work on Behalf of Our Most Vulnerable Children by Laurel Ferris in Commentary, Family/Home, Healing, Re-Imagining Public Safety FacebookEmailLinkedInTwitterShare This article ran a year ago during management’s effort to eliminate the CASA volunteer Guardian ad…
Josh and Maya share a powerful story of a young boy on the brink of being locked up, not because he was dangerous, but because the system lacked transparency
free and discounted resources for foster and adopted children and families
how 13 Minnesota Child Advocacy Centers (CAC’s) are losing 80% of their Federal funding. If this happens they will likely disappear or become a shell of what they were in a very short time.
CAC’s keep safe and provide services to children and families who have reported abuse and provide services to help them live through and recover from child abuse, domestic violence, and the traumas that come from it.
Fear and Firing of Mandated Reporters (KARA podcast)…professionals being punished, losing their jobs, and facing lawsuits for fulfilling their duties
Much of this article is taken from Marie Cohen’s remarkable research at the American Enterprise Institute. For those of you concerned with Child Protective Services in your community, Marie’s article is detailed and powerful. It could change your State Representative’s mind about transparency in CPS (Child Protective Services) where you live (share this state rep…
Jamie and Alex delve into the harrowing issue of children dying within the Child Protective Services (CPS) system. They discuss a groundbreaking report revealing that 200 children have died while within the CPS system,
In fiscal year 2022, of the 7.8 million children reported to Child Protection Services (CPS), approximately 3,096,101 children were the subject of a child welfare agency respons
A lack of transparency repeating itself in CPS keeps people from understanding the depth and scope of the problems facing at-risk children, the institution, and its workers
These are the insights of a 77-year-old victim of childhood abuse. He was not aware of the root cause which dominated his life until he was 65 years-old and ran across references to resilience and child abuse. Bill is a thoughtful, deep thinker. The following observations result from his reflection on his life.
Before this report, no one knew how many children in CPS were dying or how they died. Chances are the number of children murdered at the hands of their caregivers is much larger than the 200 listed in the report.
Why do so many fosters aging out of care struggling in school, becoming homeless, addicted, have criminal records and unable to hold down a job?
Reckless & ill-Advised Public Policy For Endangered Children
KARA Podcasts: Powerful Conversations About Interrupting and Ending Child Abuse
For emergency room doctors, they are a sad and familiar sight: Children returning again and again in the grip of mental health crises
All About ACEs (adverse childhood experience) Trauma, Testing, & Resilience