What Attorneys General Can Do: Champion Child Safety, Systemic Reform, and Lasting Accountability

As an attorney general, you are one of the few officials with the authority, independence, and tools to confront systemic failures that harm abused and traumatized children. Your decisions about investigations, litigation, data transparency, and policy guidance can either expose and repair deep problems in child welfare, foster care, juvenile justice, health, and education, or allow cycles of harm to continue out of public view. This post outlines how you can use the legal and moral power of your office to put children’s safety and healing at the center of state justice systems.

You can begin by making child welfare and trauma a core priority of your agenda. Publicly affirming that child protection is essential to public safety, health, and long-term economic stability reframes preventable child harm as a legal and moral crisis, not an unfortunate side issue. Annual directives, formal opinions, and statements can set the expectation that patterns of deaths, re‑abuse, and failures to protect will be investigated and corrected. By convening governors, legislative leaders, agency heads, judges, advocates, and survivors through summits or task forces, you can help reset political and cultural priorities across the state.

Investigate systemic failures and enforce mandated reporting. Require independent inquiries when there are clusters of fatalities, repeated abuse, foster‑care breakdowns, or glaring racial and disability disparities allows you to identify root causes like underfunding, secrecy, or policy gaps. Audit compliance with mandated reporting laws, protect whistleblowers and frontline reporters, and hold institutions accountable when they intimidate or fail to report.

Through litigation and regulation, bring civil or, when appropriate, criminal actions against agencies and licensed professionals who commit or enable serious harm, using consent decrees and court‑enforceable agreements to drive deep reforms. You can also demand transparency by requiring child‑serving systems to publish annual, accessible data on key outcomes so lawmakers and the public can see whether children are actually safer.

Tackle disparities, overmedication, and youth justice, from enforcing civil rights protections in high‑disparity jurisdictions. Audit psychotropic medication use in foster care, and challenge extreme youth sentences and the routine prosecution of children as adults. Finally, you can lead on policy, coordination, and public engagement by drafting model laws, institutionalizing multidisciplinary crisis reviews, directing settlement funds to prevention and healing, and leading statewide ACEs awareness efforts.

By establishing dedicated children’s rights or child protection divisions, clear complaint channels, and a culture of transparency and ethical rigor, you can turn the attorney general’s office into a true guardian of childhood in your state.

1. Make Child Welfare and Trauma a Core Priority

Publicly affirm that child protection is essential to public safety, health, and long-term economic and social stability, framing system failures as urgent legal and moral crises rather than isolated tragedies. Annual directives, formal opinions, and public statements setting the expectation that preventable child harm will be investigated and effectively addressed, not efficiently managed or excused. Using the convening power of the office, you can bring governors, legislative leaders, agency heads, judges, advocates, and survivors together in summits or task forces focused solely on reversing the trends of child trauma and abuse, and helping to reset political and cultural priorities across the state.

2. Investigate Systemic Failures and Enforce Mandated Reporting

Require independent investigations when patterns of child fatalities, repeated abuse, foster-care breakdowns, or glaring racial and disability disparities emerge. By appointing special masters or blue ribbon commissions anchored in the AG’s authority, you can audit practices, identify root causes—such as lack of transparency, underfunding, leadership failures, or policy gaps—and issue public recommendations for reform. At the same time, AGs can audit compliance with mandated reporting laws, probing whether teachers, medical staff, police, and social-service agencies are actually reporting suspected abuse.

Where intimidation or non-compliance exists, they can pursue civil or criminal remedies and use the office to defend whistleblowers and frontline reporters.

3. Litigate, Regulate, and Demand Transparency

When agencies, institutions, or licensed professionals commit or enable serious harm, you can bring civil and, where appropriate, criminal actions to enforce children’s rights and system integrity. Consent decrees and other court-enforceable agreements can compel deep reforms with timelines, benchmarks, and external oversight. AGs can also pursue or support class actions on behalf of children harmed by systemic failures or dangerous conditions. Beyond individual cases, you can require that child-serving agencies publish annual, accessible reports on key indicators—fatalities, re-abuse, placement instability, overmedication, education and justice outcomes—so that lawmakers and the public can see whether systems are actually protecting children.

4. Tackle Disparities, Overmedication, and Justice for Youth

Direct special inquiries into jurisdictions with extreme racial or economic disproportionality in reporting, removals, or child deaths, enforcing civil rights and disability laws where discrimination or neglect is evident.

Support tribal and community-led programs with strong prevention and family-preservation records by providing legal and technical assistance and highlighting successful models. In child and youth mental health, you can audit psychotropic prescribing for foster and system-involved children, investigate unsafe polypharmacy or use without adequate therapy, and enforce best-practice review protocols and public reporting requirements. In juvenile justice, AGs can help end the routine prosecution of children as adults, challenge extreme youth sentences, and require trauma and developmental assessments before charging or sentencing.

5. Lead Policy, Coordination, and Public Engagement

Work with legislators to draft model laws on fatality review, foster-care standards, medication oversight, aftercare, and trauma-informed training, and then testify as expert witnesses in support of reforms. They can insist that multiple systems—child welfare, health, education, justice—share data in secure, interoperable ways that flag high-risk situations early.

Multidisciplinary crisis teams and “after-action” reviews after major incidents can be institutionalized, making learning and coordinated response standard. Partnering with CASA programs, Child Advocacy Centers, crisis nurseries, and prevention organizations, AGs can direct settlement funds or grants to evidence-based, community-based efforts. Statewide awareness campaigns led or endorsed by the AG can teach the public about ACEs, warning signs, reporting duties, and the reality of recovery, while lifting survivor and youth voices as sources of insight and hope.

Stories and Lessons From the Field

A U.S. attorney general convened the Defending Childhood Initiative after hearing stories of children who had witnessed shootings, domestic violence, and community assaults, recognizing that “countless children endure exposure to violence every day” yet rarely receive help; the initiative funded pilot sites where justice, health, and community partners built trauma‑informed systems, from 24/7 centralized intake for kids exposed to violence to county‑wide training institutes and social‑marketing campaigns about healing.

In Cuyahoga County, Ohio, that initiative supported a model where agencies agreed to use common trauma‑informed checklists, shared data on children exposed to violence, and created a central intake unit that any police officer, social worker, or school could call so children didn’t fall through the cracks after a violent incident.

The Attorney General’s National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence went on to issue a detailed report urging every professional in the justice system—including prosecutors’ offices and attorneys general—to incorporate evidence‑based, trauma‑informed principles into policy and grants, improve screening and treatment pathways, and reform juvenile justice so that it recognizes and responds to the trauma histories carried by most court‑involved youth rather than compounding their harm.​

 

Optional Next Steps: Make the AG’s Office a True Guardian of Childhood

To sustain this work, establish dedicated children’s rights or child protection divisions, staffed with legal experts, survivors, and advocates focused on high-impact cases and systemic reform. Clear, accessible complaint channels for youth, families, and professionals make it possible to surface hidden problems. By modeling transparency, ethical rigor, and a willingness to confront institutional failures, AGs can turn their offices into beacons of accountability and hope—signaling to every child in the state that their safety is not negotiable, and that the law stands on their side.

Next Steps

 

• The NGA’s State Actions to Prevent and Mitigate Adverse Childhood Experiences summarizes how governors and state leaders are using task forces, screening, training, and cross‑agency strategies to address ACEs and trauma—context AGs can align with on justice and consumer‑protection fronts.​
• The Network for Public Health Law article Adverse Childhood Experiences and Trauma‑Informed Policy Approaches reviews emerging ACEs‑related bills and offers a legal and policy lens on trauma‑informed approaches relevant to AG policy teams.​
• CDC’s Policy Approaches to Preventing ACEs and Adverse Childhood Experiences Prevention Resource for Action outline concrete, evidence‑based strategies and policy levers state leaders can use to prevent ACEs and reduce downstream justice and health costs.​
• The Center for Health Care Strategies brief State and Federal Support of Trauma‑Informed Care: Sustaining the Momentum highlights legislative, regulatory, and contracting policies aimed at reducing trauma and toxic stress, giving AG offices examples of how other states embed trauma‑informed principles in systems they enforce or advise.​
• The Trauma‑Informed Care Implementation Resource Center – Policy Considerations page outlines specific policy options for trauma‑informed care (Medicaid, contracts, regulations), which AGs can consider when reviewing or drafting statewide policy and enforcement frameworks.​
• The DOJ OJJDP’s Trauma‑Informed Care and Children Exposed to Violence pages describe federal expectations and grant‑funded models for trauma‑informed juvenile justice and law‑enforcement responses, offering frameworks AGs can promote with county attorneys and law enforcement.​
• The systematic review Trauma‑informed juvenile justice systems: A systematic review identifies core elements and policy domains for trauma‑informed juvenile justice systems, useful for AG offices advising juvenile justice reforms or consent decrees.​
• The National Compendium of Trauma‑Responsive Policies and Programs collects examples of trauma‑responsive laws, regulations, and programs across states and systems, giving AG policy staff models to reference when shaping statewide approaches.​
• The NCTSN guide Trauma‑Informed Legal Advocacy: A Resource for Juvenile Defense Attorneys, while written for defenders, helps AG teams understand what trauma‑informed advocacy looks like and how trauma histories intersect with culpability, diversion, and appropriate remedies.​
• The CTIPP 2023 State & Federal Trauma‑Informed Policy Review scans recent trauma‑informed legislation and resolutions nationwide, giving attorneys general an overview of policy trends and potential gaps in their own states.​

Blogs and resource hubs for attorneys general

1. OJJDP – Trauma‑Informed Care and Children Exposed to Violence

   • Trauma‑Informed Care (webinars, articles, justice‑system resources):
     https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/taxonomy/term/trauma-informed-careojjdp.ojp

   • Children Exposed to Violence program page (models, grants, tools):
     https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/programs/children-exposed-violenceojjdp.ojp

2. County Health Rankings – Trauma‑Informed Juvenile Justice Systems

   • Strategy page on trauma‑informed juvenile justice systems:
     https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/strategies-and-solutions/what-works-for-health/strategies/trauma-informed-juvenile-justice-systemscountyhealthrankings

3. APA Foundation – Trauma‑Informed Juvenile Justice

   • Free resource on trauma‑informed juvenile justice, with system‑change guidance:
     https://www.apaf.org/our-programs/justice/free-resources/trauma-informed-juvenile-justice/apaf

4. CHCS – Psychotropic Medication Oversight in Foster Care

   • Improving the Use of Psychotropic Medication for Children in Foster Care (state profiles and lessons):
     https://www.chcs.org/resource/improving-use-psychotropic-medication-children-foster-care-state-profiles/chcs

5. EveryCRSReport – Oversight of Psychotropic Medication for Children in Foster Care

   • Federal policy and state oversight summary:
     https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R43466.htmleverycrsreport

6. Imprint – Investigative reporting on foster youth and psych meds

   • “States Still Fail To Rein in Psych Meds for Foster Youth” (part of a broader investigative series):
     https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/all-i-did-was-sleep-despite-years-of-damning-reports-states-across-the-country-fail-to-rein-in-psych-meds-for-foster-youth/259719imprintnews

7. American Bar Association – Child Law / Child Welfare blogs

   • Top Child Welfare Blogs (ABA Child Law Practice Online overview, linking to National CASA Blog, ChildLaw Blog, etc.):
     https://www.americanbar.org/groups/public_interest/child_law/resources/child_law_practiceonline/child_law_practice/vol_31/may_2012/top_child_welfareblogs/americanbar

8. Justice for Kids Blog (child abuse, foster care, system failures)

   • Main blog welcome page:
     https://www.justiceforkids.us/welcome-to-the-justice-for-kids-blog/justiceforkids

   • Blog archive (Justice For Kids®):
     https://kelleykronenberg.com/category/blogs/justice-for-kids/kelleykronenberg

9. NCFA (National Council For Adoption) – Child Welfare and Adoption blog

   • Blog archive:
     https://adoptioncouncil.org/blog/adoptioncouncil

10. Social Work Blog – Child Welfare tag (policy and AG‑related issues)

    • Child welfare posts, including pieces on AG actions affecting child welfare:
      https://www.socialworkblog.org/tag/child-welfare/socialworkblog

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Starter reading list for attorneys general

Here are specific readings that give an AG or policy director a strong foundation in trauma‑informed justice, oversight, and systemic reform.

1. Trauma‑Informed Juvenile Justice Systems: A Systematic Review

   • https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC5664165/pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih

   • Summarizes the evidence and core domains for trauma‑informed juvenile justice (clinical, agency, system‑level). Useful for AGs advising juvenile code reforms or consent decrees.

2. County Health Rankings – Trauma‑Informed Juvenile Justice Systems Strategy

   • https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/strategies-and-solutions/what-works-for-health/strategies/trauma-informed-juvenile-justice-systemscountyhealthrankings

   • Clear, practice‑oriented overview of what trauma‑informed juvenile justice looks like, including screening, interventions, workforce training, and cross‑system collaboration.

3. APA Foundation – Trauma‑Informed Juvenile Justice

   • https://www.apaf.org/our-programs/justice/free-resources/trauma-informed-juvenile-justice/apaf

   • Offers guidance on embedding trauma‑informed approaches, cross‑collaboration, data sharing, and policy frameworks—directly relevant to AG‑driven system change.

4. CHCS – Improving the Use of Psychotropic Medication Among Children and Youth in Foster Care

   • https://www.chcs.org/resource/improving-use-psychotropic-medication-children-foster-care-state-profiles/chcs

   • Profiles of state efforts to oversee psychotropic medications in foster care, showing how AGs and state agencies can structure oversight and quality improvement collaboratives.

5. EveryCRSReport – Oversight of Psychotropic Medication for Children in Foster Care

   • https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/R43466.htmleverycrsreport

   • Explains federal requirements and outlines best‑practice protocols for oversight; helpful background for AGs considering investigations or policy guidance in this area.

6. Imprint – “States Still Fail To Rein in Psych Meds for Foster Youth”

   • https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/all-i-did-was-sleep-despite-years-of-damning-reports-states-across-the-country-fail-to-rein-in-psych-meds-for-foster-youth/259719imprintnews

   • Investigative piece showing gaps between federal expectations and state practice; a powerful narrative backdrop for AG oversight and litigation decisions.

7. OJJDP – Children Exposed to Violence and Trauma‑Informed Care pages

   • Children Exposed to Violence: https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/programs/children-exposed-violenceojjdp.ojp

   • Trauma‑Informed Care taxonomy page: https://ojjdp.ojp.gov/taxonomy/term/trauma-informed-careojjdp.ojp

   • Show federal expectations and grant‑funded models AGs can promote or enforce with local prosecutors and justice agencies.

8. NCTSN / ABA – Implementing Trauma‑Informed Practices in Child Welfare (policy paper)

   • Texas CASA / ABA resource: https://texascasa.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Implementing-Trauma-Informed-Practices-in-Child-Welfare-by-ABA_compressed.pdf

   • Describes components of trauma‑informed child welfare and state policy levers—useful for AGs influencing statewide practice standards.

9. Child Welfare Information Gateway – Trauma‑Informed Practice Issue Brief

   • https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/casework-practice/trauma-informed-practice/

   • Outlines core elements and examples of trauma‑informed child welfare systems, giving AGs context when reviewing system failures.

10. Justice for Kids Blog – Case‑based insights into failures and remedies

    • Main blog: https://www.justiceforkids.us/welcome-to-the-justice-for-kids-blog/justiceforkids

    • Archive: https://kelleykronenberg.com/category/blogs/justice-for-kids/kelleykronenberg

    • Offers case‑driven narratives and legal analysis around child abuse, foster care, and system failures; useful for understanding how cases look from the perspective of harmed children and their advocates.

References
Book-Draft-wordpress-7.25.docx
Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota – “Child Fatality Investigation and Reform”
Pew Charitable Trusts – “State Attorney General Lawsuits and Foster Care Medication Oversight”
Annie E. Casey Foundation – KIDS COUNT data and state child welfare policy reports
National CASA/GAL Association – Impact Reports
Harvard Center on the Developing Child – Science of early adversity and resilience
National Child Traumatic Stress Network – Trauma-informed systems and policy resources
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services – “Child Welfare Outcomes” and Children’s Bureau reports
CDC/Kaiser Permanente ACE Study – ACEs prevalence and health impact
The Deepest Well (Nadine Burke Harris) – ACEs and long-term health
American Bar Association – “The Role of State Attorneys General in Child Welfare Reform”

 

 

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