Every month KARA publishes articles that largely go unnoticed outside of the community they occur. These stories are gathered from different sources all around the nation and some international stories. Please share this page with people in your networks, especially reporters, educators, social workers and law enforcement. Spread the word; when more people know about how troubled our child protection systems are, we will do more to make life better for abused and neglected children (until then, not much will change).
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All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children
For a complete history of KARA’s child abuse writing click here
Idaho mother charged in death of 3 year old son Sept 16
Auburn Massachusetts, investigation of foster mom in death of 2 year old
Springfield Massachussets; 2 men charged in death of 19 month old
Springfield Massachusetts, Death of Bella Bond prompts call for DCF overhaul and why it takes months and thousands of dollars to get public documents to investigate child death.
Massachusetts, 110 child abuse deaths with 1/3 after being reported to child protection
Carter County TN, Social worker false testimony in child death case
Jacksonville FL, Trial date set for Donald James Smith in rape murder of 8 year old Cherish Perrywinkle
More sad stories reporting appears at the bottom of this page
AR: Lost in the foster care backlog
Arkansas Times – September 24, 2015
Families say DHS red tape drives parents away from the foster system, despite state’s urgent needs.
http://www.arktimes.com/arkansas/lost-in-the-foster-care-backlog/Content?oid=4092109
CA: Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice Honored Human Trafficking Victims and Advocates, Educating 350 Community Members on Ending Modern Day “Slavery”
PRWeb – September 24, 2015
“Justice is priceless, and in justice, there must be resolve. That is our job,” said Dr. Sandra Morgan, director of Vanguard University’s Global Center for Women and Justice and keynote speaker for the luncheon. “We need to educate every teacher, school-based professional, probation officer, healthcare provider, and child welfare worker because this is happening in our own community, and these human trafficking victims have worth and value.”
http://thenumbers.marketplace.org/publicradio/news/read?GUID=30686573
CA: Helping Children Heal: Promising Community Programs and Policy Recommendations
Chronicle of Social Change – September 23, 2015
In examining successful programs in the San Francisco Bay Area, the Children’s Defense Fund suggests in a new report that community-based programs are effective ways to heal trauma experienced by children and youth. Report: Add report URL: http://www.cdfca.org/library/publications/2015/helping-children-heal.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-trauma-2/helping-children-heal-promising-community-programs-and-policy-recommendations/13316
CA: Partnership Hopes to “Nudge” Foster Youth Toward Diplomas (Requires paid subscription)
Chronicle of Social Change – September 23, 2015
Advocates for California foster youth have partnered with a company that specializes in helping keep students on the path toward a diploma using text messages. Also: Information Gateway Resource: Education and the Child in Foster Care: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/resources-foster-families/parenting/education-and-child/
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/calif-partnership-hopes-nudge-foster-youths-toward-diplomas/13305
CA: Bill to Support “Crossover” Youth Sidelined, but Advocates Remain Hopeful
Chronicle of Social Change – September 21, 2015
California’s Senate Bill 12, which would expand benefits and support for transition-age foster youth who have also been involved with probation, was sidelined in late August. The bill was cosponsored by Senator Jim Beall (D) and the San Francisco-based Youth Law Center, and would ensure that foster youth who end up in the justice system when they become adults have access to the same transition assistance that their peers do.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/bill-support-california-crossover-youth-sidelined-advocates-remain-hopeful/13224
CT: Crossover Youth: From Child Welfare to Juvenile Justice
Health News Digest – September 24, 2015
Connecticut youth whose families have deep involvement in the state’s child welfare system are at the highest risk for involvement in the juvenile justice system when compared to other youths who have contact with state social workers.
http://www.healthnewsdigest.com/news/Research_270/Crossover-Youth-From-Child-Welfare-to-Juvenile-Justice.shtml
IA: Step up for the children (Opinion)
Estherville News – September 23, 2015
Reporting on the need for CASA volunteers here the same week Bella’s identity was released made me think a CASA could have saved little Bella’s life. Perhaps if a volunteer who had Bella as their only case had been there to observe, report, to talk to Bella’s mother, and to recommend more help for them, Bella could be alive today.
http://www.esthervillenews.net/page/content.detail/id/521682.html
ID: Former foster kid overcomes the odds
Idaho Statesman – September 23, 2015
Hansen spoke to 16 teens Thursday at the 3B Juvenile Detention Center in Idaho Falls, the last stop on her eastern Idaho tour of juvenile justice system facilities and social welfare conferences where she spoke to officials and participants. After listening to her story, many of the kids, dressed in orange or blue prison garb, asked her questions such as how she turned her life around and how she paid for college.
http://www.idahostatesman.com/welcome_page/?shf=/2015/09/23/4001301_former-foster-kid-overcomes-the.html#storylink=rss
MA: Editorial: Baby Bella didn’t have a chance
Eagle-Tribune – September 24, 2015
When reckless, irresponsible people produce children, the children always suffer. That’s why states have child protective agencies tasked with assessing a child’s living conditions and quality of life to make the wrenching decision on whether that child needs to be taken from its parents and placed in foster care. But Bella was ultimately doomed because the Massachusetts child protective agency–the Department of Children and Families –is broken and has been for some time.
http://www.eagletribune.com/opinion/editorial-baby-bella-didn-t-have-a-chance/article_577b75b8-9371-57af-9fe7-67d6173b8222.html
MI: New center in Muskegon Heights aims to be a ‘one stop shop’ for Lakeshore’s LGBT residents
Michigan Live – September 21, 2015
Teszlewicz said there is no other center like LGBT Support Services in the Muskegon area, and the only other place LGBT residents in West Michigan can find specialized services is The Network in Grand Rapids.
http://www.mlive.com/news/muskegon/index.ssf/2015/09/new_center_in_muskegon_heights.html
MT: Montana to expand child protection staff
Casper Star-Tribune – September 23, 2015
Montana won’t be increasing the number of caseworkers under the governor’s plan to improve the effectiveness and oversight of the state Division of Child and Family Services, but it will hire 33 assistants to help existing caseworkers. Also: 33 new aides to help child protection caseworkers: http://www.greatfallstribune.com/story/news/2015/09/23/new-aides-help-child-protection-caseworkers/72704518/ Also: Falling Through the Cracks (Opinion): http://flatheadbeacon.com/2015/09/23/falling-through-the-cracks/
http://trib.com/news/state-and-regional/montana-to-expand-child-protection-staff/article_f677884d-53ad-593d-9a3e-076b78fd8606.html
NM: Figures show injury increase in state’s youth justice system
Associated Press – September 23, 2015
Child welfare officials suggested the troubling numbers could be attributed to recent policy changes, a rise in age among juvenile offenders, and an effort to reduce the number of youth in detention facilities that has resulted in the state holding only those in need of the most attention.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/23/nm-figures-show-injury-increase-in-juvenile-justic/
OH: Experts: State among worst for sex trafficking
Cincinnati.com – September 22, 2015
The Buckeye state ranks as one of the worst regions in the U.S. for sex trafficking. A recent report from the Ohio Attorney General’s office indicates that 1,000 juveniles are forced into the sex trade each year in Ohio. Of these child and youth victims, many are only middle-school age. Report: http://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Files/Briefing-Room/News-Releases/Human-Trafficking/HTC-2014-Annual-Report.aspx
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/opinion/contributors/2015/09/22/experts-ohio-among-worst-sex-trafficking/72613268/
US: Number of children in foster care up sharply
Associated Press – September 23, 2015
The annual report from the Department of Health and Human Services tallied 415,129 children in the foster care system as of September 30, 2014, up from about 401,000 a year earlier. The peak was 524,000 children in foster care in 2002, and the number had dropped steadily since 2005 before rising slightly in 2013. Report: http://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/cb/afcarsreport22.pdf
http://www.wect.com/story/30100615/number-of-us-children-in-foster-care-up-sharply
US: Long-Term Contraception Has Great Potential in Helping Foster Teens (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – September 22, 2015
When a teenager in foster care gets pregnant, the child welfare system has failed. The barriers to future education and employment for these young people are bad enough without the added burden of a baby. And of course, the risk of bad outcomes (including abuse, neglect and placement in foster care) are high for babies born to teen mothers.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/long-term-contraception-great-potential-helping-foster-teens/13222
US: National Native organizations come together to release new Native Children’s Policy Agenda: Putting First Kids 1st (Press release)
National Congress of American Indians – September 22, 2015
This agenda is intended as a tool to assist tribal leaders and other policymakers in their work to create and implement a vision for a vibrant, healthy community. It is also intended to guide stakeholders as they prioritize legislation and policy issues that may affect Native children and youth. Report: http://www.ncai.org/resources/ncai-publications/Aug_2015_Native_Childrens_Policy_Agenda.pdf
http://www.ncai.org/news/articles/2015/09/22/national-native-organizations-come-together-to-release-new-native-children-s-policy-agenda-putting-first-kids-1st
US: Young Black Males: Pushed Out and Away (Opinion: Marian Wright Edelman)
Huffington Post – September 18, 2015
We need to stand up and fight against unjust systems that often push young people out of school and onto the path to prison. We also need to make sure we are doing all we can as individuals to show love and care and support to young people–especially Black and Hispanic–who already often feel pushed out and pushed away.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/young-black-males-pushed_b_8161280.html
US: Poverty Hurts Children, Yet More Than One in Five Children in America Lives in Poverty; Black Child Poverty Increases 10 Percent (Press release)
Children’s Defense Fund – September 16, 2015
U.S. Census Bureau data released today reveal 46.7 million poor people in America in 2014; 1 in 3 are children. Children remain the poorest age group in America. The new data show in 2014, 15.5 million children (21.1 percent) are poor. Children of color, who will be the majority of children in America in 2020, continue to be disproportionately poor: 37 percent of Black children and 32 percent of Hispanic children are poor, contrasted with 12 percent of White non-Hispanic children. While the overall child poverty rate declined slightly, the child poverty rate for Black children increased by 10 percent between 2013 and 2014. Nearly 1 in 5 Black children live in extreme poverty at half the poverty level or less–a 13 percent increase since 2013. Also: Child Poverty: In their own Words : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLrTZ5IG_Eg
http://www.childrensdefense.org/newsroom/cdf-in-the-news/press-releases/2015/2015NationalPovertyData.html
US: OJJDP Releases Research on Youth’s Mental Health Needs and Long-Term Outcomes After Detention (Press release)
PRNewswire – September 08, 2015
Today the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) released four research bulletins based on findings from the Northwestern Juvenile Project, which investigates the mental health needs and long-term outcomes of juvenile detainees.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ojjdp-releases-research-on-youths-mental-health-needs-and-long-term-outcomes-after-detention-300138993.html
AL: This Law is Supposed to Protect Babies, But it’s Putting Their Moms Behind Bars
Mother Jones – September 23, 2015
Shehi had run afoul of Alabama’s “chemical endangerment of a child” statute, the country’s toughest criminal law on prenatal drug use. Passed in 2006 as methamphetamine ravaged Alabama communities, the law targeted parents who turned their kitchens and garages into home-based drug labs, putting their children at peril.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/09/alabama%20chemical-endangerment-drug%20war
AL: Experts: Child abuse is on the rise (Includes video)
WSFA 12 – September 22, 2015
Family Sunshine Center Program Director Marjorie Baker says her agency is seeing more cases of children experiencing physical abuse at home and in the community.
http://www.wsfa.com/story/30092776/experts-child-abuse-is-on-the-rise
AR: Panel OKs $1M for Children and Family Services caseworkers: Welfare unit’s staff to add 40
Arkansas Online – September 23, 2015
A legislative panel on Tuesday signed off on Gov. Asa Hutchinson’s request to transfer $1.05 million in rainy-day funds to hire 40 more employees for the Division of Children and Family Services. Twenty-nine of the 40 additional employees will be caseworkers.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/sep/23/panel-oks-1m-for-caseworkers-20150923/?f=latest
CA: Foster Parents Get Vital Tool To Check Records
Ventura County Star – September 22, 2015
Foster parents searching for records on the health conditions and education of the children in their care can now get them quickly through an online tool, officials said Tuesday.
http://www.wopular.com/foster-parents-get-vital-tool-check-records
CT: Report: Progress made on child trauma, but gaps persist
CT Mirror – September 22, 2015
Connecticut has made significant advances in providing help for children exposed to trauma — in some cases emerging as a national leader in addressing a problem research has linked to a greater likelihood of medical and mental health problems later in life, problems in school and a greater risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system, according to a report released Tuesday by the Child Health and Development Institute of Connecticut. Report: Advanced Trauma-Informed Systems for Children: https://assets.documentcloud.org/documents/2428793/chdi-report-on-trauma.pdf
http://ctmirror.org/2015/09/22/report-ct-has-made-progress-in-addressing-child-trauma-but-gaps-persist/
DE: State Family Court Has Authority to De-escalate Child’s Medical Treatments (Requires free registration)
Delaware Law Weekly – September 23, 2015
In a Sept. 16 opinion, the justices affirmed a ruling from the Family Court, which entered an order instructing medical providers to de-escalate medical intervention and implement do-not-reintubate and do-not-resuscitate orders for a child who was severely injured following “unexplained abusive trauma.” The child’s biological parents had appealed the order, in which the court granted a motion from the child’s guardian ad litem, arguing the Family Court lacked jurisdiction and authority to order de-escalation and that the parents were denied due process in the matter.
http://www.delawarelawweekly.com/id=1202737842069/State-Family-Court-Has-Authority-to-Deescalate-Childs-Medical-Treatment?slreturn=20150823090558
FL: Parents’ substance abuse tearing children from homes
Southwest Florida Herald Tribune – September 22, 2015
They did not know the names behind the numbers. Yet Manatee County commissioners on Tuesday heard the latest data about children who have been removed from their homes, largely because of their parents’ addiction to heroin or other substances, or returned to foster care because their adoptions did not work out. And they regarded those trends as not only disturbing but, in many cases, “heartbreaking.” Also: Heroin epidemic | More Manatee County kids removed from homes so far in 2015 than all of 2014: http://www.bradenton.com/2015/09/23/6005264/heroin-epidemic-more-manatee-county.html#storylink=cpy
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20150922/article/150929887
FL: Report finds Florida foster kids put on psychotropic drugs without following proper procedures
News Service of Florida – September 22, 2015
Despite an outcry in 2009 over a 7-year-old’s apparent suicide, a draft report from the research arm of Florida’s child-protection system shows that foster children are still being put on psychotropic medications without caregivers following proper procedures.
http://www.orlandoweekly.com/Blogs/archives/2015/09/22/report-finds-florida-foster-kids-put-on-psychotropic-drugs-without-following-proper-procedures
FL: State increases investment in child abuse prevention, restores healthy families home visiting program
Madison County Carrier – September 22, 2015
The Florida Legislature appropriated, and Governor Scott approved, a $3.9 million increase in funding for Healthy Families Florida, a nationally accredited network of community-based home visiting programs. The funds will be used to strengthen the 37 existing community-based programs, expanding 14 of them to serve additional families and restoring services in six counties that lost services after the program suffered a $10 million budget cut back in 2010.
http://www.greenepublishing.com/florida-increases-investment-in-child-abuse-prevention-restores-healthy-families-home-visiting-program/
IA: Immigration, Detention, Iowa Caucuses (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 23, 2015
Gabriela Flora, program director for the American Friends Service Committee, said the United States has the largest immigrant-detention infrastructure in the world and more than half of the detained immigrants are in facilities run by private for-profit prison corporations “who stand to gain a whole lot of money from this. “There are plenty of alternatives to detention,” she said. “You can do different kinds of monitoring that costs anything from being free to $12 a day. There are plenty of alternatives where people can show up to court dates without being in detention.”
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-23/social-justice/immigration-detention-iowa-caucuses/a48223-1
IL: Chicago’s High Suspension Rates Driven By Schools With Concentrated Poverty (Requires free registration)
Education Week – September 23, 2015
Researchers also combined discipline data with child welfare data and found that 30 percent of the students with a history of abuse or neglect were suspended in the 2013-14 school year. Report: Suspending Chicago’s Students: https://ccsr.uchicago.edu/sites/default/files/publications/Suspending%20Chicagos%20Students.pdf
http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/District_Dossier/2015/09/chicagos_high_suspension_rates.html
KY: Report: 10 Ky. kids died last year from abuse
Louisville Courier-Journal – September 21, 2015
Ten Kentucky children died last year from abuse and neglect and another 32 suffered life-threatening injuries, according to the latest annual report of such statistics from the Cabinet for Health and Family Services. Report: http://chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/B2042949-9291-4E00-AC94-0BD37673B9AD/0/2015ChildFatalityandNearFatalityAnnualReport.pdf
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/local/2015/09/21/report-10-ky-kids-died-last-year-abuse/72395514/
KY: As AG, Beshear says he will battle child abuse, heroin and elder scams (Correction)
Richmond Register – September 17, 2015
Andy Beshear, Democratic nominee for attorney general and son of Gov. Steve Beshear told the gathering of about 40 that he wants to attack two epidemics afflicting Kentucky, child abuse and drug addiction.
http://www.richmondregister.com/news/local_news/as-ag-beshear-says-he-will-battle-child-abuse-heroin/article_87cf0796-5db2-11e5-b824-f7e4c8ec2308.html
MA: Gov. Baker: New protocols needed to protect kids
Associated Press – September 22, 2015
Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker said Tuesday that the state must update the way it handles investigations into allegations of abuse or neglect of children if it hopes to avoid more cases like the death of 2-year-old Bella Bond, whose body was found on a Boston-area beach in June. Baker told reporters that one of his top priorities is revamping the intake policy for the Department of Children and Families, which he said hasn’t been updated in a decade
http://www.eagletribune.com/news/gov-baker-new-protocols-needed-to-protect-kids/article_8ee52d23-b147-56fe-b1a4-9dd2ec17c56f.html
MA: Child Welfare Expert: DCF ‘Dropped the Ball’ in Bella Bond Case (Includes video)
NECN – September 21, 2015
The allegations are stunning- that a man would beat a two-year-old to death and her mother would let her daughter’s body be kept in a refrigerator before she helped dump her into Boston Harbor; but child welfare experts say there are more fingers to be pointed in the death of Bella Bond.
http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Child-Welfare-DCF-Bella-Bond-Baby-Doe-328565551.html
MD: Washington County Board of Education adopts new child-abuse policy
Herald-Mail Media – September 22, 2015
The child-abuse reporting policy requires all employees of Washington County Public Schools to report any incidents of suspected abuse or neglect “as soon as possible, but without compromising student safety.”
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/education/washington-county-board-of-education-adopts-new-child-abuse-policy/article_07264bde-6188-11e5-87ee-bfd53af13542.html
MI: Advocates For Foster Kids Address Legislature (Includes audio)
WSJM – September 22, 2015
State lawmakers heard from foster children and advocates for foster kids and families on Tuesday. Michele Corey, with Michigan’s Children, says she planned to speak and tell lawmakers about some things they could do to improve the lives of the state’s 13 thousand foster children. Corey says that there are several kinds of adults, including birth parents, that foster kids have to deal with. Advocates for foster children believe the political climate is favorable right now for making improvements to the child welfare system.
http://www.wsjm.com/2015/09/22/advocates-for-foster-kids-address-mi-legislature/
MN: Child Protection Task Force Reviews Screening Guidelines (Includes video)
KSTP – September 22, 2015
When it comes to protecting children, Minnesota lawmakers continue to increase the state’s efforts. The new Legislative Task Force on Child Protection is meeting Tuesday for the fourth time. The overall goal of this task force is to stop repeated abuse of children. A big part of that is how social workers screen reports of child abuse and how those guidelines influence the next steps. The task force heard feedback Tuesday from counties across the state on new screening guidelines.
http://kstp.com/news/stories/S3913778.shtml?cat=127
NY: College support for foster care youth
Associated Press – September 21, 2015
New York’s Board of Regents has approved providing college support to 340 youths and young adults coming out of foster care.
http://13wham.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/college-support-foster-care-youth-26306.shtml
OH: State will re-issue birth certificates to adoptees who got redacted versions
Columbus Dispatch – September 23, 2015
Responding to charges that it was violating the state’s new adoption-records law, the Ohio Department of Health will re-issue original birth certificates to about three dozen adoptees who received documents with too much information redacted.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/09/22/adoption-records-redactions.html
OH: System flaw kept convicted teachers in classrooms
Norwalk Reflector – September 22, 2015
An investigation by The Dispatch and WBNS-TV (Channel 10) uncovered examples of teachers who continued working because school districts never received so-called “Rapback” notices from the attorney general’s office. The term is derived from the Retained Applicant Fingerprint Database Information Exchange. To the alarm of school and children-services officials, some notices, which ideally should have gone out within 24 hours of fingerprints being matched, didn’t arrive for more than two years — if at all.
http://www.norwalkreflector.com/article/news/8203576
PA: Emergency funds needed to help schools, nonprofits (Opinion)
NewsItem.com – September 23, 2015
The measure, Senate Bill 1000, would fund the majority of its lines at a four-month funding level (33.3 percent of a full budget), retroactively to July 1. A few of the lines, including bond debt services, federal funds and special funds, would be fully funded, and PHEAA grants and the county child welfare appropriation would be at 50 percent. In total, the plan would spend $11 billion in state funds, and $24.3 billion in federal funds that pass through the budget.
http://newsitem.com/opinion/letters/emergency-funds-needed-to-help-schools-nonprofits-1.1946736
US: Should Adoption Agencies Be Allowed to Discriminate Against Gay Parents?
The Atlantic – September 23, 2015
In 1993, Congress passed the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which said the government couldn’t restrict a person’s religious practice unless doing so furthered a compelling government interest. It aimed to reinforce the longstanding American commitment to freedom of conscience. But to some observers, the recent flood of religious-exemption legislation at the state level is taking this idea a step too far. Rather than protecting the religious liberties of individuals and agencies, it essentially allows agents of the state to discriminate.
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2015/09/the-problem-with-religious-freedom-laws/406423/
US: Stemming The Cycle of Toxic Stress — For The Kids’ Sake
MyInforms – September 23, 2015
Gillespie is among a growing number of pediatricians across the country going beyond the typical well-child visit and delving deeper into the history of families like McVey’s. The goal is to prevent children from experiencing traumatic events that can interfere with their brain development and increase their risk of physical and emotional problems in adulthood.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/16780237-stemming-the-cycle-of-toxic-stress–for-the-kids-sake/
US: The KVC Institute Shares a Big Idea for Transforming Foster Care in America (Press Release)
PR Web – September 23, 2015
The KVC Institute for Health Systems Innovation, a new initiative of nonprofit child welfare leader KVC Health Systems, today released its “Big Idea” campaign describing the values and practices that it uses to achieve strong outcomes for children and families. The approach described can be used by public child welfare agencies, private child and family service providers, other stakeholders and communities as a whole to transform foster care in America. The video is available at http://www.kvc.org/bigidea.
http://markets.financialcontent.com/rcladvisors/news/read?GUID=30679910
US: Exercise reduces suicide attempts by 23 percent among bullied teens
Medical News Today – September 22, 2015
Using data from the CDC’s National Youth Risk Behavior Survey of 13,583 high school students, researchers at the University of Vermont found that being physically active four or more days per week resulted in a 23 percent reduction in suicidal ideation and attempts in bullied students. Nationwide nearly 20 percent of students reported being bullied on school property.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/299854.php?tw
US: Pope Francis in America: Pontiff urged to do more to pursue Catholic priests who abused children
The Independent – September 22, 2015
Advocates for victims of child abuse by Catholic priests are urging Pope Francis to use his visit to the United States to offer new reassurances that the Vatican is prepared to take additional steps to pursue past perpetrators and bring them to justice.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/pope-francis-in-america-pontiff-urged-to-do-more-to-pursue-catholic-priests-who-abused-children-10513237.html
US: Pope Francis will find a far different ‘typical’ US family
Times Herald – September 22, 2015
Pope John Paul II stopped in Philadelphia during his first apostolic journey to the United States, in 1979; the families that lined the Benjamin Franklin Parkway to see him were changing. It was the beginning of a big shift in the way Americans viewed marriage and family. The nuclear family — mom, dad and kids — is still the ideal for the Catholic Church, which will hold its World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia Sept. 22-25. But when Pope Francis visits the U.S. this week — and concludes his trip in Philadelphia next weekend — he’ll see many different kinds of families than his predecessor did 36 years ago.
http://www.timesherald.com/general-news/20150922/pope-francis-will-find-a-far-different-typical-us-family
US: They Don’t Know the Life of a Foster Child (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 22, 2015
Prejudgment, false conception, and assumptions are a few of the many things that foster kids deal with on a constant basis. Person after person gets a file that may or may not contain true information about you. They don’t know you, but they think they do because a piece of paper tells them what to think about you before meeting you. Most are lies, exaggerated and are stories told by foster mothers that never treated you right in the first place.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sophia-williamsbaugh/they-dont-know_b_8163454.html
US: What affects the future success of poor children?
Urban Institute – September 09, 2015
Being poor as a child, even for only a short time, can have consequences reaching far into adulthood. The instability that accompanies poverty puts stress on parents, spilling over to children. This can manifest itself in long-lasting ways. In the face of these obstacles, what circumstances help poor children succeed (or at least don’t hold them back) and what stacks the deck against them?
http://www.urban.org/urban-wire/what-affects-future-success-poor-children
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Women fast to raise awareness about kids in child welfare system (Includes video)
CBC News – September 22, 2015
The women have set up teepees and lit a sacred fire on the Manitoba legislative grounds and will stay there until Thursday. The women are there in support of the efforts of The Manitoba First Nations Family Advocate, that was created in June in order to address concerns with how the province handles situations involving First Nations families.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/women-fast-to-raise-awareness-about-kids-in-child-welfare-system-1.3239276
International: The Intercountry Adoption Debate (Book review)
Huffington Post – September 22, 2015
“[D]espite what some may believe, the intercountry adoption debate is over… because, at least for now, very few on any side of the debate actually believe that the numbers will rise substantially anytime in the foreseeable future. Instead, the infrastructure of agencies and organizations built around large-scale ICA are being dismantled. In the United States, perhaps as many as four hundred international adoption agencies have closed.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/the-intercountry-adoption_b_8174088.html
International: US military in Afghanistan told troops to ‘ignore child abuse by Afghan soldiers’
The Telegraph – September 22, 2015
The US military has been accused of encouraging troops to turn a blind eye to sexual abuse committed by local army commanders that it trained in Afghanistan. Also: Pentagon: Afghan Child Abuse Is Not Our Policy http://www.hngn.com/articles/132545/20150923/pentagon-afghan-child-abuse-policy.htm
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/afghanistan/11881867/US-military-in-Afghanistan-told-troops-to-ignore-child-abuse-by-Afghan-soldiers.html
Jamaica: JHTA signs child protection code
Jamaica Observer – September 22, 2015
The Jamaica Hotel and Tourist Association (JHTA) recently signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU), supporting The Code of Conduct for the Protection of Children from Sexual Exploitation in Travel and Tourism, according to Nicola Madden-Greig, the association’s president.
http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/JHTA-signs-child-protection-code_19229905
Philippines: Are abandoned children second-class citizens?
Philippine Star – September 23, 2015
Just because an infant’s parents abandoned it, does it lose its right to be deemed natural-born, and so can never aspire for high office?
http://www.philstar.com/opinion/2015/09/23/1503055/are-abandoned-children-second-class-citizens
United Kingdom: Launch of specialist child abuse unit will support victims
Nottingham Post – September 22, 2015
Councillors who approved the establishment of a dedicated child abuse unit say they are “determined” to get to the bottom of allegations of historical abuse.
http://www.nottinghampost.com/Launch-specialist-child-abuse-unit-support/story-27846891-detail/story.html
DC: Federal charges filed in alleged sex trafficking of young girls in District
Washington Post – September 21, 2015
Daraya Marshall, 35, and Jarnese Harris, 29, appeared Monday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael Harvey under a 10-count indictment filed Friday that included five counts against each of child sex trafficking and coercion of minor females. The charges carry a statutory maximum of life in prison.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/federal-charges-filed-in-alleged-sex-trafficking-of-young-girls-in-district/2015/09/21/1950839a-60a4-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html
FL: Growing number of homeless students concerns local, national officials
Daily Commercial – September 21, 2015
According to the U.S. Department of Education, 71,277 Florida public school students were homeless last year, a figure that has grown since the Great Recession. In Lake County alone, local school officials report homelessness affects more than 2,600 students.
http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/article_bba4e403-028f-50d2-8560-91f532ee93fa.html
MA: Assessing levels of risk can be useful, but not without a commitment to providing services (Opinion)
Boston Globe – September 21, 2015
The Investigative report by Jenifer McKim and her team does a public service by shedding light on numerous child tragedies (“Challenge for DCF is grave, as are its many failings”). But the report makes some troubling assumptions and leaves critical questions unaddressed.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/letters/2015/09/21/assessing-levels-child-risk-can-useful-but-not-without-commitment-providing-services/NUrVTR7gVDayvKk31N5EsO/story.html
MA: Our Opinion: DCF is broken; it needs an overhaul
Patriot Ledger – September 21, 2015
In what is one of the most exhaustive reports on the state’s child welfare agency, the New England Center for Investigative Reporting, in partnership with The Boston Globe, discovered 110 children died of abuse or neglect between 2009 and 2013, a third of whom had been under DCF care during some point in their tragic lives. Also: Child Advocate: Department of Children and Families set up ‘to fail’ (Opinion): http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/child_advocate_department_of_c.html
http://www.patriotledger.com/article/20150921/OPINION/150929127/2013/OPINION?rssfeed=true
MA: DCF managers promoted in high-profile cases under scrutiny again
The Telegram – September 19, 2015
Despite fundamental failures in handling child endangerment cases for the Department of Children and Families, those tasked with oversight of the case of the late Jeremiah Oliver of Fitchburg were reassigned and promoted after the boy’s death, but are now under scrutiny again in additional child abuse cases.
http://www.telegram.com/article/20150919/NEWS/150919047/-1/living15
MI: Foster Families Speak Out on Child Welfare (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 22, 2015
It’s welcome news for some of the state’s most vulnerable residents, as advocates for foster children believe the political climate is favorable for making improvements to the child welfare system.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-22/childrens-issues/foster-families-speak-out-on-child-welfare-system/a48231-1
MI: Union claims win on overtime question
Lansing State Journal – September 22, 2015
Ray Holman, legislative liaison for the United Auto Workers Local 6000, said Sunday Adult Protective Services and Child Protective Services workers now will be compensated for more of the time they spend handling emergencies from home during on-call overnight and weekend shifts.
http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/story/news/local/capitol/2015/09/21/state-workers-win-overtime-question/72538230/
MO: Professors worry mandatory reporting will keep students quiet about sexual harassment, assault
Kansas City Star – September 19, 2015
Michael Williams wants his young college students to feel they can come to him for help. He’s eager to guide them with an assignment or offer a sympathetic ear when things go sour in their personal lives. But if they confide something to the University of Kansas journalism professor about sexual harassment or worse “I have said to the student, ‘I’m really sorry this happened, but if you tell me more details, I have to report this'” to others on campus, said Williams, president of KU’s University Senate.
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article35840418.html
MT: Bullock launches “Protect Montana Kids” initiative (Includes video)
KTVQ – September 21, 2015
During a visit to First Step Resource Center in Missoula on Monday, Governor Steve Bullock (D-MT) announced the “Protect Montana Kids” initiative that he says is designed to improve systems serving children and families in the state. Also: Governor proposes plan to improve child protective services: http://m.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/article/Governor-proposes-plan-to-improve-child-6519498.php Also: Governor Bullock tours First Step, announces child protection initiative: http://missoulian.com/news/state-and-regional/governor-tours-first-step-announces-child-protection-initiative/article_c485d9fb-c751-58ad-b883-f795a9040a24.html
http://www.ktvq.com/story/30081550/bullock-launches-protect-montana-kids-initiative
NY: NYC foster kids get tech crash course to bridge digital divide
Metro.us – September 21, 2015
“Foster care children are really the disadvantaged of the disadvantaged,” New York Foundling Chief Operating Officer Bethany Lampland told Metro. “It’s very difficult for students to take advantage of that sort of education when they come to the table already behind.”
http://www.metro.us/new-york/nyc-foster-kids-get-tech-crash-course-to-bridge-digital-divide/zsJoiu—SrCQSEFunUoZ2/
OH: Children Services gets national accreditation
The Vindicator – September 22, 2015
After a 32-month review, Mahoning County Children Services has been accredited for the first time by the New York City-based Council on Accreditation.
http://www.vindy.com/news/2015/sep/22/mahoning-county-children-services-receiv/
OH: Hamilton mansion to become foster care facility
Journal-News – September 20, 2015
Located on three acres on D Street in the Rossville Historic District, the property used to house the Butler County Children’s Home, an orphanage started in 1869 for orphans of the Civil War. Daryl Gunnarson, who worked at Proctor and Gamble for 30 years, is eager to discuss what he and his wife have planned for the property, which includes a 25-room mansion built in 1850 by Hamilton industrialist E.J. Dyer and several outbuildings.
http://www.journal-news.com/news/news/local/couple-wants-new-foster-care-facility-to-be-a-home/nnh7r/
PA: Judge halts effort to require all Pa. college faculty to undergo background checks
Security Design & Technology – September 21, 2015
A Commonwealth Court judge today ordered leaders of Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities to halt efforts to require criminal background checks on all of their professors, granting an injunction sought by the faculty union.
http://www.securityinfowatch.com/news/12116301/judge-halts-effort-to-require-all-pa-college-faculty-to-undergo-background-checks
SC: Lawsuit filed against Upstate DSS: failure to investigate child bitten, beaten by mother’s boyfriend
WISTV – September 22, 2015
A relative who knew the child was being abused and neglected contacted DSS on multiple occasions with concerns about the child’s safety. She told DSS that Steadman had a recent domestic violence record after attacking his own grandmother and told them she believed the mother and boyfriend were using drugs. DSS failed to investigate, according to Stone, and shortly after, Steadman brutally attacked the child, Stone said.
http://www.wistv.com/story/30083534/lawsuit-filed-against-upstate-dss-failure-to-investigate-child-bitten-beaten-by-mothers-boyfriend
SC: Group Helps Streamline Foster Parenting Process (Includes video)
WYFF – September 21, 2015
Then last month in a South Carolina Senate judiciary oversight committee meeting, DSS Director Susan Alford told senators they need more than 1,000 foster homes as soon as possible.
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/local/onyourside/2015/09/21/safy-helps-people-dss-foster-parent-requirments/72556218/
TX: Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas Receives Community Leadership Award (Press release)
PR Web – September 22, 2015
In an evening ceremony last night, the Children’s Advocacy Centers of Texas, Inc. (CACTX) was recognized for its efforts on behalf of child victims of physical and sexual abuse across Texas. Recognized by First Lady Cecilia Abbott, Honorary Chair of the 32nd Annual Governor’s Volunteer Awards, and the OneStar Foundation, CACTX joins a select group of individuals, groups and organizations honored for a significant and measurable contribution to their communities.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/09/prweb12971471.htm
TX: CPS worker found guilty of official oppression
Herald Democrat – September 21, 2015
The charges alleged all three acted together to use a false document in the investigation of the mother of slain Greenville teenager Alicia Moore and that Ross and Reynolds conducted unlawful searches and/or seizures in connection with CPS investigations.
http://heralddemocrat.com/news/texas/cps-worker-found-guilty-official-oppression
TX: More Help Coming For Houston’s Homeless LGBT Teens (Includes audio)
Houston Public Media – September 21, 2015
The people who keep track of Houston’s homeless population say one of every four homeless kids in the area is gay or lesbian. A new organization hopes to get specialized help for those kids before they fall victim to the perils of street life.
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/news/more-help-coming-for-houstons-homeless-lgbt-teens/
US: Advocates Say Homeless Student Numbers Point to Need for New Definitions
Youth Today – September 21, 2015
Nearly 1.4 million U.S. students were homeless last year, a number that some advocates say points to the need for better coordination among services that help children and families. Information Gateway resource: Housing & Child Welfare: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/service-array/housing/childwelfare/
http://youthtoday.org/2015/09/advocates-say-homeless-student-numbers-point-to-need-for-new-definitions/
US: Concerns raised over State Dept.’s ability to police staff over human trafficking
Cable News Network – September 21, 2015
The State Department lacks an ability to police its own staff in matters of human trafficking despite its strong condemnation of the practice, the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Friday.
http://www.cnn.com/2015/09/19/politics/state-department-human-trafficking-chuck-grassley/index.html
US: Study: Deportation of a parent can have long-lasting harmful effects on child Well-Being
O Jornal – September 21, 2015
Rising immigration enforcement in the U.S. interior over the past decade increased the chances that the estimated 5.3 million children living with unauthorized immigrant parents, the vast majority of them born in the United States, could experience the deportation of a parent. Between fiscal 2009 and 2013, nearly 4 million non-citizens were deported, perhaps half a million of them parents of a U.S.-citizen child. (Links to studies in article). Also: How Deporting Immigrants Hurts Their Kids: http://thinkprogress.org/immigration/2015/09/21/3703652/mpi-deportation-study-children-wellbeing/ Also: The U.S. has deported more than half a million parents since 2009. Here’s what happens to their kids: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2015/09/21/this-is-what-would-happen-to-the-children-of-11-million-illegal-immigrants-if-president-trump-deported-them/
http://ojornal.com/portuguese-brazilian-news/2015/09/study-deportation-of-a-parent-can-have-long-lasting-harmful-effects-on-child-well-being/#axzz3mTJDDma2
INTERNATIONAL
International: South America has become a safe haven for the Catholic Church’s alleged child molesters. The Vatican has no comment.
Public Radio International – September 18, 2015
The priest was never convicted of a crime. Instead the church negotiated a large cash settlement, and Fernandez promptly relocated to Colombia, where he continued working for the Catholic Church. In May, GlobalPost traced him to the picturesque seaside city of Cartagena. He’s currently a senior administrator and priest at a prestigious Catholic university, enjoying all the privilege, respect and unfettered access to young people that comes with being a member of the clergy.
http://www.pri.org/stories/2015-09-18/south-america-has-become-safe-haven-catholic-church-s-alleged-child-molesters
Israel: Group urges government to deny US pedophiles aliyah
Times of Israel – September 20, 2015
Following recent media reports revealing that a “high-risk” convicted pedophile has emigrated from the US to Israel, council director Yitzhak Kadman called on Interior Minister Silvan Shalom to stop Israel from becoming a “safe haven” for sex offenders, the daily Yedioth Ahronoth reported on Sunday.
http://www.timesofisrael.com/group-urges-israel-deny-convicted-us-pedophile-aliyah/
Rwanda: Rwanda to review processes for adopting children
News Ghana – September 21, 2015
Yesterday at the Democratic Republic of Congo Embassy in Washington, DC, the country’s new Ambassador to the United States (U.S.), H.E. François Balumuene, met with American families awaiting exit permits for their adopted Congolese children as well as children adopted from the DRC already residing in the United States. These permits have been suspended since 2013, when the DRC government instituted a moratorium to allow for a review of procedures governing international adoptions.
http://newsghana.com.gh/rwanda-to-review-processes-for-adopting-children/
United Kingdom: North East foster kids hampered by regular home moves, says Action for Children
Chronicle Live – September 21, 2015
Children and young people who regularly move between foster care homes are more likely to have poor social skills, reduced education outcomes and limited future employment prospects, according to the charity.
http://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/news/north-east-news/north-east-foster-kids-hampered-10095055
AL: Alabama Supreme Court says state doesn’t have to recognize lesbian adoption from Georgia
AL.com – September 18, 2015
“The Alabama Supreme Court’s refusal to recognize an adoption granted eight years ago harms not only these children, but all children with adoptive parents,” Cathy Sakimura Family Law Director for The National Center for Lesbian Rights. “Children who are adopted must be able to count on their adoptions being final — allowing an adoption to be found invalid years later because there may have been a legal error in the adoption puts all adopted children at risk of losing their forever families.” Also: Alabama Curt Refuses to Recognize Lesbian Mother’s Adoption: http://www.edgeboston.com/news/national/news/185200/alabama_curt_refuses_to_recognize_lesbian_mother’s_adoption_
http://www.al.com/news/birmingham/index.ssf/2015/09/alabama_supreme_court_says_sta.html
AR: Program to aid kids promising, state says
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette – September 15, 2015
Chad Langford is one of dozens of Arkansas’ Children and Family Services Division social workers specifically hired and trained in the past two years as a Differential Response caseworker. The new program — which began in 2012 in select Arkansas counties and expanded statewide in fall 2013 — offers an alternative approach to responding to allegations of child neglect.
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2015/sep/15/program-to-aid-kids-promising-state-say/?news-arkansas
AZ: AG: Why I need more money for attorneys (Opinion)
AZCentral – September 19, 2015
Into the Mind: Attorney General Mark Brnovich describes his request for $10 million to try child-welfare cases.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2015/09/19/brnovich-child-safety/72359840/
CA: 3 cops who ran ‘tough love’ bootcamps accused of child abuse
My LA News – September 19, 2015
Teens came forward last summer to say they had been abused at the camp, run by the officers at a California National Guard post, 140 miles northwest of Los Angeles. Ten children between the ages of 12 to 16 were subjected to abuse at the camp, which ran from May 17 to May 24 at Camp San Luis Obispo.
http://mynewsla.com/crime/2015/09/19/3-cops-who-ran-tough-love-bootcamps-accused-of-child-abuse/
IA: Nurse practitioners fill Siouxland primary care shortage, support hospitalists
Sioux City Journal – September 20, 2015
“It’s a totally different scope of practice than being a nurse. There’s several different procedures we do as nurse practitioners that we weren’t able to do as nurses,” she said. “We actually function more like a physician would.”
http://siouxcityjournal.com/lifestyles/local/nurse-practitioners-fill-siouxland-primary-care-shortage-support-hospitalists/article_8e99151d-c496-5be7-b0bf-f9966ca50093.html
ID: Former Foster Child Wants to Help Youth Aging Out of System (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 21, 2015
Ricky Lewis in Coeur d’Alene knows the perils of that transition time well. He tried to go to college, but says he lacked the life skills to be successful — although he is returning this fall. That’s why he’s exploring ways to set up transitional housing specifically for foster youths, to be managed in recognition of the kinds of challenges they face.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-21/youth-issues/former-foster-child-wants-to-help-youth-aging-out-of-system/a48176-1
KY: Custody case for off-grid family continues
Associated Press – September 18, 2015
Child protection workers removed the couple’s 10 children from the family’s tumbledown shack in May after an anonymous complaint. The state returned the children in July but retains legal custody.
http://www.fox19.com/story/30065338/custody-case-for-off-grid-family-continues
MA: Gov. Charlie Baker: ‘We need to move quickly’ on DCF changes
Boston Herald – September 21, 2015
The Department of Children and Families is now reviewing its handling of “Baby Doe,” while Gov. Charlie Baker says rewriting the DCF “playbook” for keeping kids safe is a top priority. Also: DCF’s records hold tragic legacy: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/09/19/department-children-and-families-failing-child-abuse-deaths-rise/0PN3NejwBWx421u6jE53jI/story.html
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/09/gov_charlie_baker_we_need_to_move_quickly_on_dcf_changes
MA: Information denied, children endangered
New England Center for Investigative Reporting – September 20, 2015
It is a federal mandate for states to publicly disclose information about child fatalities caused by abuse or neglect so that such tragedies can be prevented in the future. But obtaining that grim data can be difficult because of the time it takes and money it costs. Infographic: Untold Stories: An interactive look at 110 Massachusetts child abuse and neglect deaths: http://untold-stories.necir.org/
http://necir.org/2015/09/19/information-denied/
MO: Helping Abused Youth at the Child Advocacy Center, 20 Years and Counting
KSMU – September 18, 2015
Since opening its doors in 1995, the Child Advocacy Center has helped thousands of children cope with any abuse or trauma that they’ve endured. Last year alone, 1,351 children were helped by the organization seeking to eradicate the child abuse issue in the Ozarks area.
http://ksmu.org/post/helping-abused-youth-child-advocacy-center-20-years-and-counting#stream/0
NC: Budget cuts $110 million from regional mental health
News & Observer – September 20, 2015
The mental health agencies spend Medicaid, state and county money to purchase mental health treatment for patients. The money pays for services such as counseling, mobile crisis, and programs specifically for children such as therapeutic foster care.
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/politics-government/state-politics/article35913603.html
NC: One legislative victory: support for well-being of foster children (Opinion)
News & Observer – September 18, 2015
The General Assembly unanimously passed the Foster Care Family Act, which eliminates barriers to obtaining a driver’s license, attending out-of-state field trips and enjoying sleepovers with friends — opportunities that most children take for granted, but not children in foster care.
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/op-ed/article35730792.html
ND: Aims to standardize sex offender reporting requirements
Associated Press – September 17, 2015
North Dakota lawmakers are working to standardize registration requirements for convicted sex offenders, whose numbers have nearly doubled in the past decade with a rise in the state’s population spurred by a robust oil-driven economy.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/ND-aims-to-standardize-sex-offender-reporting-6511981.php
NE: Lincoln diocese to take part in USCCB clergy sex abuse audit
Catholic News Service – September 18, 2015
“The audit is a voluntary process. It involves review of diocesan policies, and review of the extent to which we follow our policies. It does not involve review of our priests’ personal information, or of the personal and private information of diocesan employees or parishioners. It is designed to be a tool,” Lincoln Bishop James Conley said.
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/lincoln-diocese-take-part-usccb-clergy-sex-abuse-audit
NH: Pregnancy And Opioids: How Hospitals Handle Substance Abuse And Prenatal Care (Includes audio)
New Hampshire Public Radio – September 19, 2015
This week officials at Memorial Hospital in North Conway announced they would establish a prenatal care program for opioid-dependent patients — mothers and babies affected by the opioid crisis. This program is set to open in early 2016, and it’s similar to a program that’s underway at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. Information Gateway Resource: Health Services Locators: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/service-array/health/locators/
http://nhpr.org/post/pregnancy-and-opioids-how-hospitals-handle-substance-abuse-and-prenatal-care
OH: Newly formed organization works to empower child abuse victims (Includes video)
WDTN – September 19, 2015
A new group hopes to stop a problem it says can often go unchecked. It’s called “Strong Dayton” and it’s goal is to empower people to speak up about child abuse.
http://wdtn.com/2015/09/19/newly-formed-organization-works-to-empower-child-abuse-victims/
OH: Rising child placement costs concern commissioners
Port Clinton News Herald – September 18, 2015
The commissioners had allocated approximately $48,000 per month for Sandusky County Jobs and Family Services for costs that include removing children from homes deemed unsuitable. But the bill for September alone was $97,000 — more than double the budget.
http://www.portclintonnewsherald.com/story/news/local/2015/09/18/rising-child-placement-costs-concern-commissioners/72426440/
PA: York County Office of Children, Youth and Families operating under second provisional license
York Daily Record – September 20, 2015
The York County Office of Children Youth and Families is operating on a provisional license from the state for the second time in a row.
http://www.ydr.com/local/ci_28848615/york-county-office-children-youth-and-families-operating
PA: Child abuse victims in Pa. once again suffering because of budget (Opinion)
Lancaster Online – September 18, 2015
In June, Gov. Wolf exercised his right to veto the state budget, faulting it for being out of balance and for investing too little in public schools. His veto undercut a needed sense of urgency as well as essential public funding to safeguard our children.
http://lancasteronline.com/opinion/columnists/child-abuse-victims-in-pa-once-again-suffering-because-of/article_0d7b60c0-5cae-11e5-8589-5762e28291ef.html
TN: State Protects Our Children With New Child Abuse Reporting Application
Business Wire – September 18, 2015
The Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS) launched an improved and innovative online Child Abuse Reporting and Tracking application, https://apps.tn.gov/carat/. Approximately 4,200 incidents have been reported through the application since it launched on April 23, 2015, and it is currently averaging 4,500 tracking requests per month.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/13293532/1/tennessee-protects-our-children-with-new-child-abuse-reporting-application.html
TX: Need for local foster parents persists as number of children in foster care increases (Includes video)
KXXV News 21 – September 19, 2015
The number of children who are in foster care has continued to increase in Central Texas in this past year. The spike comes as reports of child abuse or neglect cases have increased in parts of Central Texas. In McLennan County, for example, this year there have been 2,781 reports of kids being mistreated compared to 2,624 in 2014.
http://www.kxxv.com/story/30068141/need-for-local-foster-parents-persists-as-number-of-children-in-foster-care-increases
VA: As AG, Beshear says he will battle child abuse, heroin and elder scams
Richmond Register – September 17, 2015
Andy Beshear, Democratic nominee for attorney general and son of Gov. Steve Beshear told the gathering of about 40 that he wants to attack two epidemics afflicting Kentucky, child abuse and drug addiction.
http://www.richmondregister.com/news/local_news/as-ag-beshear-says-he-will-battle-child-abuse-heroin/article_87cf0796-5db2-11e5-b824-f7e4c8ec2308.html
US: Gay Parents Face Issues With Birth Certificates In Some States (Audio)
National Public Radio – September 21, 2015
The U.S. Supreme Court decision legalizing same-sex marriage mentions birth certificates as a benefit to which gay and lesbian couples are entitled. But a handful of states are refusing to issue them.
http://www.npr.org/2015/09/21/442148968/gay-parents-face-issues-with-birth-certificates-in-some-states
US: Black Social Workers Celebrate 40 Years of Adoption Services
Black Star News – September 18, 2015
Since 1975 the New York Chapter of the Association of Black Social Workers has sponsored the Harlem based, ABSW Child Adoption Counseling and Referral Services? program that enables children and teens in need of permanent families through adoption, to be placed with loving couples or single persons who are willing to love and nurture them. Over 4000 children have found their “forever homes” through the program. Post-adoption support services are also provided.
http://www.blackstarnews.com/entertainment/others/black-social-workers-celebrate-40-years-of-adoption-services
US: Rethinking human services delivery
Deloitte University Press – September 18, 2015
Thanks to advances in technology and analytical techniques, human services agencies now are poised to move beyond transactional service delivery.
http://dupress.com/articles/human-services-delivery-data-driven-insights/?icid=hp:ft:02
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: More than half ignored child protection notifications involved allegations of family violence
ABC Online (Australia) – September 21, 2015
The details behind the 151 missed child protection notifications in Tasmania’s north-west have been revealed, with more than half shown to be allegations of family violence.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-09-21/details-of-ignored-child-protection-calls-revealed/6792930
India: Police project to speed up adoption process
The Times of India – September 19, 2015
To reduce the time span and make the process of adopting a child simpler, the Uttarakhand police department is mulling a single-window system, under which it will upload the details of orphans on its official website and thereafter carry out the verification of childless couples. By making these small changes, the department wants to help parents in their search for children and save precious time spent during the verification process.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/dehradun/Police-project-to-speed-up-adoption-process/articleshow/49028218.cms
Philippines: DSWD: More kids find homes through adoption, foster care
Manila Bulletin – September 20, 2015
In the last two years, 381 children have found homes through adoption and 2,065 through foster care, according to records of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD).
http://www.mb.com.ph/dswd-more-kids-find-homes-thru-adoption-foster-care/
United Kingdom: Met creating team to deal with historical child abuse cases
BBC News – September 18, 2015
The Metropolitan Police is creating a team of 90 officers and staff to tackle the increasing workload resulting from allegations of historical child abuse.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-34296703
AR: State 1 of just 7 to ban re-homing
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – September 18, 2015
Arkansas is one of a handful of states to enact laws criminalizing the “re-homing” of adoptive children, a practice that is pervasive, but difficult to track, according to federal officials.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/sep/18/state-1-of-just-7-to-ban-re-homing-2015/?latest
AZ: Adulthood for foster care teens delivers a new world with new woes (Includes video)
Cronkite News – September 17, 2015
As of April, more than 500 Arizona foster teens who had turned 18 were participating in a DCS independent living program meant to get them ready for jobs and stability. Once 18, they have a choice: stay in an independent living program or leave the system and go it alone. About 350 teens, according to a DCS report released earlier this year, “aged out” and left. Either way, the road to independence is often fragile and costly.
http://cronkitenews.azpbs.org/2015/09/17/adulthood-for-foster-care-teens-delivers-a-new-world-with-new-woes/
AZ: Brnovich: Lawyers Handling Arizona Child Welfare Cases Overwhelmed (Audio)
KJZZ – September 17, 2015
Brnovich is making an impassioned plea for more state funding to hire lawyers to clear a huge backlog of legal cases in the state’s child welfare system.
http://kjzz.org/content/192920/brnovich-lawyers-handling-arizona-child-welfare-cases-overwhelmed
CA: Child Abuse Prevention
The Independent – September 17, 2015
Assemblywoman Catharine B. Baker (R-San Ramon) announced that her bill, Assembly Bill 1058, which requires the State Department of Education to establish guidelines and best practices for child abuse prevention, passed out of the Legislature with unanimous, bipartisan support. AB 1058 is now headed to Governor Brown’s desk for his consideration.
http://www.independentnews.com/news/valley_roundup/child-abuse-prevention/article_47786e9a-5d2f-11e5-851c-3389b9f68b2c.html
FL: LGBT Rights for Foster Youth
Individual.com – September 17, 2015
The Department of Children and Families are making it suitable for all children, regardless of their sexual identity, to be protected while under the state’s care. The main objective is to bring uniformity to foster homes.
http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=209511233&hash=89b99df7610e7d8286247c1963990f1f
IL: Child Welfare Agency Announces Plan For Foster Parent Training
Northern Public Radio – September 17, 2015
Illinois’s child welfare agency wants to do a better job taking care of its most troubled kids –and they have a plan. The idea is that kids who have suffered abuse or witnessed violence would be placed with families with no more than two wards per home. The parents in these foster homes would get special training and at least one would stay home full time.
http://northernpublicradio.org/post/child-welfare-agency-announces-plan-foster-parent-training
KS: Drug Impact Task Force speaker discusses prevention, tells Reno group what works in her county
The Hutchinson News – September 17, 2015
As use and abuse go down, so do health-care and unemployment costs, as do criminal and child welfare cases in a court of law, Bartelson said to those in attendance. Information Gateway Resources: Substance Abuse Treatment Services: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/substance/treat-serv/
http://www.hutchnews.com/news/local_state_news/drug-impact-task-force-speaker-discusses-prevention-tells-reno-group/article_b815b61b-26fc-50bd-a119-36181878d6e1.html
KY: WellCare Gives $20,000 in Micro-Grants to Community-Based Organizations that Support Social Service Agencies in Kentucky (Press Release)
PRNewswire – September 17, 2015
WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) announced today that it has given $20,000 in micro-grants to 18 community-based organizations across Kentucky. These micro-grants will support nonprofit and 501(c)(3) organizations that provide transportation, dental, vision, foster care and adoption support to Kentuckians in need. The micro-grants were given in denominations of $500, $1,000 and $1,500.
http://markets.financialcontent.com/townhall/news/read?GUID=30645062
MI: Parents who had children removed by CPS protest perceived conflict of interest by U of M doctors (Includes video)
WXYZ – September 17, 2015
Are innocent parents losing their kids for suspected abuse, due to a doctor’s conflict of interest? That is what protesters before the University of Michigan Board of Regents say happened to them. “This doctor made a misdiagnosis after looking at an X-ray, never seeing us, never seeing my kids–and had the power to tear us apart,” said Melissa Geers.
http://www.wxyz.com/news/region/washtenaw-county/parents-who-had-children-removed-by-cps-protest-perceived-conflict-of-interest-by-u-of-m-doctors
MN: Child Poverty on the Rise (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 18, 2015
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the child poverty rate in the state increased from 14 percent in 2013 to 14.9 percent last year. Even more alarming, said Stephanie Hogenson, research and policy director for Children’s Defense Fund-Minnesota, are the higher poverty rates among children who are Asian, Native American and black.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-18/childrens-issues/child-poverty-in-minnesota-on-the-rise/a48158-1
MN: Counties See Child Welfare Caseload Increase, Hire More Staff
KSTP – September 17, 2015
Action is coming out of the results of the Child Protection Task Force report released in April that recommended more than 90 changes to the way the Department of Human Services handles child welfare, neglect and abuse investigations.
http://kstp.com/article/stories/s3909970.shtml
NE: DHHS names new director for YRTC-Kearney
KGFW – September 17, 2015
Doug Weinberg, Director of the Division of Children and Family Services in the Department of Health and Human Services, announced Wednesday that Dan Scarborough will be interim administrator at the Youth Rehabilitation and Treatment Center in Kearney.
http://www.kgfw.com/kgfw-news/2015/09/17/dhhs-names-new-director-for-yrtc-kearney
NE: Start of school year often reveals child abuse, neglect
The Sidney Sun-Telegraph – September 17, 2015
The end of summer and the start of a new school year is an exciting time for most children. But for some, the beginning of school could reveal a dark secret when signs of abuse and neglect these children have suffered over the summer are noticed by teachers, staff and other parents.
http://www.suntelegraph.com/story/2015/09/17/community/start-of-school-year-often-reveals-child-abuse-neglect/8030.html
NM: CYFD Secretary details plan
Alamogordo News – September 17, 2015
New Mexico’s Children, Youth and Families Cabinet Secretary Monique Jacobson visited Alamogordo Wednesday to speak on her new strategic plan for CYFD at a conference held at the New Mexico School for the Blind and Visually Impaired Wednesday morning.
http://www.alamogordonews.com/alamogordo-news/ci_28829118/cyfd-secretary-details-plan#
NY: Giving a child a home: Supporting parents who foster and adopt
WIVB – September 18, 2015
The Walls are one of the many families who work with Child and Family Services to foster, and adopt, children. The not-for-profit agency has been around for more than 142 years, and has survived on federal funding, and the generosity of Western New Yorkers.
http://wivb.com/2015/09/18/giving-a-child-a-home-supporting-parents-who-foster-and-adopt/
OH: Summit County child protection worker resigns after writing letter supporting fiance in child porn case
Beacon Journal – September 17, 2015
A Summit County Children Services caseworker resigned Thursday morning after agency officials learned that she wrote a character reference letter for her fiance while he was awaiting sentencing this month on child pornography charges.
http://www.ohio.com/news/break-news/summit-county-child-protection-worker-resigns-after-writing-letter-supporting-fiance-in-child-porn-case-1.625039
OK: Substance abuse, mental issues cited for Oklahoma’s high female prison rate
Associated Press – September 17, 2015
Many of the women become addicted to drugs and alcohol following traumatic childhood experiences in which they were physically or sexually abused, Sharp said. “They are self-medicating with drugs,” she said. Many of the women imprisoned for drug offenses are mothers who must leave their children behind when they are sentenced to prison, destabilizing their families, she said.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/state/substance-abuse-mental-issues-cited-for-oklahoma-s-high-female/article_dabf47b1-60b1-545f-ba63-ad70020cd5bc.html
PA: ACAF Honors Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia (Press Release)
HRC (Human Rights Campaign) – September 17, 2015
On Thursday, September 10, HRC Foundation recognized Jewish Family and Children’s Service of Greater Philadelphia for their ongoing dedication towards LGBTQ-inclusive practices with the All Children–All Families Seal of Recognition. The honor is awarded to stand-out agencies for exemplary commitment to compassionate and competent care of LGBTQ youth and families in the child welfare system. JFCS is the first Jewish agency to achieve this honor.
http://www.hrc.org/blog/entry/acaf-honors-jewish-family-and-childrens-services-of-greater-philadelphia
PA: Child welfare system is in state of emergency, advocate says (Includes video)
PennLive – September 17, 2015
The “child protection dam broke loose” in the wake of the Jerry Sandusky child sexual abuse case, said Cathleen Palm, founder of the state’s Center for Children’s Justice. The state Legislature passed 23 new bills that became law and aimed to improve child protection in the state. The change resulted in an increase in reports of suspected child abuse.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/09/child_welfare_funding_york_har.html
PA: Wolf vows to veto GOP’s stopgap budget plan
Newsworks – September 17, 2015
The tone of Pennsylvania budget talks hit a new low this week as the governor promised to veto a stopgap measure meant to get state funding flowing to entities facing their own fiscal cliff due to the months-long standoff. GOP Senate Majority Leader Jake Corman said a deal still seemed distant after a Wednesday meeting with Democrats and the governor. As a result, he said, Republicans would go ahead with a short-term proposal to fund schools and social services through October.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/09/wolf-vows-to-veto-gops-stopgap-budget-plan.html
PA: 100+ child welfare services sue state over budget deadlock
Newsworks – September 16, 2015
A coalition of social services providers is suing Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration for leaving them high and dry during Pennsylvania’s budget impasse.
http://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/morning_roundup/2015/09/child-welfare-services-sue-pa-budget-deadlock.html
SC: Child Abuse Awareness Comes to Columbia
WSPA – September 17, 2015
Children’s Trust of South Carolina hosted a two-day conference at the Columbia Metropolitan Convention Center on Thursday and Friday. 700 child abuse experts joined in the Capital City to raise awareness about child abuse prevention.
http://wspa.com/2015/09/17/child-abuse-awareness-comes-to-columbia/
SC: Lawmaker pledges to change law that prevents some teens from getting driver’s permits
WYFF – September 17, 2015
A state representative plans to introduce legislation so foster parents can sign forms for foster children to get driver’s permits.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/sc-lawmaker-pledges-to-change-law-that-prevents-some-teens-from-getting-drivers-permits/35328682
TN: Need high for local foster parents
Tullahoma News – September 17, 2015
“Often people go into foster care because they have a desire to adopt. This does happen in foster care, but if your only desire is to adopt, you will be very disappointed doing foster care,” he said. “My wife and I have the desire to help the families that are going through a hard time and the state has become involved in their situation. If an adoption results, that’s wonderful, but it can’t be your primary purpose.”
http://www.tullahomanews.com/need-high-for-local-foster-parents/
TX: Recruitment campaign draws 47 new volunteers for children’s advocacy group
Lubbock Avelanche-Journal – September 18, 2015
A 50-day recruitment campaign by a local children’s advocacy group ended Wednesday with the organization recruiting 47 volunteers, according to a news release.
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2015-09-18/recruitment-campaign-draws-47-new-volunteers-childrens-advocacy-group#.Vfvs8tzD-YE
US: Adopted children who are ‘re-homed’ hard to find, track: GAO report
The Washington Times – September 17, 2015
Rep. Lloyd Doggett, Texas Democrat and ranking member of House Ways and Means subcommittee on human resources, said the GAO report sheds light on children “who live and suffer in the shadows.” “Re-homing is a serious problem that impacts too many young people, particularly those who have already faced trauma or are coming to the United States from international adoption.”
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/17/adopted-children-who-are-re-homed-hard-to-find-tra/
US: More Than 1,100 Police Chiefs, Sheriffs and Prosecutors Urge Congress to Reduce Juvenile Lock-Ups in Favor of Family Responsibility to Prevent Crime (Press Release)
Marketwired – September 17, 2015
Representing more than 1,100 police chiefs, sheriffs and prosecutors, members of Fight Crime: Invest in Kids are meeting with lawmakers in Congress on Thursday, September 17. Their message: states across the nation must continue efforts to reduce the number of juvenile offenders in state-run facilities and focus instead on family interventions that have been proven to reduce juvenile crime and save taxpayer dollars.
http://markets.financialcontent.com/townhall/news/read?GUID=30645062
US: Number Of Homeless Public School Students Hits Record High. Here’s Who’s Helping
The Huffington Post – September 17, 2015
The number of homeless students enrolled in public schools hit a record high last year. But simply changing the way agencies define homeless youth could ensure that this vulnerable population gets the services they need.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/homeless-public-school-students_55f997bce4b0b48f67018e4a
INTERNATIONAL
China: China relaxes adoption rules for abandoned, trafficked children
Channel NewsAsia – September 18, 2015
China relaxed rules for the legal adoption of trafficked or abandoned Chinese children, state media reported on Friday, as the government works to combat the pervasive problem of child trafficking.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/china-relaxes-adoption/2135058.html
International: Exploited and abandoned: A child’s journey to Europe (Includes video)
BBC News – September 17, 2015
The number of children seeking asylum in Europe has gone up almost 74%. According to Unicef, 106,000 children applied for asylum in the first six months of this year. The very youngest–the under-10s–normally arrive here with a family member but the percentage of unaccompanied minors has shot up dramatically too.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34286458
Romania: Simplified adoption procedure
Romania-Insider – September 18, 2015
Romania’s Government recently approved a bill that sets a more flexible adoption process, for both domestic and international adoptions.
http://www.romania-insider.com/romania-simplifies-the-adoption-procedure/155717/
United Kingdom: Reports of Sexual Abuse Against Children Are On the Increase in the UK
WALB – September 17, 2015
Child abuse in the UK has increased in all four countries between 2013/14 and 2014/15. The most common form of abuse is neglect, however child sexual abuse forms a significant proportion of reported cases.
http://www.walb.com/story/30050642/reports-of-sexual-abuse-against-children-are-on-the-increase-in-the-uk
AL: The invisible signs of child abuse (Includes video)
WLTZ – September 16, 2015
The dangers of child abuse is being taught in school today, now more than ever. This education may be leading to more child abuse reports being made by not only the child, but by people who suspect it.
http://www.wltz.com/story/30048923/the-invisible-signs-of-child-abuse
AR: CASA volunteers learn about adoption procedures (Includes video)
KAIT – September 16, 2015
Executive Director for the Second Judicial District of CASA Donna Lamb Bowyer said it’s vital volunteers are well informed to speak on behalf of these children.
http://www.wmcactionnews5.com/story/30049217/casa-volunteers-learn-about-adoption-procedures
CA: Going Out of County to College, Support Gets Lost in the Shuffle
Chronicle of Social Change – September 16, 2015
When I first met those who ran the Guardian Scholars program, they apologized for not reaching out sooner. They told me they didn’t know I was in Orange County. “Sometimes communication falls apart across county lines,” they told me.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/going-county-means-spreading-wings/13059
CA: LAUSD cannot blame 14-year-old for own sexual assault, appellate court rules
Los Angeles Times – September 16, 2015
L.A. Unified cannot blame a 14-year-old girl for her own sexual assault or introduce evidence of her prior sexual history, an appellate court ruled Wednesday. Court of Appeal Ruling: http://documents.latimes.com/court-appeal-ruling/
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-lausd-sexual-assault-20150916-story.html
FL: Foster children struggling as they age out of child welfare system (Includes video)
ABC Action News – September 16, 2015
Thousands of children in Florida are facing a very uncertain future. They’re about to age out of the foster care system and will be forced to survive on their own. But, there are little-known programs that can help children like this build successful futures.
http://www.abcactionnews.com/news/local-news/florida-foster-children-struggling-as-they-age-out-of-child-welfare-system
GA: Juvenile court seeks volunteers
The Tifton Gazette – September 16, 2015
The Juvenile Court of the Tifton Judicial Circuit, in conjunction with the Council of Juvenile Court Judges, is seeking volunteers from Tift and Worth counties to serve on judicial citizen review panels in those counties. The panels are designed to assist the court in determining the most appropriate permanency plan for children in foster care.
http://www.tiftongazette.com/news/local_news/juvenile-court-seeks-volunteers/article_e6224830-5bcd-11e5-b03f-8fd3581fce6d.html
IN: Child Trafficking: Hidden Yet Growing Problem in Indiana (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 17, 2015
Robin Donaldson, chief operating officer of Indiana Youth Services Association says last year, Indiana authorities investigated about 40 child trafficking cases, and 2015 is set to outpace that number with 30 investigations to date. Information Gateway Resource: Child Welfare and Human Trafficking: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue-briefs/trafficking/
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-17/childrens-issues/child-trafficking-hidden-yet-growing-problem-in-indiana/a48159-1
MT: Flathead in need of foster parents
KCFW – September 16, 2015
For the past two to five years there has been a large amount of people moving to the Flathead. However, when it comes to the increased amount of children entering foster care, the system has started to become overwhelmed.
http://www.nbcmontana.com/news/Flathead-in-need-of-foster-parents/35313012
NY: Syria in Spotlight, but Influx of Kids from Central America Continues (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 17, 2015
Jason Starr, Nassau chapter director of the New York Civil Liberties Union, says the legal story for these children is complicated because immigration proceedings are civil matters, so no lawyer is provided like in criminal proceedings. He says the New York Civil Liberties Union doesn’t want to see any of these children or their families in deportation proceedings without legal counsel.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-17/immigrant-issues/syria-in-spotlight-but-influx-of-kids-from-central-america-continues/a48142-1
NY: Spence-Chapin Services To Families And Children Now Accepting New Applications For Their Domestic Infant Adoption Program (Press Release)
CSRwire – September 16, 2015
As birth and adoptive families start their adoption journey, Spence-Chapin’s team of experienced social workers provides guidance, education, and emotional support throughout the process.
http://www.csrwire.com/press_releases/38284-Spence-Chapin-Services-To-Families-And-Children-Now-Accepting-New-Applications-For-Their-Domestic-Infant-Adoption-Program
OH: Foster care costs ‘very serious’
Times Gazette – September 16, 2015
“We are still facing some pretty serious funding issues with Job and Family Services, and a lot of that relates to the cost of kids in care,” said Wilkin at Wednesday’s meeting of the Highland County Board of Commissioners.
http://timesgazette.com/news/2586/foster-care-costs-very-serious
OR: Give Us This Day: Department of Human Services Issues Statement in Response to WW Story; UPDATE: Protesters picket Oregon Department of Justice
Willamette Week – September 16, 2015
In advance of today’s WW cover story about a troubled foster care provider called Give Us This Day, the Oregon Department of Human Services issued a news release last night to all state legislators and DHS staff.
http://www.wweek.com/portland/blog-33761-give_us_this_day_department_of_human_services_issues_statement_in_response_to_ww_story.html
PA: State support group’s program aims to prevent child abuse
Republican Herald – September 17, 2015
Beth Bitler, program director, said the state initiative started in 2011. The program Wednesday was its 52nd training session. “It’s really just about what one person can do to help kids, no matter their role in that child’s life,” Bitler said. “They could be a parent, a friend or a neighbor.”
http://republicanherald.com/news/state-support-group-s-program-aims-to-prevent-child-abuse-1.1943875#
SC: A Father’s Fight to Win Back His Daughter Secretly Put Up for Adoption
KTSA – September 16, 2015
Skylar is a rambunctious toddler who runs and plays and giggles with her father, Chris Emanuel. But she has no idea she sat at the heart of a massive custody battle with far-reaching implications for fathers’ rights.
http://www.ktsa.com/a-fathers-fight-to-win-back-his-daughter-secretly-put-up-for-adoption/
SC: State law prevents some teens from getting driver’s permits (Includes video)
WYFF – September 16, 2015
“While we are sympathetic to the issue regarding the minor, we don’t have the authority to make exceptions to the law. We’re willing to work with Legislators to create a law that would provide greater flexibility for children in foster care. As it stands today, the law addresses the assumption of responsibility for a minor driver. The law does not give foster parents the ability to assume that responsibility. It only allows parents and guardians to sign for their minor child.
http://www.wyff4.com/news/foster-parent-sc-law-is-punishing-foster-kids/35307030
TX: Officials: Preventing child abuse is community effort
Corpus Christi Caller Times – September 17, 2015
“I would really like it if the community would…step in and intervene versus worrying about not wanting to get involved or (saying) ‘That’s not my business.’ Children are their business,” said Tara O’Connell, a CPS Services Program Administrator. “Children should not just be the business of child protective services. Everybody should stand up for the children of our community because they can’t stand up for themselves.”
http://www.caller.com/news/local/officials-preventing-child-abuse-is-community-effort-1fcb21a5-6eb3-7780-e053-0100007fbbac-327960741.html
TX: CASA celebrates Hispanic heritage month
The Daily Tribune – September 16, 2015
During National Hispanic Heritage Month, CASA of Titus, Camp and Morris Counties is calling for more Hispanic and bilingual volunteers to speak up for Hispanic children in the child protection system.
http://www.dailytribune.net/news/casa-celebrates-hispanic-heritage-month/article_d8212772-5c79-11e5-abb5-335707c7f7ed.html
TX: Walt Investigates: Austin Foster Kids Crisis (Includes video)
KEYE – September 16, 2015
Thirteen Texas children died in foster care in just the past two years. The state legislature raised requirements for foster parents to help weed out the people unfit to care for children. But now there is another problem. The state says there are not enough willing and eligible parents to the overwhelming number of children in the system
http://www.keyetv.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/Walt-Investigates-Austin-Foster-Kids-Crisis-206089.shtml
VT: Opinion: Remove child protection barriers
Burlington Free Press – September 16, 2015
Vermont Parent Representation Center (VPRC) is a parent advocacy and support organization for families at risk of losing their children to state custody.
http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/opinion/my-turn/2015/09/16/opinion-removes-child-protection-barriers/32512507/
US: Child Welfare: Steps Have Been Taken to Address Unregulated Custody Transfers of Adopted Children
Government Accountability Office – September 16, 2015
Some adoptive families may consider giving their children to another family outside of the courts and child welfare system–an “unregulated child custody transfer”–because of a crisis within the adoptive family and difficulties accessing support services, according to officials GAO interviewed from selected states, child welfare and adoption organizations, and adoption agencies. Report: http://www.gao.gov/assets/680/672575.pdf
http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-733
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Child protection is everyone’s business
The Catholic Leader – September 17, 2015
Archbishop Coleridge said every Child Protection Week had the overarching theme, “Protecting children is everyone’s business” – everyone’s.
http://catholicleader.com.au/news/child-protection-is-everyones-business
Australia: Queensland’s adoption laws to be reviewed, with State Government urging public to lodge submissions
The Courier-Mail – September 16, 2015
Queensland’s adoption laws will be reviewed, with the State Government urging the public to lodge submissions of their own. The Adoption Act 2009, enacted in 2010, must be reviewed after five years.
http://www.couriermail.com.au/news/queensland/queenslands-adoption-laws-to-be-reviewed-with-state-government-urging-public-to-lodge-submissions/story-fnihsrf2-1227531492322
Hungary; Migrant crisis: Clashes at Hungary-Serbia border (Includes video)
BBC News – September 16, 2015
“UNHCR was especially shocked and saddened to witness Syrian refugees, including families with children who have already suffered so much, being prevented from entering the EU with water cannon and tear gas,” a statement said.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-34272765
International: US priests accused of sex abuse get a second chance by relocating to South America
GlobalPost – September 17, 2015
The Catholic Church has allowed priests accused of sexually abusing children in the United States and Europe to relocate to poor parishes in South America, a yearlong GlobalPost investigation has found. Reporters confronted five accused priests in as many countries: Paraguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Brazil and Peru.
http://www.globalpost.com/article/6650841/2015/09/16/us-priests-accused-sex-abusive-get-second-chance-relocating-south-america
Jamaica: Child abuse–we must stop (Opinion)
The Gleaner – September 17, 2015
The current allegations of underage rape against a popular political and public relations personality, along with the recent parading of the Jamaican pilot similarly charged in Qatar, have brought to the surface again the dismal plight of some of our precious Jamaican children. They are being abused, raped, impregnated, and murdered, and the general attitude of our Jamaican populace seems laissez faire at best and condoning at worst.
http://jamaica-gleaner.com/article/commentary/20150917/child-abuse-we-must-stop
New Zealand: Kaikohe rallies against child abuse
The Northland Age – September 17, 2015
A Kaikohe group campaigning against sexual violence will conduct a rally on Thursday next week (September 24) to highlight the long-term harm caused by child sex abuse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/northland-age/news/article.cfm?c_id=1503402&objectid=11514416
AZ: My Turn: DCS is just rearranging deck chairs for kids (Opinion)(Correction)
AZCentral – September 12, 2015
The most recent strategic plan submitted by the Department of Child Safety includes many great ideas to improve our system. However, DCS has not signed up for any measurable changes. If there are no goals, how can we expect things to change? What gets measured gets done.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2015/09/12/arizona-child-safety-reform/72014714/
CA: Sacramento County to pay $50,000 in death of three-year-old girl
Sacramento Bee – September 15, 2015
The lawsuit alleged that CPS’ failure to act was a violation of civil rights accorded Airabella and Matthew Mello under state and federal law. The suit was settled and closed last month.
http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/crime/article35337807.html
CT: State watchdog releases videos of ‘dangerous’ restraints, seclusions in juvenile jails (Includes video)
CT Mirror – September 15, 2015
Surveillance video from inside the state-run juvenile jails released Tuesday shows youths being forcibly restrained and dragged into solitary confinement, where some then attempt to injure themselves. Report: https://s3.amazonaws.com/s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2170522/oca-investigative-cjts-pueblo-report-july-22.pdf
http://ctmirror.org/2015/09/15/state-watchdog-releases-videos-of-dangerous-restraints-seclusions-in-juvenile-jails/
KY: State to seek millions to beef up social services
Cincinnati.com – September 15, 2015
Acknowledging that Kentucky’s social workers are overworked and underpaid, the state’s commissioner of social services said Monday her agency will seek “millions of dollars” to hire more workers, boost salaries and improve working conditions.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/2015/09/15/ky-seek-millions-beef-social-services/72349954/
NE: Juvenile justice reform hasn’t worked out, state inspector general says
Omaha World-Herald – September 16, 2015
Juvenile justice reforms have neither saved money nor kept more youngsters in their own homes, Nebraska’s inspector general for child welfare said Tuesday. Report: http://bloximages.newyork1.vip.townnews.com/omaha.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/b/0f/b0f622ac-5bce-11e5-8c5f-53a4eb5af2df/55f8549658e3b.pdf.pdf
http://www.omaha.com/news/metro/nebraska-juvenile-justice-reform-hasn-t-worked-out-state-inspector/article_7f8169b2-2e83-5251-a682-7c9274641f4c.html
NY: Madison County, Catholic Charities tackling human trafficking
Oneida Dispatch – September 15, 2015
The Madison County Youth Bureau has received a $35,000 grant from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services to launch a “Look Beneath the Surface” campaign to help raise awareness about human trafficking and the sexual exploitation of youth in the county.
http://www.oneidadispatch.com/lifestyle/20150915/madison-county-catholic-charities-tackling-human-trafficking
PA: Court asked to order release of foster care aid
Associated Press – September 15, 2015
A child welfare advocacy group as asking a Pennsylvania court to order the Wolf administration to release money for about 15,000 children in foster care that’s being held up by an 11-week-old budget impasse.
http://www.wtrf.com/story/30036432/pennsylvania-court-asked-to-order-release-of-foster-care-aid
PA: Dauphin County commissioners plan to hire new CYS director
PennLive.com – September 15, 2015
A new administrator for Dauphin County Children & Youth Services is expected to be hired by the county commissioners Wednesday. The person hired will succeed Joe Dougher, who was called out of retirement in March to serve as acting administrator of the agency.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/09/dauphin_county_commissioners_p_7.html
VT: State takes custody of record number of children
Burlington (Vt.) Free Press – September 15, 2015
That’s because, as the state has grown more strict about heroin and parenting during the past 18 months, the number of young children in state custody has spiked by 75%.
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2015/09/15/vt-takes-custody-record-number-children/72352384/
WV: DHHR says new child psychiatric facility is necessary
Charleston Gazette-Mail – September 15, 2015
A new proposed psychiatric treatment facility in Logan County will allow kids currently being treated out of state to come back to West Virginia, and hopefully, transition out of institutional care and back into their communities, state Department of Health and Human Resources officials said Tuesday.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/article/20150915/GZ01/150919675
US: Report Highlights Economic Costs of Incarceration on Families
Philanthropy News Digest – September 16, 2015
The costs and penalties associated with incarceration continue long after an individual’s incarceration ends and affect entire families and communities, a report from the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights, Forward Together, and Research Action Design – in partnership with more than a dozen community and civil rights organizations – argues. Report: http://ellabakercenter.org/sites/default/files/downloads/who-pays.pdf
http://philanthropynewsdigest.org/news/report-highlights-economic-costs-of-incarceration-on-families
US: A Safe Haven for Whom?
Pacific Standard – September 15, 2015
Advocates argue that safe haven laws prevent mothers from abandoning their newborns, but the policy abandons mothers upon dropoff.
http://www.psmag.com/books-and-culture/a-safe-haven-for-whom
US: Akerman law firm pledges $1 million to program helping kids in foster care
Denver Business Journal – September 15, 2015
Miami-based Akerman pledged the money to National Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Association, an organization that recruits and trains citizen volunteers to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in courtrooms and communities.
http://www.bizjournals.com/denver/blog/finance_etc/2015/09/ackerman-law-firm-pledges-1-million-to-program.html
US: When sex education emphasizes shame, it doesn’t help youth who have been sexually abused
The Conversation – September 03, 2015
Sex education curricula that tie premarital sex, getting pregnant or getting an STD to shame don’t leave much space for anyone to develop healthy views about sex and sexuality. But they are especially unhelpful, and even harmful, for youth who have been sexually abused.
https://theconversation.com/when-sex-education-emphasizes-shame-it-doesnt-help-youth-who-have-been-sexually-abused-42240
INTERNATIONAL
Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao: ARMM conducts assessment of child welfare interventions by LGUs
Mindanao Examiner – September 15, 2015
Under the CFLGA, all cities and municipalities shall be assessed to measure their level of performance in implementing child-friendly programs and instituting measures that promote children’s welfare. Auditors will check if an LGU implements programs that satisfy 12 indicators on health and nutrition, education, protection, and child participation.
http://mindanaoexaminer.com/armm-conducts-assessment-of-child-welfare-interventions-by-lgus/
Canada: Provincial Advocate’s Office welcomes public consultation process with African Canadian community about child welfare
Canada Newswire – September 15, 2015
Individuals of African descent represent less than 4 per cent of Ontario’s population. Yet black youth are over-represented in the child welfare and youth justice systems. For example, 41 per cent of children and youth in the care of the Children’s Aid Society of Toronto are African Canadian. In many urban cities in Ontario, they represent approximately 65 per cent of all children in care.
http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201509151815CANADANWCANADAPR_C7538-1
Canada: Injunction sought in review of botched child welfare case
News Talk 980 CKNW – September 14, 2015
The lawyer for a B.C. mom whose kids were returned to their abusive father by the province is asking for the courts to limit an upcoming provincial review of the case.
http://www.cknw.com/2015/09/14/90160/
Hungary: Government to increase child protection capacities
ReliefWeb – September 15, 2015
The Government will be increasing child protection capacities required to care for minors arriving in Hungary without accompaniment, the Government Spokesperson announced in Szeged.
http://reliefweb.int/report/hungary/government-increase-child-protection-capacities
Philippines: CSF, Int’l Justice Mission ink pact on child protection
Sun Star – September 15, 2015
The city government of San Fernando through Mayor Edwin Santiago entered into a memorandum of agreement last Monday with International Justice Mission (IJM) for the creation of a Survivors Support Network (SSN) where victims of violence can get all the support and resources they need.
http://www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/local-news/2015/09/15/csf-intl-justice-mission-ink-pact-child-protection-430521
United Kingdom: Oxfordshire children’s centres merger plans prompt protests
BBC News – September 15, 2015
Under the proposals, the county’s early intervention service could be integrated with children’s social care. Some of the county council’s 44 centres for under-fives and seven “early intervention hubs” could close.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-oxfordshire-34255711
AL: Social Work Hall of Fame to honor three new members
Crimson White – September 15, 2015
Edith Fraser, John Houston and Harriett Means will join a list of individuals who dedicated their lives to social work and developing communities for the betterment of others. Houston and Means are both alumni of the University, earning a masters and Ph.D., respectively. Fraser is a former professor at Alabama A&M University.
http://www.cw.ua.edu/article/2015/09/alabama-social-work-hall-of-fame-to-honor-three-new-members
AL: Governor’s DHR Task Force to examine agency for efficiency (Includes video)
WHNT 19 – September 14, 2015
Representative Mac McCutcheon is the chair of the new Alabama Department of Human Resources Task Force. Chris Newlin is also on the task force. He’s the Executive Director of the National Children’s Advocacy Center, and says the DHR is very important to what they do. “The NCAC was built on the whole concept of a multidisciplinary response to child abuse,” he said, “and the DHR is a key member of that response.”
http://whnt.com/2015/09/14/governors-dhr-task-force-to-examine-agency-for-efficiency/
AR: FOX13 Investigates: Sexual abuse of children in Wynne (Includes video)
My Fox Memphis – September 14, 2015
It has been a busy few weeks for police in Wynne, Arkansas, who are investigating multiple cases involving sexual abuse of minors. “We’ve got several cases right now that we’re still investigating,” Wynne Police Patrolmen Rolland Geror told FOX13. “That’s been going on for several months.”
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/30029707/fox13-investigates-sexual-abuse-of-children-in-wynne-ar
AZ: My Turn: DCS is just rearranging deck chairs for kids (Opinion)
AZCentral – September 12, 2015
The most recent strategic plan submitted by the Department of Child Safety includes many great ideas to improve our system. However, DCS has not signed up for any measurable changes. If there are no goals, how can we expect things to change? What gets measured gets done.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-little-peoples-world-guilty-pleas-20150914-story.html
CA: Couple pleads guilty to taking money intended for abused, neglected kids
Los Angeles Times – September 14, 2015
CSJ Kidogo, 74, the former chief executive of Little People’s World, pleaded guilty to one felony count of misappropriation of funds and will spend six months in jail.
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-little-peoples-world-guilty-pleas-20150914-story.html
CO: After child deaths, Denver Mayor Michael Hancock proposes big increase to child welfare staff (Includes video)
Denver Channel – September 14, 2015
Denver Mayor Michael Hancock’s budget proposal for the upcoming year includes funds to hire 51.5 new child welfare employees, after several Denver Human Services errors led to the deaths of children last year.
http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news/call7-investigators/denver-dhs/after-child-deaths-denver-mayor-michael-hancock-proposes-big-increase-to-child-welfare-staff
CO: Denver’s new $1.8 billion budget would boost jail, child welfare staffing
Denver Post – September 14, 2015
Other budget increases next year include 51 more child welfare staffers to reduce caseloads, the opening of a homeless “solutions center,” new staffing to tackle building permit delays and $1 million to advance plans for a potential Colfax Avenue bus rapid transit line, with dedicated lanes during rush hour.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28810214/denvers-new-1-8b-budget-would-boost-jail
FL: Study to follow 1,500 new hires in child welfare for five years
TCPalm – September 14, 2015
Beginning this month, Devereux CBC and all the state’s Lead Community Based Care Agencies will participate in a five-year study of newly hired child-welfare professionals. The study will follow select case managers and child-protective investigators for the first five years of their careers in an effort to improve retention in the child-welfare field.
http://www.tcpalm.com/niche/luminaries/st-lucie-county/study-to-follow-1500-new-hires-in-child-welfare-for-five-years_63171523
IL: Grant aims to create resources for former foster youth
Identity — Illinois State University – September 14, 2015
Illinois State University’s Center for Adoption Services received a $50,000 grant to better understand the needs of former foster youth as they maneuver through college. The grant from the Spencer Foundation will support an online “needs and assets” survey of more than 350 former foster youth who attend college in Illinois.
https://stories.illinoisstate.edu/university/media-relations/identity/grant-aims-to-create-resources-for-former-foster-youth/
MI: Runestad joins panel to hear from foster parents
Hometown Life – September 14, 2015
State Rep. Jim Runestad, R-White Lake, will join a collection of other policymakers Sept 22 on a listening panel to hear from the caregivers of children in foster care.
http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/milford/2015/09/14/runestad-joins-panel-hear-foster-parents/72283082/
MS: AG Jim Hood: Defense of Same-Sex Adoption Ban ‘Procedural’ (Opinion)
Jackson Free Press – September 14, 2015
Mississippi Attorney General Jim Hood defended his decision to defend Mississippi in a lawsuit against the state’s same-sex adoption ban today, calling it a procedural issue. The Campaign for Southern Equality recently sued the Mississippi Department of Human Services to challenge the constitutionality of the ban, the last law in the nation that still has an absolute ban preventing same-sex couples from adopting regardless of the couples’ qualifications. Also: HRC Mississippi Slams Gov. Bryant and A.G. Hood for Defending State’s Horrific LGBT Adoption Ban: http://www.hrc.org/press-releases/entry/hrc-mississippi-slams-gov.-bryant-and-a.g.-hood-for-defending-states-horrif
http://www.jacksonfreepress.com/weblogs/jackblog/2015/sep/14/ag-jim-hood-defense-of-same-sex-adoption-ban-proce/
NJ: Homeschool parents sue New Jersey, allege ‘unlawful, unconstitutional home intrusion’
MyInforms – September 14, 2015
In April the Zimmers filed a $60 million federal lawsuit against the New Jersey Division of Child Protection and Permanency, along with several division officials and the social worker, Michelle Marchese, for an “unlawful and unconstitutional home intrusion.” “It’s the fact that the government just came walking into my door without any cause,” Mr. Zimmer said.
http://myinforms.com/en/a/16462659-homeschool-parents-sue-new-jersey-allege-8216unlawful-unconstitutional-home-intrusion8217/
NJ: Parents Are Entitled to Due Process (Opinion)
JD Supra – September 14, 2015
The Division of Child Protection and Permanency (CPP), formerly known as the Division of Youth and Family Services (DYFS) has been granted broad powers both from State statute and the New Jersey Administrative Code. The question becomes whether agents of the State acting under those powers, exceed their scope, and violate the due process rights of those parents and families that they are meant to protect?
http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=bf791bbb-2f0f-4c6a-936f-c264c66649a3
NY: When Home Is Tough, Making Students Feel Good At School (Includes audio)
Nevada Public Radio – September 12, 2015
These are kids who have witnessed domestic violence or experienced abuse. Principal Jessica Nauiokas says her teachers know the cases and receive training in trauma to watch for any signs of behavioral or psychological problems.
http://knpr.org/npr/2015-09/when-home-tough-making-students-feel-good-school
OK: Children are worth fixing according to Tulsa County Child Protection Coalition Executive Director
Tulsa World – September 15, 2015
Kristine Bridges recently became the coalition’s executive director, leaving her position as associate dean of professional development at the University of Tulsa College of Law.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/tulsabusiness/business_news/legalnewsfeatures/children-are-worth-fixing-according-to-tulsa-county-child-protection/article_3e576cd3-d63f-5516-a2ba-5b148527afe3.html
OK: Haven for trafficking victims planned for Bastrop County
News OK – September 14, 2015
To meet the issue head on, Brooke Crowder is trying to create the Refuge, a campus on about 50 donated acres in Bastrop County that would help trafficking victims recover. With a planned start date of fall 2016, the facility would take in up to 48 girls ages 11 to 17.
http://newsok.com/haven-for-trafficking-victims-planned-for-bastrop-county/article/feed/889452?custom_click=rss
OR: DHS accidentally sends $500,000 in payments
Statesman Journal – August 14, 2015
The state Department of Human Services accidentally sent out more than $500,000 in electronic payments and checks from the agency’s child welfare program last week due to a computer glitch. DHS Communications Director Gene Evans said Monday that the glitch occurred during an update to the OR-Kids program.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/2015/09/11/dhs-accidentally-sends-500000-payments/72095358/
PA: Auberle to run drop-in housing Downtown for youths leaving foster care
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – September 15, 2015
The Allegheny County Department of Human Services has selected social services agency Auberle to run a drop-in center for young adults who are homeless or transitioning from foster care to independent living.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/city/2015/09/15/Auberle-to-run-drop-in-housing-Downtown-for-youths-leaving-foster-care/stories/201509110159
PA: Pennsylvania sees rise in homeless students
MyInforms – September 15, 2015
The number of homeless students attending public school in Pennsylvania increased by 18 percent between the 2012-13 and 2013-14 school years — an increase more than double the national average of 8 percent, according to statistics reported by the U.S. Department of Education. Information Gateway Resource: Housing & Child Welfare: State and Local Examples: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/service-array/housing/childwelfare/examples/
http://myinforms.com/en/a/16470132-pennsylvania-sees-rise-in-homeless-students/
SC: Nightmare of Sex Trafficking: Victims in S.C. pay a high price in an industry fueled by greed, lust
Post and Courier – September 12, 2015
The 29-year-old said others forced her to sell sex for money from age 10 until 17, while she was in the foster care system. She recounted beatings, starvation, forced cocaine and heroin use and seeing the disappearance of other girls who stepped out of line with their traffickers.
http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20150912/PC16/150919920/1006&source=RSS
WA: Kitsap Foster Care Gains Support
King5 – September 14, 2015
My mission is to provide upward mobility within the foster care system in Kitsap County.
http://www.king5.com/story/opinion/2015/09/14/kitsap-foster-care-alliance/72258542/
US: Toward Preventing Adoption-Related Suicide
Huffington Post – September 14, 2015
Attempted suicide is more common among adolescents who live with adoptive parents than among adolescents who live with biological parents. The association persists after adjusting for depression and aggression and is not explained by impulsivity as measured by a self-reported tendency to make decisions quickly.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/toward-preventing-adoptio_b_8127882.html
US: Fewer babies born to women in U.S. illegally
Los Angeles Times – September 12, 2015
A new report says the number of babies born to women in the United States illegally is falling. Such births accounted for 8 percent of total U.S. births in 2013, according to the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.
http://www.sfgate.com/nation/article/Fewer-babies-born-to-women-in-U-S-illegally-6500982.php
US: Protecting the Rights of Parents and Prospective Parents with Disabilities
Dept. of Health and Human Services & Dept. of Justice – September 01, 2015
The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) are issuing this technical assistance to assist state and local child welfare agencies and courts to ensure that the welfare of children and families is protected in a manner that also protects the civil rights of parents and prospective parents with disabilities.
http://www.ada.gov/doj_hhs_ta/child_welfare_ta.pdf
US: School-Based Health Centers (SBJHC) offer crucial mental health services to underserved children
Healio – September 01, 2015
The Adverse Childhood Experiences Study, one of the largest investigations ever conducted to assess the effects of trauma on children, found that almost two-thirds of children are at risk for at least one adverse childhood experience, which could cause a multitude of mental and physical health issues across their lifetime.
http://www.healio.com/pediatrics/practice-management/news/print/infectious-diseases-in-children/%7B9eea64ce-6e27-4c5d-9305-36826fd48124%7D/sbhcs-offer-crucial-mental-health-services-to-underserved-chi
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Shutting Down the ‘Pipeline’ from Foster Care to Homelessness
The Tyee – September 15, 2015
Many youth lack supports after ‘aging out.’ But experts envision a better way.
http://thetyee.ca/News/2015/09/15/Foster-Care-to-Homelessness/
Gambia: Stakeholders Call for Collective Effort in Ending Child Marriage
All Africa Global Media – September 14, 2015
Non-governmental organisations, development partners and other institutions advocating for the rights and welfare of children have called for collective and concerted efforts to end child marriage in The Gambia.
http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=209325962&hash=5dbcaab44c46f432cd0e79630a228f2b
Germany: Allowing Juvenile to Stop Medical Treatment for Cystic Fibrosis Constitutes Torture
Library of Congress1 – September 11, 2015
On August 4, 2015, the German Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) held that letting a 12-year-old boy decide if he wants to continue treatment for the genetic disease cystic fibrosis, from which he had suffered since early childhood and for which he needed constant medical treatment, constitutes neglect of the custodian’s duty of care and therefore torture of a ward.
http://www.loc.gov/lawweb/servlet/lloc_news?disp3_l205404598_text
Mexico: Standardized adoption law sought by Greens
Mexico News Daily – September 14, 2015
A new adoption law is being promoted in an effort to make more homes available for orphaned children. At least 30,000 children are housed in orphanages.
http://mexiconewsdaily.com/news/standardized-adoption-law-sought-by-greens/
Scotland: Lawyers call for time-barred child abuse damage claims to be lifted
Care Appointments – September 15, 2015
The Association of Personal Injury Lawyers (APIL) in Scotland say the current law means victims of child abuse must make claims for compensation within three years of the abuse taking place or by their 19th birthday, which they say is wholly unfair given the sensitive nature of the circumstances.
http://www.careappointments.co.uk/care-news/scotland/item/38144-lawyers-call-for-time-barred-child-abuse-damage-claims-to-be-lifted
AL: Second Special Session Update (Includes video)
WTVY – September 10, 2015
These taxes aim to mitigate deep cuts that would occur in state-run services–such as mental health and child welfare services. The Legislature has until October 1st to pass a budget for the 2016 fiscal year. If no budget is passed, a government shutdown would occur come that date. Also: House approves 25-cent cigarette tax increase: http://www.ksl.com/?nid=151&sid=36462738&s_cid=rss-151
http://www.wtvy.com/home/headlines/Second-Special-Session-Update-326559341.html
AZ: Safe Baby Haven crib boxes offer hope to young mothers
Glendale Star – September 10, 2015
Young mothers unable to care for their babies are shielded from the public’s eye at the Safe Baby Haven at Banner Thunderbird Medical Center. No cameras, no questions asked.
http://www.glendalestar.com/features/article_610f04ec-5337-11e5-8c75-6307fc41f5cf.html
CA: As South LA families struggle to raise their relatives’ kids, some want equal treatment (Includes video)
KPCC – September 10, 2015
In South Los Angeles, many foster parents who take in the children of their relatives survive on very limited incomes. “We know that many of our relative foster parents are living at and below the poverty line,” said Angie Schwartz, attorney for the advocacy group Alliance for Children’s Rights.
http://www.scpr.org/news/2015/09/10/53927/as-south-la-families-struggle-to-raise-their-relat/
CA: How a revamped training program is helping new social workers
Los Angeles Daily News – September 10, 2015
The Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services has transformed the way it trains new social workers with the opening of a new training facility in downtown Los Angeles. New social workers hired by DCFS, which operates the largest locally administered child welfare system in the nation, will enter DCFS University where they will take a 10-week training course. Before, new social workers learned mainly from Powerpoint presentations, according to officials. Also: Social Workers Undergo New Training Since Gabriel Fernandez Death (Includes video): http://www.nbclosangeles.com/news/local/Social-Workers-Undergo-New-Training-Since-Gabriel-Fernandez-Death-326521821.html
http://www.dailynews.com/government-and-politics/20150910/how-a-revamped-training-program-is-helping-new-social-workers
CA: Lawyers for foster children attempt to halt child abuse series by Fox 11
The Examiner – September 09, 2015
Children’s Advocacy Group, Inc., the attorneys who represent foster youth in the county of San Bernardino, went to court this morning to ask a juvenile court judge for a cease and desist order against Fox 11 Los Angeles. At issue is the news agency’s ongoing investigative report into child abuse and child deaths in San Bernardino County. Children’s Advocacy Group, Inc., claims the reports are putting the dead children’s siblings at risk.
http://www.examiner.com/article/lawyers-for-foster-children-attempt-to-halt-child-abuse-series-by-fox-11
GA: Grady County DFCS under fire
Thomasville Times-Enterprise – September 10, 2015
An August case involving a small child found in the back of a roach-infested car brought to light what one Cairo police officer called a “sorry system” for working with Grady County’s Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS).
http://www.timesenterprise.com/news/local_news/grady-county-dfcs-under-fire/article_dd6c6144-57ef-11e5-bcf0-2f1d97a6f887.html
GA: Voice Today brings child abuse prevention message to Albany
Albany Herald – September 10, 2015
Using her own past as a motivation, Angela Williams, founder of Voice Today, was in Albany on Thursday as part of a movement to prevent child sexual abuse and to give victims of the crime a voice of empowerment.
http://www.albanyherald.com/news/2015/sep/10/voice-today-brings-child-abuse-prevention-message/
MA: Baker names new Child Advocate for Massachusetts
Associated Press – September 10, 2015
Gov. Charlie Baker on Thursday tapped Maria Mossaides, a veteran of child protection programs inside and outside of government, to serve as the state’s new Child Advocate. Also: Baker appoints new state child advocate (Video): http://www.wcvb.com/news/baker-appoints-new-state-child-advocate/35207358
http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/article/Baker-names-new-Child-Advocate-for-Massachusetts-6496399.php
MA: Couple Takes Foster Parent Fight to State’s Highest Court
NECN – September 10, 2015
A Massachusetts couple has taken their request to become foster parents to the state Supreme Judicial Court after being denied by a lower court. Also: Our Religion Permits Spanking, Aspiring Foster Parents Tell Court: http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/09/10/foster-kids-spanking-fitchburg/ Also: SJC considers couple’s foster parent bid despite corporal punishment beliefs: http://www.bostonglobe.com/2015/09/10/sjc-considers-parents-bid-become-foster-parents-despite-belief-corporal-punishment/LtBm5f5kXn05zemd5sA10N/story.html
http://www.necn.com/news/new-england/Massachusetts-Couple-Takes-Foster-Parent-Fight-to-States-Highest-Court-326490891.html
MA: Child Advocate: Department of Children and Families set up ‘to fail’
Mass Live – September 09, 2015
With high caseloads and a lack of managerial structure, Department of Children and Families social workers are set up “to fail,” the state’s official Child Advocate reported Wednesday. Also: Bump: DCF audit lacked crucial info: http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/09/bump_dcf_audit_lacked_crucial_info
http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2015/09/child_advocate_department_of_c.html
MD: CPS broadens suspected child abuse training & reporting responsibilities to all employee (Includes video)
WHAG – September 09, 2015
Every school year, Washington County Public School (WCPS) educators and administrative staff are trained on how to report suspected child abuse or neglect. Now, this reporting responsibility will be extended to all school employees like bus drivers, custodians and cafeteria workers.
http://www.your4state.com/news/news/wcps-broadens-suspected-child-abuse-training-reporting-responsibilities-to-all-employees
NC: DSS: Foster parenting a ‘gift’
Laurinburg Exchange – September 10, 2015
“Fostering is a huge undertaking, but it’s also a gift to the child and it’s a gift to that foster parent,” said Rebekah Oxendine, a county foster care social worker. “We’re really hoping that things like this will grab peoples attention.”
http://laurinburgexchange.com/news/1872/dss-foster-parenting-a-gift
TX: CPS summit focuses on urgent need of homes for children in foster care
KSAT – September 10, 2015
The number of children who age out of the foster care system in Texas has dropped by 41 percent in the last five years. But last year, more than 1,000 foster youth still aged out of care without finding a forever home. Child Protective Services wants that number to continue to drop. Also: CPS Holds Summit for Foster Children in Need of Homes (Includes video): http://www.news4sanantonio.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/CPS-holds-summit-for-foster-children-in-need-of-homes-202937.shtml
http://www.ksat.com/news/cps-summit-focuses-on-urgent-need-of-homes-for-children-in-foster-care
TX: Help available for foster children aging out of the system (Includes video)
KENS 5 – September 10, 2015
Children in the foster care system are aging out at a rapid rate. This year Bexar County expects more than 150 kids to turn 18 without ever finding a loving home. “We really think that’s a failure,” Director of Permanency Camille Gilliam said. In an effort to change that, Child Protective Services and other children’s advocacy groups came together to find out how many permanent homes are needed for foster children in San Antonio.
http://www.kens5.com/story/news/2015/09/10/help-available-foster-children-aging-out-system/72033078/
UT: Nonprofit aims to combat negative stereotypes of foster kids
Deseret News – September 10, 2015
“Instead of highlighting trauma narratives, Together We Rise focuses on children’s strengths,” Heather Dockray wrote in GOOD Magazine. “The goal is to move people away from the idea that foster-care youth are beyond help, beyond reach, beyond compassion.” The campaign encourages those 81.5 million people, who often fly abroad to adopt, to consider adopting children from the United States.
http://national.deseretnews.com/article/5563/nonprofit-aims-to-combat-negative-stereotypes-of-foster-kids.html
WV: Charleston, WV officials push for child abuse awareness following Charleston Town Center incident (Includes video) (Opinion)
WOWK – September 10, 2015
Unfortunately, many child abuse cases do go unreported because people feel like its not their place to intervene.
http://www.wowktv.com/story/30005894/charleston-wv-officials-push-for-child-abuse-awareness-following-charleston-town-center-incident
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Australian bishop testifies on prevalence of child sex abuse in the church
National Catholic Reporter – September 10, 2015
Dying of cancer, Bishop Emeritus Geoffrey Robinson appeared Aug. 24 before the Australian Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse to testify to the prevalence of child sexual abuse in the church. He painted a sad picture of a brave and lonely Sisyphus with his band of bishops in tow, pushing a boulder with a reasoned response to the crisis up the Vatican Hill, only to have it pushed back by popes and cardinals who had no idea about the issue and a blindness about the incapacity of canon law to deal with it.
http://ncronline.org/news/accountability/australian-bishop-testifies-prevalence-child-sex-abuse-church
Canada: Fort McMurray foster families left out of the loop (Opinion)
Fort McMurray Today – September 10, 2015
With the loss of the contract, many foster families in town were left wondering where they were supposed to go, as no information was given to us. Children were moved out of town as a result, and families like ours quit fostering. Though it was no fault of the agencies in town, the foster parents felt abandoned and we all felt tremendous guilt about how everything had happened. But because of the privacy issues, we generally kept our mouths shut.
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/2015/09/10/fort-mcmurray-foster-families-left-out-of-the-loop
Canada: B.C. hires high-profile native leader Ed John to improve adoptions for aboriginal kids
Vancouver Sun – September 09, 2015
Grand Chief Ed John, a lawyer and a longtime member of the First Nations Summit Task Group, has been appointed for six months to try to salvage B.C.’s marginal record of finding permanent homes for vulnerable aboriginal kids. His work is to include better planning to find “forever families” through adoption, guardianship or other options supported by First Nations communities.
http://www.vancouversun.com/life/hires+high+profile+native+leader+john+improve+adoptions+aboriginal+kids/11350731/story.html
International: Survivors of child trafficking exhibit symptoms of depression, anxiety, PTSD
Medical News Today – September 10, 2015
About one-third of girls and boys who survived child trafficking experienced physical and/or sexual violence during their ordeal in a study of children receiving posttrafficking services in Cambodia, Thailand and Vietnam, according to an article published online by JAMA Pediatrics.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/299292.php?tw
International: WHO: child mortality under 6 million for first time
Medical News Today – September 10, 2015
Deaths among children aged 5 and under worldwide have more than halved over the last 25 years, falling from 12.7 million a year in 1990 to 5.9 million in 2015.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/299274.php?tw
Japan: Child abuse numbers hit record high in Jan.-June
Jiji Press – September 10, 2015
Japanese police referred a record 17,224 suspected child abuse victims aged under 18 to child consultation centers across the country in January-June, up 32 percent from a year before, the National Policy Agency said Thursday.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0002414687
United Kingdom: Children with learning disabilities at risk of sexual exploitation
Charity Today News – September 10, 2015
Children with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to sexual exploitation than other children, facing additional barriers to their protection and to receiving support, new research from a coalition of leading organisations reveals.
http://www.charitytoday.co.uk/children-with-learning-disabilities-at-risk-of-sexual-exploitation/
United Kingdom: National Adoption Service to run Wales adoption register after BAAF closure
Community Care – September 09, 2015
The adoption register in Wales will be run by the country’s National Adoption Service following the closure of the British Association of Adoption and Fostering (BAAF), it has been announced.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/09/09/national-adoption-service-run-wales-adoption-register-baaf-closure/
AZ: Child welfare officials had contact with girl before death
Associated Press – September 09, 2015
State child welfare officials say they investigated reports that a 2-year-old Phoenix girl had been abused more than a month before she was found dead.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/9/child-welfare-officials-had-contact-with-girl-befo/
CA: Day in Court No Sure Thing for Foster Youth
Chronicle of Social Change – September 09, 2015
L.A. is ahead of most counties, dedicating $3.2 million a year to a 31-van fleet to get kids to juvenile dependency court and the hearings where fundamental decisions about their lives are made. But those vans simply do not go where L.A.’s 3,750 out-of-county kids are. Out of County, CA is a series of stories about the experiences of out-of-county foster youth in California.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/getting-day-court-no-sure-thing-county-foster-youth/12981
CA: New State Law Increases Protections for Undocumented Youth
Voice of OC – September 09, 2015
Assembly Bill 899, which Brown signed Friday, mandates that records for those in the juvenile justice system remain confidential “regardless of the juvenile’s immigration status,” and prohibits the disclosure and dissemination of juvenile information to federal officials unless a juvenile court grants permission.
http://voiceofoc.org/2015/09/new-law-creates-more-protections-for-undocumented-youth/
FL: Lawmakers to take closer look at group homes for foster children
Orlando Sentinel – September 09, 2015
Lawmakers and the Florida Department of Children and Families are looking to increase accountability and improve standards at group homes for foster children.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/politics/os-foster-group-homes-20150909-story.html
ID: KidCheck Childrens Check-in System Shares Child Protection Policy Blog Series (Press Release)
PRWeb – September 08, 2015
KidCheck, providers of secure children’s check-in software, is pleased to share a new blog series providing insight on planning, creating and implementing a child protection policy to help churches and other organizations caring for children. More information can be found at http://www.kidcheck.com.
http://www.wltz.com/story/29979427/kidcheck-childrens-check-in-system-shares-child-protection-policy-blog-series
MA: Report: Caseload overwhelms child welfare agency
Associated Press – September 09, 2015
Overwhelming caseloads and ineffective management of Massachusetts’ child welfare agency have set up social workers to fail, according to a critical new review released Wednesday by the state’s Child Advocate. Also: Child advocate warning of managerial problems at DCF: http://wwlp.com/2015/09/09/child-advocate-warning-of-managerial-problems-at-dcf/ Information Gateway Resource: Caseload and Workload Management: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/case-work-management/
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/9/report-caseload-overwhelms-child-welfare-agency/
MD: Community effort to focus on preventing child abuse
The Star-Democrat – September 09, 2015
To address the growing issue of child abuse, the Talbot County Department of Social Services is working with a committee of Talbot County citizens in the community. The program adopted to accomplish this mission is called Empower Me.
http://www.stardem.com/life/article_381f3c59-3e9f-5533-9a2b-d822b3e2d67e.html
MI: State says agency placed 9-year-old boy in home with ‘several’ infractions
Michigan Live – September 09, 2015
A state investigation says that the Burton agency responsible for 9-year-old Omarion Humphrey, who drowned after wandering away at Lake Callis park July 4, placed him in a home that had several infractions including lack of supervision.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/09/agency_placed_9-year-old_boy_i.html
MN: Scott County in urgent need of foster care homes
Shakopee Valley News – September 09, 2015
“We have been increasingly concerned about the growing need for additional foster care providers, and at this point it has become an urgent need,” said Gretchen Young, licensing supervisor. “We have been able to assure that children’s safety and well-being needs are met in foster care, but identifying foster homes in all communities across the county is a challenge.”
http://www.swnewsmedia.com/shakopee_valley_news/news/local/scott-county-in-urgent-need-of-foster-care-homes/article_c48d2a46-1596-538e-8778-ad016b38224e.html
MT: Nonprofit raising funds to reopen sober-living home to keep moms with kids
Helena Independent Record – September 09, 2015
The program began in 2008 in a house on South 29th Street. It was a secure, 24-hour monitoring facility that allowed women with substance abuse and neglect problems to receive treatment and housing while living with their children.
http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/nonprofit-raising-funds-to-reopen-sober-living-home-to-keep/article_5be9a4ed-5024-5046-9165-412c5cf989e4.html
NY: NYC child protection worker admits to lying about visit
Local News 7 – September 09, 2015
A city children’s services worker pleaded guilty to lying about visiting a pregnant Brooklyn woman who was suspected of leaving her young child alone.
http://www.localnews7.com/new-york/nyc-child-protection-worker-admits-to-lying-about-visit-h247198.html
PA: Northern offers mothers a way out of child welfare system
WHYY – September 09, 2015
Since its founding in 1853, Northern has offered a home for children and their families in turmoil, and put them on the road to self-sufficiency, something Mallory had always wanted.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/nw-philadelphia-more-stories/item/85986-northern-offers-mothers-a-way-out-of-child-welfare-system
SD: Opening hearts and homes, adoption plays a special role (Opinion)
Argus Leader – September 07, 2015
As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax policy, I have helped sponsor legislation to accomplish this and am committed to moving it through the legislative process. After all, adoption fees should never stand in the way of finding a child a home.
http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/dell-rapids/2015/09/08/opening-hearts-homes-adoption-plays-special-role/71703016/
TX: Johnson County human trafficking sting nets 16 arrests
WFAA – September 09, 2015
He said police were not surprised by 16 arrests in just four days, including 34-year-old Shane Bates on a charge of promoting prostitution. But something else shocked them. “By far, the most disturbing thing was two of these women brought children,” King said. “One was a year-and-a-half; the other was four.”
http://www.wfaa.com/story/news/crime/2015/09/09/johnson-co-human-trafficking-sting-nets-16-arrests–4-days/71968108/
TX: Therapy money soon to be cut for thousands of Texans (Includes video)
KXAN – September 08, 2015
This isn’t just a problem for Dena, up to 60,000 Texans could be dropped by providers. “Like a slap in the face actually. To have families that have stepped up to take care of these children, then have the state back up from providing the services that are needed,” said Rep. Donna Howard, D-Austin.
http://kxan.com/2015/09/08/therapy-services-soon-to-be-cut-for-thousands-of-texans/
US: Abandoned kids at TX fire station highlight ‘Safe Haven’ laws (Includes video)
WHBQ – September 09, 2015
Child advocates say not many people know about ‘Safe Haven’ laws where you can safely surrender any unwanted newborns, no questions asked.
http://www.myfoxmemphis.com/story/29995928/abandoned-kids-at-tx-fire-station-highlight-safe-haven-laws
US: Democrat pushes military for data on child abuse, neglect
The Hill – September 09, 2015
Speier, who serves as the ranking member of the House Armed Service Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, made her request on the heels of a Washington Post report from last week about abuse or neglect of military children.
http://thehill.com/policy/defense/253106-democrat-pushes-military-for-data-on-child-abuse-neglect
US: For many, leaving prison is followed by poverty and a heavy reliance on family support
LSE USAPP–American Politics and Policy – September 09, 2015
Every year more than half a million prisoners are released back into the community in the US, presenting an array of challenges for those reentering society. In new research which tracks prisoners released from Massachusetts state prisons, Jaclyn Davis and Catherine Sirois find that a large majority of releasees called on their families for support such as money, accommodation and childcare. They also find that many released prisoners experience housing insecurity and difficulties in finding paid employment.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/usappblog/2015/09/09/for-many-leaving-prison-is-followed-by-poverty-and-a-heavy-reliance-on-family-support/
US: Former Sex Slave Starts Non-Profit To Help Trafficking Survivors By Tattooing Over Their ‘Brands’
Opposing Views – September 09, 2015
While the first cover up showed progress, Kempton still had three more tattoos to cover. When she shared her story with a human trafficking advocate, she couldn’t have guessed what happened next. “She immediately took a picture of [the tattoo] and sent it to a family member of hers, and that family member agreed to sponsor me to have the rest of my cover ups done,” she said. It was this generous gesture that inspired Kempton to create Survivor’s Ink — a non-profit for trafficking survivors to have their “brands” covered up with tattoos of their choice, and at no cost.
http://www.opposingviews.com/i/society/former-sex-slave-starts-non-profit-help-trafficking-survivors-tattooing-over-their-brands
US: Foster Kids: Our Inconvenient Truth (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 09, 2015
But what if instead, on your first day back to school nobody cared enough to take a photo of you? What if you’d grown up with hardly any moments that were even photo worthy?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lola-reed/foster-kids-our-inconveni_b_8106450.html
US: The Pointless Banishment of Sex Offenders (Opinion)
New York Times – September 08, 2015
It’s a chilling image: the sex predator skulking in the shadows of a swing set, waiting to snatch a vulnerable child. Over the past two decades, that scenario has led to a wave of laws around the country restricting where people convicted of sex offenses may live– in many cases, no closer than 2,500 feet from schools, playgrounds, parks or other areas where children gather. In some places, these “predator-free zones” put an entire town or county off limits, sometimes for life, even for those whose offenses had nothing to do with children.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/08/opinion/the-pointless-banishment-of-sex-offenders.html?_r=0
US: USPSTF Recommends Depression Screening for Teens
Physicians Briefing – September 08, 2015
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommends screening for major depressive disorder (MDD) in adolescents, but evidence is inadequate to assess screening tools for younger children. These findings form the basis of a draft recommendation statement published online Sept. 7 by the USPSTF.
http://www.physiciansbriefing.com/Article.asp?AID=703031
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: BC appoints senior advisor for aboriginal child welfare
News 1130 – September 09, 2015
The province’s move to appoint a senior advisor on aboriginal child welfare is meant to improve the situation for the thousands of First Nations children in government care and attempting to reduce the numbers of kids who end up there.
http://www.news1130.com/2015/09/09/province-appoints-senior-advisor-for-aboriginal-child-welfare/
Canada: Grand Chief Edward John appointed Senior Advisor on Aboriginal Child Welfare
CKNW – September 09, 2015
The Provincial Government has announced the appointment of Grand Chief Edward John as a Senior Advisor on Aboriginal Child Welfare to the Minister of Children and Family Development.
http://www.cknw.com/2015/09/09/grand-chief-edward-john-appointed-senior-advisor-on-aboriginal-child-welfare/
El Salvador: Texas couple’s ordeal exposes El Salvador’s little-known infant trafficking market
FOX News Latino – September 09, 2015
The couple that accused an obstetrician at the private Centro Ginecologico hospital in San Salvador with swapping their child at birth in order to sell the infant exposed a little-known form of human trafficking.
http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/news/2015/09/09/texas-couple-ordeal-exposes-el-salvador-little-known-infant-trafficking-market/
Ireland: Convictions in 2% of child abuse claims against orders
Irish Examiner – September 10, 2015
A series of reports published yesterday documented a total of 325 allegations since 1941, involving a total of 141 priests or brothers–resulting in eight convictions. Also: Improvements in child protection noted: http://www.irishtimes.com/news/social-affairs/religion-and-beliefs/improvements-in-child-protection-noted-1.2346153
http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/convictions-in-2-of-child-abuse-claims-against-orders-352987.html
United Kingdom: The emotional damage of human trafficking (Opinion)
West – September 10, 2015
Last month, one in eight child victims of trafficking attempted suicide, according to a study by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, published in Jama Pediatrics. The research was based on a sample of adolescents aged between 10 and 17, who were trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labour and begging. The results show that the consequences of mistreatment can be devastating.
http://www.west-info.eu/the-emotional-damage-of-human-trafficking/
AZ: Foster families trying to stay informed about DCS proposed rule changes (Includes video)
News 4 Tucson – September 07, 2015
“Overall, the rules are very good,” said Mary Jeanne Chavez, director of family services for La Paloma Family Services. “There are a couple, though, that will make it difficult to provide foster families to take in siblings.” Foster parents worry that about how this will impact their families. Also: Foster families get chance to comment on proposed rule changes (Includes video): http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/29973984/foster-families-have-chance-to-comment-on-proposed-rule-changes
http://www.kvoa.com/story/29976218/foster-families-trying-to-stay-informed-about-dcs-proposed-rule-changes
GA: Uniting Hope 4 Children comes to Augusta to train perspective respite and foster families (Includes video)
WAGT26 – September 09, 2015
“Our goal is to come to Augusta and connect with as many churches as we can, to place as many kids as we can and get kids out of hotels and abusive home and get them in loving homes”, says Wayne Naugle, the director of Uniting Hope 4 Children.
http://nbc26.tv/2015/09/09/uniting-hope-4-children-comes-to-augusta-to-train-perspective-respite-and-foster-families/
GA: GUEST EDITORIAL: Lawmakers working on a foster care fix
Rome News-Tribune – September 07, 2015
Children placed with a loving relative are better able to adjust to their new environment than their peers in foster care, and are less likely to experience behavioral problems, psychiatric disorders and school disruptions. In addition, informal kinship caregivers save Georgian taxpayers untold millions a year by caring for kin that would otherwise potentially fall into the custody of the state.
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/opinion/editorials/guest-editorial-lawmakers-working-on-a-foster-care-fix/article_29484892-554a-11e5-804c-8b883ac9bf7e.html
IN: Child policy protects “most precious resource”
University of Southern Indiana Shield – September 08, 2015
“The genesis of us developing these policies were situations like Penn State and Syracuse and other institutions where children were not properly supervised,” Gordon said. “We put forth this policy that is very similar to policies that have developed and are being developed around the country.”
http://www.usishield.com/child-policy-protects-most-precious-resource/
KS: Lawmakers to briefly focus on foster care with special committee
Topeka Capital-Journal – September 07, 2015
Earlier this year, the Legislative Coordinating Council, a panel made up of legislative leadership, voted to create a Special Committee on Foster Care Adequacy. The newly formed committee will meet for one day sometime before lawmakers return for regular session in January.
http://www.gctelegram.com/news/state/lawmakers-to-briefly-focus-on-foster-care-with-special-committee/article_650471fb-9194-55ac-a334-16d0423868ac.html
MA: DCF due in court to defend anti-spanking policy
Boston Herald – September 08, 2015
The Department of Children and Families will go to the state’s highest court this week to defend an agency policy that prevents those who believe in spanking their children from adopting foster kids.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/09/dcf_due_in_court_to_defend_anti_spanking_policy
MA: Auditor Suzanne Bump: 2014 report warned of state foster care problems
Mass Live – September 07, 2015
State Auditor Suzanne Bump says issues of a lack of collaboration between agencies, weak policies and procedures, and unreliable or outdated data cited in last week’s state report how 7-year-old Jack Loiselle of Hardwick ended up in a coma while his family was under state supervision are no surprise.
http://www.masslive.com/business-news/index.ssf/2015/09/mass_auditor_suzanne_bump_2014_report_wa.html
MI: Agency that placed autistic boy who drowned should lose license, state says
Michigan Live – September 08, 2015
The state said Alternatives for Children & Families Inc., the Burton-based agency, failed to ensure foster parents received adequate training on how to care for children with autism, committed multiple violations and should lose its license, partly because of the severity of the violations. Also: Agency that placed 9-year-old boy who drowned may appeal state report: http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/09/sexual_physical_abuse_found_in.html
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2015/09/state_recommends_stripping_lic.html
MN: Many rural counties lack immediate child abuse aid
Forum News Service – September 08, 2015
The task force heard that about half of Minnesota’s 87 counties do not have the ability to ensure a trained child protection worker takes an abuse case within 24 hours. Also: Nearly half of young Minnesota children live in areas of ‘high risk,’ report finds: http://www.startribune.com/nearly-half-of-young-minnesota-children-live-in-areas-of-high-risk-report-finds/325824441/
http://www.inforum.com/news/3834653-many-rural-minn-counties-lack-immediate-child-abuse-aid
MN: County adds 11 child protection workers
ABC Newspapers – September 07, 2015
To meet the requirements of the state’s new child protection reform legislation, the Anoka County Board has hired 11 new full-time child protection workers. Information Gateway resource: National Caseload/Workload Studies and Reports: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/workforce/retention/workforce-retention/workload/studies-reports/
http://abcnewspapers.com/2015/09/07/county-adds-11-child-protection-workers/
MT: Foster parent shortage, impacting children (Includes video)
MTN News – September 08, 2015
Youth Dynamics says it is seeing roughly 20 kids per month needing placement. They say it’s a demand they can’t keep up with. Community Outreach Coordinator Lisa Lamere said Tuesday that the kids are the ones who suffer when they can’t be placed into an accomodating home.
http://www.ktvq.com/story/29984616/foster-parent-shortage-impacting-montana-children
NY: When Finding Housing Is a Job in Itself (Opinion)
New York Times – September 06, 2015
Then came nearly 18 months when my life was overtaken by running here and there to try to hold on to our housing. All my plans for moving my life forward fell apart.
http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/09/06/when-finding-housing-is-a-job-in-itself/
OH: Gay couples now able to adopt jointly
Columbus Dispatch – September 09, 2015
The June 26 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that effectively legalized same-sex marriage also provided access to all the same court actions available to opposite-sex spouses. In Franklin County and throughout the nation, same-sex couples are picking up marriage licenses, amending children’s birth certificates, dividing assets, divorcing and, at last, being recognized as the legal parents of the children they’ve been raising.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2015/09/09/gay-bench-marks.html
PA: Choices dwindling for human services agencies in budget stalemate
Bradford Era – September 08, 2015
“The biggest impact the state budget impasse has had is on our ability to implement strategies aimed at addressing housing and substance abuse, two primary drivers behind the number of reports received and the number of children being placed,” he added.
http://www.bradfordera.com/news/article_e7885724-55b9-11e5-8c7c-436196b7b49e.html
PA: Physicians Have Greater Ability To Help Child Abuse Victims (Press Release)
PR Newswire – September 08, 2015
Only a few years ago, Pennsylvania had one of the narrowest definitions of child abuse in the country.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/physicians-have-greater-ability-to-help-child-abuse-victims-300136157.html
PA: Secretary of Human Services Ted Dallas passionate about mission
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – September 08, 2015
The Department of Human Services has 16,000 employees, scattered in every county across the commonwealth, and the agency’s annual budget of $32 billion in state and federal funds is larger than the state’s general fund budget. DHS provides services — everything from food stamps to overseeing adoptions, to preventing child abuse, to Medicaid — used by more than 2.7 million Pennsylvanians.
http://www.post-gazette.com/local/2015/09/08/Pa-Secretary-of-Human-Services-passionate-about-mission/stories/201502090001
TN: State children’s commission asks for state budget hikes
The Tennessean – September 07, 2015
“Research shows quality home visiting programs reduce child abuse and neglect and infant mortality, and result in increased immunization rates and parental knowledge of children’s developmental needs,” a letter from commission Executive Director Linda O’Neal to the governor said.
http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/06/tn-childrens-commission-asks-state-budget-hikes/71701548/
TX: Child Protective Services Speaks (Includes video)
Crossroads Today – September 07, 2015
When investigating child abuse or neglect cases, Child Protective Services program director Katherine Scott said the child and family’s privacy must be protected – which may lead the public to assume nothings being done.
http://www.crossroadstoday.com/content/news/local/story/Child-Protective-Services-Speaks/b_yKGOq8UkKTnJxu27EFFg.cspx
US: Children’s Health Called at Risk if Congress Doesn’t Act on School Meals
Public News Service – September 09, 2015
Congress must decide whether to reauthorize federally-funded school food programs before Sept. 30, when the current law is set to expire.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-09/childrens-issues/childrens-health-called-at-risk-if-congress-doesnt-act-on-school-meals/a47998-1
US: Equal Rights for Adoptees Cannot Be Compromised (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 08, 2015
Restrictions that apply unequally to citizens who were adopted imply that adoptees are a suspect class of people because of something that occurred TO them when most were babies or young children. This is not fair, just, or equitable. There are sufficient laws to protect ALL citizens equally from being stalked or harassed. To create special laws that apply only to adoptees is a violation of the 14th amendment and treats them as second-class citizens.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/uncompromising-equal-righ_b_8104898.html
US: Prison Gets Rich Locking Up Preschoolers (Opinion)
Daily Beast – September 08, 2015
One for-profit prison company has found that incarcerating infants, toddlers, children, and mothers — as long as they’re undocumented immigrants — is a great way to boost their revenue by upward of $49 million over the previous year.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/09/08/america-s-most-lucrative-preschooler-prison.html
US: Program Showers Older Foster Youth with Attention
The Chronicle of Social Change – September 08, 2015
The matching part of adoption is time-consuming and sometimes discouraging. Each stage of our adoption journey seemed to drag on. Each time we inquired about a child online through AdoptUSKids, we would try to remain hopeful, wondering, “Is this our child?” We waited patiently to move on through the next stage.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/program-showers-older-foster-youth-attention/12499
US: The U.S. Children’s Bureau: time for a revival?
Philly.com – September 08, 2015
Today, no single federal agency has the resources and mandate to address issues such as child poverty, high rates of illness among children, and a stagnant infant mortality rate that reflects dramatic disparities by race, ethnicity and income.
http://www.philly.com/philly/blogs/public_health/The-US-Childrens-Bureau-time-for-a-revival.html
US: 5 Ways I Cope with the Uncertainty of Foster Parenting
Babble – September 07, 2015
As a foster parent, my family and friends are constantly expressing concerns over how I’m coping with the uncertainty of the future.
http://www.babble.com/parenting/5-ways-i-cope-with-the-uncertainty-of-foster-parenting/
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Four Out Of Five Missing Persons In Manitoba Are Kids In Foster Care
The Canadian Press – September 08, 2015
“The vast majority of missing persons reported are short-term chronic runaways,” the report said. “Most are vulnerable indigenous youth who are in the care of Child and Family Services.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2015/09/08/four-out-of-five-missing-persons-reported-are-kids-in-manitoba-care-police_n_8105540.html
AZ: Event to help foster families understand proposed rule changes (Includes video)
Tucson News Now – September 04, 2015
Foster families in Arizona would be directly affected by Department of Child Safety proposed rule changes, but many feel they have not been given sufficient notice about the comment period for those changes. A Tucson child welfare agency, La Paloma Family Services, will be open Monday, Labor Day, to help foster families understand the proposed DCS rule changes.
http://www.tucsonnewsnow.com/story/29961549/labor-day-event-to-help-foster-families-understand-proposed-dcs-rule-changes
CA: Assembly to vote on diminished bill package to curb psychotropic drug use on foster children
Contra Costa Times – September 06, 2015
With less than a week left before the end of the legislative session, intensive lobbying by physicians groups and cost concerns have undermined progress on the centerpiece of a bill package designed to end the excessive use of psychotropic drugs on California’s foster youth.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/breaking-news/ci_28769543/california-assembly-vote-diminished-bill-package-curb-psychotropic
CA: A Judge’s Perspective: Distant Placements and Reasonable Services (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – September 04, 2015
The increasing use of distant and out-of-county placements raises concerns about the effects on children and their families, and raises issues about whether the government is meeting its legal obligations to make reasonable efforts and “provide services reasonably believed to facilitate the return of the child to the custody of his or her parent or legal guardian,” as required by Welfare and Institutions Code, § 366.21(e)
http://bit.ly/1Urse5p
CA: Child welfare: Transforming Trauma (Opinion)
Ukiah Daily Journal – September 04, 2015
A massive study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicates childhood trauma may have long-term physiological and emotional effects decades after the trauma occurs. By understanding this trauma, and its effects, those of us in children’s services hope to mitigate some of the damage through education and intervention in our schools, our resource centers, our churches, and our homes. We hope to minimize the long-term effects and turn this crippling condition into strength, and connection.
http://www.ukiahdailyjournal.com/lifestyle/20150904/child-welfare-transforming-trauma
CO: Statewide child abuse hotline outage
KKCO 11 News – September 04, 2015
A state wide emergency hotline was unavailable yesterday due to an outage of an internet and phone service. Also: Colorado child abuse hotline restored after technical glitch: http://www.brushnewstribune.com/ci_28755589/colorado-child-abuse-hotline-restored-after-technical-glitch
http://www.nbc11news.com/home/headlines/Statewide-child-abuse-hotline-outage–324615601.html
FL: Forward Paths in Leesburg leads homeless, foster kids to independence
Daily Commercial – September 06, 2015
More than 3,000 teens who have aged out of foster care are without families, according to the Florida Department of Children and Families.
http://www.dailycommercial.com/news/article_e894df6b-04d6-5354-b3a8-f47c7a6b5dab.html
FL: Mistakes were made: DCF knew of abuse, failed to act (Includes video)
First Coast News – September 05, 2015
In a word: failure. A failure to properly parent. A failure of the state to intervene. An ultimately tragic failure to save the life of an at-risk 4-year-old. That’s the upshot of a heavily redacted 19-page report by the Florida Department of Children and Families into the circumstances of Braydan Trahern’s death. Trahern was strangled July 27, allegedly by an 11-year-old sexually predatory male also living in the home. He was pronounced dead two days later.
Report: http://www.scribd.com/doc/278436009/DCF-CIRRT-report-4-year-old-strangled
http://www.firstcoastnews.com/story/news/local/2015/09/04/dcf-report-braydan-trahern/71726244/
FL: North Florida DCF director resigns
News 4 Jax – September 04, 2015
The Florida Department of Children and Families lost one of its six regional managing directors Wednesday night when David Abramowitz resigned from his post overseeing child-welfare services in 20 counties in Northeast and North Central Florida.
http://www.news4jax.com/news/dcf-regional-director-resigns-in-ne-florida/35099690
GA: EDITORIAL: Floyd has a crisis in foster care
Rome News-Tribune – September 06, 2015
Our county ranks fifth-highest in the state for children removed from their homes, according to the latest statistics available, as the Rome News-Tribune has reported. Within a one-year period, 244 children in Floyd County were sent to foster care — a rate of 104.5 per 10,000, per the formula used by the state. That is more than three times the statewide rate of 31.2 children removed to foster care.
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/opinion/editorials/editorial-floyd-has-a-crisis-in-foster-care/article_54e08fba-53a0-11e5-b7ac-a70cb1dcfb16.html
GA: DFCS Kinship Care offers support to grandmothers, other relatives
On Common Ground – September 04, 2015
The Georgia Division of Family and Children Services (DFCS) launched the Kinship Care Program in response to the increasing number of grandparents, relatives and other caregivers who have assumed responsibility for raising another relative’s child(ren). As of 2013, 16 percent of all children in care were placed with relatives/kin. Information Gateway Resource: Supporting Kinship Families: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/kinship/support/
http://oncommongroundnews.com/local-news/item/878-dfcs-kinship-care-offers-support-to-grandmothers-other-relatives.html
ID: Nez Perce Tribal Members Trained to Prevent Child Sexual Abuse (Includes audio)
Public News Service – September 08, 2015
Nez Perce Indian child social worker Jeanette Pinkham says the lifelong consequences of being abused carry a steep price tag, and yet nearly every instance didn’t have to happen. “What we’re trying to get out is that it can be prevented,” she stresses. “We don’t to have be the aftermath sort of program. We can also work to prevent.”
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2015-09-08/childrens-issues/nez-perce-tribal-members-trained-to-prevent-child-sexual-abuse/a48005-1
IN: Southern state church officials accused of child abuse (Includes video)
Associated Press – September 04, 2015
Pastor Gerald Harris and Christopher Williams were arrested earlier this week and face charges of battery and neglect of a dependent. They’re accused of whipping at least five children with a wooden paddle.
http://wlfi.com/2015/09/04/southern-indiana-church-officials-accused-of-child-abuse/
KS: Schools play important role in identifying child abuse
Wichita Eagle – September 05, 2015
Reports, they say, tend to tick upward when children return to school in the fall. The reason? Teachers and school staff are watching.
http://www.kansas.com/news/local/article34181949.html
KS: SOS supports children in need
Emporia Gazette – September 03, 2015
Volunteers play a critical role in the CASA program as the voice for children in the courts. Volunteer advocates receive 30 hours of training and must make recommendations in the form of court reports to SOS CASA of the Flint Hills, which forwards these reports to the judges. The judges examine the reports and follow each case to determine actions necessary to protect the child. “The advocates make recommendations that are in the child’s best interest,” Cahoone said.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/opinion/article_faf38f3b-8ed3-54e2-9021-cec01b02adc9.html
MA: DCF caseload in western Massachusetts under scrutiny (Includes video)
WCVB 5 – September 05, 2015
A report is placing more scrutiny on western Massachusetts, where the Department of Children and Families has an exploding caseload.
http://www.wcvb.com/news/dcf-caseload-in-western-massachusetts-under-scrutiny/35112540
MA: DCF to release report on Hardwick child abuse investigation (Includes video)
WHDH-TV – September 04, 2015
The Department of Children and Families released on Friday a report on its investigation into what led a young Hardwick boy to be hospitalized.
Report: http://www.mass.gov/governor/docs/news/dcf-case-review-jack-loiselle.pdf
Also: DCF systematic failures cited by governor in Hardwick boy’s case: http://www.telegram.com/article/20150904/NEWS/150909530/101374?rssfeed=true
Also: In Hardwick case, DCF missed extent of abuse, report says: http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/09/04/baker-release-report-dcf-actions-case-boy-who-coma/oj4uRCtGLnWSI21Hfwh8UL/story.html
http://www.whdh.com/story/29960177/dcf-to-release-report-on-hardwick-child-abuse-investigation
MN: Archdiocese continues to seek justice in sex abuse accusations
Catholic News Agency – September 04, 2015
The Archdiocese of Minneapolis-St. Paul has removed two priests from ministry pending investigation of sex abuse allegations, while it has reinstated a separate priest on the grounds that an allegation against him was not substantiated.
http://www.catholicworldreport.com/NewsBriefs/Default.aspx?rssGuid=minn-archdiocese-continues-to-seek-justice-in-sex-abuse-accusations-30046/
MO: Experience of children in foster care inspires program to comfort others
Joplin Globe – September 05, 2015
A conversation in the car with them one day in 2012 about how they could serve others and God prompted Mason to begin brainstorming ways to help comfort children in foster care.
http://www.joplinglobe.com/news/local_news/experience-of-children-in-foster-care-inspires-program-to-comfort/article_3fe7b13f-e106-5dea-9b71-26cbc452cf72.html
MS: Lawyers File Injunction in Case Challenging Mississippi Adoption Ban
Edge Media Network – September 06, 2015
Lawyers representing two of four couples seeking to overturn Mississippi’s ban on same-sex adoption on Friday filed a preliminary injunction that seeks to allow their clients to adopt the children they are currently raising with their legally married spouses.
http://www.edgeboston.com/news/family/news/184370/lawyers_file_injunction_in_case_challenging_mississippi_adoption_ban
OR: New philosophy gives child welfare workers more choices
The World – September 07, 2015
Differential Response has been rolling out throughout Oregon since 2014. By 2017, all counties will be practicing Differential Response. The following information comes from the Oregon Department of Human Services to assist our community in understanding the changes in the child welfare system in Oregon that will begin in our communities in November 2015.
http://theworldlink.com/news/neighbors/columns/new-philosophy-gives-child-welfare-workers-more-choices/article_137fa3c8-827f-5307-923d-54d8bd3cb846.html
OR: Gov. Brown appoints two more administrators
Statesman Journal – September 03, 2015
Gov. Kate Brown appointed Adrian Smith as her Childhood Dependency Task Force administrator. That role was created by Senate Bill 222, which will work to develop a model for representation in juvenile dependency cases.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/politics/2015/09/03/gov-brown-appoints-two-more-administrators/71657360/
PA: Schools step up social services in hopes of improving education
Pittsburgh Post Gazette – September 06, 2015
Using their own staff and community partners, public schools are finding ways to address the many needs of children — such as hunger, homelessness, violence in their homes or communities, grief, mental health issues and inadequate clothing — that are barriers to their learning.
http://www.post-gazette.com/news/education/2015/09/06/Schools-step-up-social-services-in-hopes-of-improving-education/stories/201509060220
PA: Legislators dispute Dauphin County officials’ claim of proposed $400 million cut to child welfare
Penn Live – September 04, 2015
When it comes to the belief that millions of dollars could be cut from the state’s child welfare funding, Pennsylvania legislators say the discussion has been plagued by inaccuracies. Dauphin County Commissioner George Hartwick III expressed funding concerns related to a proposed $400 million cut to the state child welfare budget, which he said was proposed in the House-sponsored budget, during a regularly scheduled commissioners’ meeting on Wednesday.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/09/children_and_youth_funding_sta.html
TN: Judge dedicated to juvenile justice
Daily News Journal – September 05, 2015
Rutherford County Juvenile Court Judge Donna Scott Davenport recently was appointed to the Tennessee Department of Health’s Child Fatality Review Team by Gov. Bill Haslam. Davenport has dedicated her career to protecting children, so her appointment came as no surprise — except to her:
http://www.dnj.com/story/news/2015/09/05/judge-dedicated-juvenile-justice/71728810/
TX: The extra step: CASA volunteers, community help youth in foster care attend college
Daily Light – September 05, 2015
Last weekend, the Court Appointed Special Advocates for children of Ellis County presented one 17-year-old with a financial donation through the crowdsourcing website GoFundMe and school supplies needed for him to settle into his first year of college.
http://www.waxahachietx.com/news/ellis_county/the-extra-step-casa-volunteers-community-help-youth-in-foster/article_6867efb8-d50c-552e-a437-5350fff2c963.html
VT: Commissioner: Threats against Vermont child welfare workers rise after social worker killed
Associated Press – September 05, 2015
The head of the Vermont Department of Children and Families says threats have increased against the staff since a state social worker was killed last month.
Also: State officials taking security threats seriously: http://www.rutlandherald.com/article/20150905/NEWS03/709059925
Also: Arrest follows threat to foster parents: http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/local/2015/09/04/arrest-follows-threat-foster-parents/71699724/
http://www.greenfieldreporter.com/view/story/433514e4a0b64063b59d8d09db22d8db/VT–State-Workers-Threats
VT: DCF says more resources needed to handle rising caseloads
VT Digger – September 04, 2015
Caseloads among social workers at the Department for Children and Families are at a new high, despite the addition of 18 positions last year.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/09/04/dcf-says-more-resources-needed-to-handle-rising-caseloads/
WA: Coordinated Care of Washington wins Statewide Apple Health foster care contract
Comtex – September 04, 2015
Centene Corporation, a provider of behavioral healthcare services, has announced that its Washington subsidiary, Coordinated Care of Washington, has won the Apple Health foster care contract from the Washington State Health Care Authority. The new contract is expected to commence in November 2015, pending regulatory approvals. Under the new contract, the company expects to serve up to 25,000 foster care members.
http://predictwallstreet.com/News/Story.aspx?StoryID=3b9b18717861b106
US: Is Foster Care Really the Answer for America’s Orphans? (Press release)
PR Web – September 07, 2015
Batson spent her adolescence living at Thompson Orphanage in Charlotte, N.C., and credits the experience for providing her with opportunities she never would have had without the support of the orphanage. Her new book, “Memories of Thompson Orphanage,” is filled with first-hand accounts of others who share similar sentiments about the importance of orphanages in America.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2015/09/prweb12942034.htm
US: Blue-ribbon commission collects ideas to save children in abusive homes
Washington Times – September 06, 2015
A blue-ribbon commission is working to gather fresh answers about how to stop such child fatalities. What it is learning may lead to critical changes in child welfare operations — and save lives. “I do believe that we have some things that are just very different because people haven’t had the opportunity to put things together on a national level,” said clinical psychologist David Sanders, chairman of the 12-member federal Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/sep/6/commission-to-eliminate-child-abuse-and-neglect-fa/?utm_source=RSS_Feed&utm_medium=RSS
US: & Guatemala: For many US adoptees from Guatemala, a complicated legacy
Associated Press – September 05, 2015
Scattered across the United States are more than 29,000 young people born in Guatemala and adopted by U.S. families before that troubled Central American nation shut down international adoption in 2008 amid allegations of rampant corruption and baby-selling.
http://napavalleyregister.com/ap/state/for-many-us-adoptees-from-guatemala-a-complicated-legacy/article_c9a8b9a9-a4e6-5bef-91fe-222ff0bc209b.html
US: George Will: Indian Child Welfare Act bloodstained (Opinion)
Topeka Capital-Journal – September 05, 2015
“It is a sordid business, this divvying us up by race.” — Chief Justice John Roberts. Sordid, always. And sometimes lethal, as some Native American children could attest, were they not, like Declan Stewart and Laurynn Whiteshield, dead. They were victims of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), which demonstrates how identity politics can leave a trail of broken bodies and hearts.
Also: Improving treatment of Native American children (Opinion): https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/improving-treatment-of-native-american-children/2015/09/06/1f9e7056-532d-11e5-b225-90edbd49f362_story.html?wprss=rss_opinions
http://cjonline.com/opinion/2015-09-05/george-will-indian-child-welfare-act-bloodstained
US: Connecting Disconnected Youth (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 04, 2015
This past June a nonpartisan organization called Measure of America issued a report entitled, “Zeroing in on Place and Race – Youth Disconnection in America’s Cities.” It begins, “Disconnected youth are teenagers and young adults between the ages of 16 and 24 who are neither working nor in school. There are 5,527,000 disconnected youth in America today, or one in seven young adults (18.8 percent) – about as many people as live in Minnesota. The national disconnected youth population is larger than the populations of thirty US states.”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-redmond/post_10024_b_8084980.html
US: The ‘Orphan Train’ part of American history
Athens Daily Review – September 04, 2015
More than 200,000 children rode the orphan train in the United States between 1854 and 1930. The train was part of a placing-out program created to find homes for children who were orphans, or whose parents could not afford to take care of them.
http://www.athensreview.com/opinion/the-orphan-train-part-of-american-history/article_c5f87594-535c-11e5-b876-23d77110b4ac.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Push to reform Child Abuse Report Line after 15,000 calls go unanswered
News.com.au – September 07, 2015
There are calls to improve the online reporting system to better elicit key information from people with concerns about children. It follows revelations in The Advertiser that more than 15,000 calls to the Child Abuse Report Line were abandoned last financial year, as average waiting times blew out to more than 20 minutes. Half of all the calls made the year before also went unanswered.
http://www.news.com.au/national/push-to-reform-child-abuse-report-line-after-15000-calls-go-unanswered/story-e6frfkp9-1227515332782
Australia: Drug addicted parents to be taught how to raise their children in new program which will see them learn how to set a table and ready their kids for school
Daily Mail – September 05, 2015
The program, Safecare, will be trailed in suburbs across NSW including Penrith and Batemans Bay and will teach drug and alcohol affected families how to ready their kids for school and set a table.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3223465/Drug-addicted-parents-taught-raise-children-new-program-learn-set-table-ready-kids-school.html
Australia: Child Welfare Campaigners Say There’s No One Left To Provide Independent Oversight On Nauru
BuzzFeed News – September 01, 2015
Child rights agency Save the Children will be removed from the Nauru detention centre, after private contractor Transfield Services won a bid to run the federal government’s offshore detention centres.
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexlee/transfield-takes-welfare-services-on-nauru?utm_term=4ldqpia#.rl2opMXE7
China: Experts call for establishment of child welfare system in China (Includes viceo)
Channel News Asia – September 07, 2015
Rapid economic development in China has created a rich-poor gap that has forced millions of workers to move from rural areas to cities. This has caused about 60 million children to be left behind in rural areas under the care of grandparents or other relatives, often with no proper supervision.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/asiapacific/experts-call-for/2109840.html
Congo: President Joseph Kabila Uses Adopted Children as Pawns (Opinion)
US News & World Report – September 04, 2015
Two years ago, Kabila’s regime suspended the issuance of so-called “exit letters” that permitted orphans whose adoptions had already been finalized by Congolese courts as well as the home governments of their new families to leave the country for their new homes.
http://www.usnews.com/opinion/blogs/world-report/2015/09/04/congo-president-joseph-kabila-uses-adopted-children-as-pawns
India: Orphanage shut over minor’s molestation
Punemirror – September 07, 2015
A tip-off from Wadgaon Sheri locals about some strange goings- on at the Adhar Ananthashram led the Campaign Against Child Labour (CACL) to investigate the orphanage. And, the investigation has revealed some rather disturbing facts. For one, a minor girl was tortured and molested by the trustee’s minor son, forcing her to run away from the orphanage.
http://theworldlink.com/news/neighbors/columns/new-philosophy-gives-child-welfare-workers-more-choices/article_137fa3c8-827f-5307-923d-54d8bd3cb846.html
International: When Human Trafficking Hit Home, This Unlikely Activist Gave What Victims Needed Most — Jobs (Opinion)
Success – September 06, 2015
What you may not know is that while the United States and its allies are fighting a global war on terror, men and women like Ken Petersen are hacking away at its roots, one of which is human trafficking. In places like Iraq and Syria, human trafficking represents a significant funding source for terrorist groups like ISIS while also being a tactic of war — depleting enemy morale, destroying communities, and encouraging those who might resist to flee and abandon territory instead of holding their ground.
http://www.success.com/article/when-human-trafficking-hit-home-this-unlikely-activist-gave-what-victims-needed-most-jobs
AZ: Our View: New DCS rules could chase off foster families (Opinion)
Arizona Republic – September 03, 2015
With more than 17,000 kids in state custody, Arizona’s child-welfare agency is considering rules that advocates for foster children say could drastically reduce the number of foster homes. The issues being raised are significant, and so is the chance to make mistakes.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2015/09/03/child-welfare-rules-foster-families/71664458/
CA: Extension of Foster Care through Age 21: An Opportunity for Pregnancy Prevention and Parenting Support
Chronicle of Social Change – September 03, 2015
More than 35 percent of adolescent girls in California’s child-welfare system will have given birth before the age of 21, according to a new report from Emily Putnam-Hornstein and researchers from the Children’s Data Network at the University of Southern California. Report: https://s3.amazonaws.com/dvis-data/cdn/Cumulative%20Teen%20Birth%20Report_final.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/californias-extension-of-foster-care-through-age-21-an-opportunity-for-pregnancy-prevention-and-parenting-support-2/12875
CO: Colorado child abuse hotline restored after technical glitch
Denver Post – September 04, 2015
A national CenturyLink electrical outage was to blame for a mistaken recorded message that Colorado’s Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline was out of service.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28757459/colorado-child-abuse-hotline-restored-after-technical-glitch
CO: CenturyLink Nationwide Phone Outage Impacts Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (Press Release)
PRNewswire – September 03, 2015
This afternoon Colorado Department of Human Services learned that users are unable to connect through any 800 numbers hosted by CenturyLink throughout the nation. This issue does impact the Colorado Child Abuse and Neglect Hotline (1-844-CO-4-KIDS). CenturyLink has acknowledged the problem and is working to resolve it as quickly as possible. Our number one priority is the safety of the children of Colorado. As always, anyone witnessing a child in a life-threatening situation should call 911 immediately.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centurylink-nationwide-phone-outage-impacts-colorado-child-abuse-and-neglect-hotline-300138105.html
CT: Agencies fight Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
Middletown Press – September 04, 2015
“Many of the families we serve, and whose children enter care, battle substance abuse and the problems that come with it,” Department of Children and Families Commissioner Joette Katz said. “By raising awareness of fetal alcohol syndrome and improving planning and coordination with our partners at the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services and Advanced Behavioral Health, we can prevent babies from entering care and address problems before they arise.” Information Gateway Resource: Alcohol and Child Welfare: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/substance/drug-specific/alcohol/
http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150904/agencies-fight-fetal-alcohol-syndrome-students-can-enter-essay-contest-foundation-offers-grant-information
CT: Behavioral health subcommittee struggles with applying Medicaid rate increase in Connecticut
Middletown Press – September 03, 2015
The calculations the Department of Social Services presented to the subcommittee Wednesday increased all the rates for children to the Medicare rate, but rates for things like adult group therapy were decreased as a result of some of the tinkering with the various formulas. Even though children cost more to treat, Gates said that’s not why the rates were being raised. She said the rates were being raised because the state cut $8 million from the grants it gives providers of mental health services and substance abuse treatment facilities.
http://www.middletownpress.com/general-news/20150903/behavioral-health-subcommittee-struggles-with-applying-medicaid-rate-increase-in-connecticut
FL: DCF losing top child-protection official for Jacksonville region
SaintPetersBlog – September 03, 2015
David Abramowitz was director of the Northeast Florida region for the Department of Children and Families. He turned in his resignation Wednesday, as first reported by First Coast News.
http://www.saintpetersblog.com/archives/239333
FL: Report finds missteps, missed clues by DCF workers preceding death of 4-year-old Putnam boy
Florida Times-Union – September 03, 2015
A history of sexual and physical abuse in a multi-family environment in Putnam County where a 4-year-old boy was strangled in July is detailed in a heavily-redacted report released Thursday from the Florida Department of Children and Families.
http://jacksonville.com/news/crime/2015-09-03/story/report-finds-missteps-missed-clues-dcf-workers-preceding-death-4-year
IL: New residential youth home comes to North Lawndale (Correction)
Austin Weekly News – September 01, 2015
This week, 65 youths will move into the newly built Uhlich Child Advocate Network (UCAN) Therapeutic Youth Home in North Lawndale as part of a plan by the nonprofit to relocate its North Side campus to the West Side.
http://www.austinweeklynews.com/News/Articles/9-1-2015/New-residential-youth-home-comes-to-North-Lawndale/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS
KY: BCFS launches $11 million capital campaign
Hazard Herald – September 01, 2015
…if Buckhorn Children & Family Services’ (BCFS’s) $11 million capital campaign is successful, Creech said his agency will not only be able to meet regional needs in eastern Kentucky, but will also be able to address child welfare issues that other children’s homes across the state are simply not prepared to handle.
http://hazard-herald.com/news/647/bcfs-launches-11-million-capital-campaign
MA: Wanted: a forceful new advocate for children (Opinion)
Boston Globe – September 03, 2015
Child advocate Gail Garinger will leave her job on Sept. 11, and the Baker administration hasn’t made any announcement about who will succeed her. Given the glaring need for more accountability and reform at DCF, especially with two high-profile cases pending, this is no time for a gap in leadership. The Baker administration should prioritize finding Garinger’s successor.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/editorials/2015/09/03/wanted-forceful-new-advocate-for-children/6yr4u46nXDmgsiE5psL8DK/story.html
MD: Lawmaker looking for pro-active way to prevent child abuse
Herald-Mail – September 03, 2015
Del. Brett Wilson told a new Hagerstown child-abuse prevention group Thursday night that he is looking at ways to help address the problem in a more pro-active way.
http://www.heraldmailmedia.com/news/local/lawmaker-looking-for-pro-active-way-to-prevent-child-abuse/article_cd695548-52a6-11e5-804e-1f2173d90123.html
MI: Brown Bag Campaign kicks off to help foster children
Ludington Daily News – September 03, 2015
“Not only is it a way to reach out to the community for needed funding assistance, but the campaign also brings attention to the need for foster parents to open up their hearts to kids who need temporary or permanent homes,” said Gina Aranki, marketing and public relations director for Child and Family Services. “The little brown bag is imprinted with a message. The idea was that they symbolize that children come into foster homes with their belongings stuffed into brown paper bags… duffle bags once placement occurs but the idea is to remind people that children don’t have everything they need right away.”
http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/news/local/article_51c3bb56-527c-11e5-8916-cf30d9da1886.html
OK: Newsmakers: Ledoux named permanent Child Welfare Services Director
Tulsa Business & Legal News – September 04, 2015
Jami Ledoux, a 14-year employees of the Department of Human Services, was named Child Welfare Services director, DHS Director Ed Lake announced. Ledoux was named to the position on an interim basis in October after former CWS director Deborah Smith resigned.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/tulsabusiness/newsmakers-ledoux-named-permanent-child-welfare-services-director/article_86dc64c2-4c68-5d79-839d-989d35ec3542.html
PA: Petition to Build Support for Child Protective Services Reform (Press Release)
WNYmedia – September 04, 2015
Senator Tim Kennedy and Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes, both Democrats from Buffalo, launched an online petition to build support for the comprehensive series of legislation that they’ve proposed to strengthen and improve Child Protective Services in Erie County and across the state. Together, the bills introduced by Kennedy and Peoples-Stokes present major changes to a system long in need of reform. The petition is accessible on Senator Kennedy’s website at: http://www.nysenate.gov/webform/reform-child-protective-services-sign-petition-change-system
http://wnymedia.net/2014/01/petition-build-support-child-protective-services-reform/
PA: Pennsylvania Department of Human Services Receives Best of the Web Digital Government Achievement Award (Press Release)
PRNewswire-USNewswire – September 03, 2015
Today, the Department of Human Services (DHS) received the Center for Digital Government’s 2015 Digital Government Achievement Award for implementation of Pennsylvania’s online automated child abuse history clearance application, a new process under the Pennsylvania Child Welfare Information Solution (CWIS).
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-department-of-human-services-receives-best-of-the-web-digital-government-achievement-award-300137873.html
US: Beyond Inspiring: Meet Yasmine Arrington, Founder Of ScholarCHIPS
DailyVenusDiva.com – September 03, 2015
Yasmine Arrington is the founder of ScholarCHIPS, a non-profit dedicated to raising college scholarships and providing mentoring for children of incarcerated parents.
http://dailyvenusdiva.com/2015/09/03/beyond-inspiring-meet-yasmine-arrington-founder-of-scholarchips/
US: School Discipline: Standing Up for All Children in the Public School System (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 03, 2015
The dichotomy of Sam’s time-out and counseling compared to Bobby’s suspension and permanent record might seem appalling, but these sorts of inequities occur in schools across the country every day. Clearly, Sam benefited from his parents having the skills, time, and motivation to challenge the status quo. But not all children have the benefit of confident, involved parents to help them navigate in the public school system.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/stacey-steinberg/school-discipline-why-we-_b_8082886.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Inquiry into Melb archdiocese child abuse
SBS (Australia) – September 03, 2015
Cardinal George Pell will give evidence to a royal commission inquiry into child sex abuse in the Melbourne archdiocese as well as its Ballarat investigation.
http://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/2015/09/03/inquiry-melb-archdiocese-child-abuse
India: Adoption agencies raise concern over new e-placement guidelines
Indian Express – September 03, 2015
Sunil Arora, President of the FAA told The Indian Express, “We have grave concerns on the adoption placement process through an online system,” said Arora in a statement issued on August 28.
http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/pune/adoption-agencies-raise-concern-over-new-e-placement-guidelines/
International: UNICEF urges protection of children caught in European refugee crisis
Xinhua via COMTEX – September 03, 2015
The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on Thursday called for specific steps to protect children who were caught in the current European refugee crisis. Also: Statement by UNICEF Executive Director Anthony Lake on the child migrant and refugee crisis in Europe (Press Release): http://www.bloomberg.com/research/markets/news/article.asp?docKey=600-201509031430CANADANWCANADAPR_C8304-1
http://www.individual.com/storyrss.php?story=209002048&hash=268fd8b6d597df9f8e7cd4a2b0af9db7
South Africa: ‘Foster care system in crisis’
Eye Witness News (South Africa) – September 04, 2015
The committee is currently holding hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill which seeks to broaden the definition of a child who needs foster care. But some non-governmental organisations say the proposed changes are problematic and will be difficult to implement because of a shortage of social workers as well as budgetary constraints.
http://ewn.co.za/2015/09/04/SAs-foster-care-system-is-in-crisis
AZ: Foster parent rule proposals raise concern
Associated Press – September 02, 2015
There are 600 pages of proposed rules for the state’s Department of Child Safety, and foster family advocates are saying not enough is being done to educate people about what may be changing.
http://www.trivalleycentral.com/casa_grande_dispatch/health_and_wellness/foster-parent-rule-proposals-raise-concern/article_39f2eb5e-5192-11e5-889d-b728d2bcfe9d.html
CA: Foster Care: There’s an App for That
Chronicle of Social Change – September 02, 2015
This summer, the Nathanson Family Resilience Center at UCLA launched the FOCUS on Foster Families app with the intent to foster connections in a system than can be isolating for the children, parents and professionals involved.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/foster-care-theres-an-app-for-that/12841
CA: Housing Shortage Drives Transition-Aged Foster Youth Across San Francisco County Line
Chronicle of Social Change – September 02, 2015
Despite a landmark state law that offers foster care benefits until age 21, San Francisco’s endemic housing crisis is contributing to a startling exodus of older foster youth.
http://bit.ly/1N2QhBW
CA: Lawmakers Approve Plan to Tackle Misuse of Psychiatric Meds
Youth Today – September 02, 2015
A sweeping package of laws to regulate the prescribing of powerful psychiatric medications to children and teens like Cortijo in the child-welfare system is heading to the governor’s desk in California – reforms that are already being eyed as possible federal legislation. Information Gateway Resource: Use of Psychotropic Medications: Research and Reports: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/mentalhealth/effectiveness/psychotropic/reports/
http://youthtoday.org/2015/09/california-lawmakers-approve-plan-to-tackle-misuse-of-psychiatric-meds/
CA: 1 step forward, 1 step back in medication reform for foster children
California Healthline – August 27, 2015
For many people who have been advocating for major reform to substantively change the way psychotropic medications are prescribed to foster kids in California, though, the incremental progress made so far has been troubling.
http://www.californiahealthline.org/insight/2015/one-step-forward-one-step-back-in-medication-reform-for-foster-children
DE: Delaware book drive gives hope to incarcerated parents and their families
Newsworks – September 02, 2015
The Hope Commission, an organization dedicated to helping incarcerated individuals reintegrate into the community, has started a book drive to help children and their incarcerated parents reconnect, and also encourage incarcerated individuals to reconnect with the community upon release.
http://www.newsworks.org/index.php/local/delaware/85809-delaware-book-drives-gives-hope-to-incarcerated-parents-and-their-families
FL: Reform still needed in child-welfare cases (Opinion)
Orlando Sentinel – September 02, 2015
The reforms also called for more transparency into child deaths, including a database on the department’s website. But some of the most basic faults in the system still haven’t been addressed.
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-dcf-reforms-beth-kassab-20150902-column.html
KS: Pumpic Launches Online Learning Center for Parents (Press Release)
Newswire.com – September 02, 2015
Pumpic, the developer of mobile monitoring software for parental control and child protection has launched its online Learning Center to teach parents how to keep kids safe on the Internet.
http://investor.wallstreetselect.com/wss/news/read?GUID=30556407
MD: Maryland court rules no visitation rights to same-sex partner’s child
Jurist – September 02, 2015
The Maryland Court of Special Appeals on Wednesday published a ruling [opinion, PDF] holding that a lesbian woman has no visitation or custody rights to a boy given birth by her partner before they were married.
http://jurist.org/paperchase/2015/09/maryland-court-rules-no-visitation-rights-to-same-sex-partners-child.php
MI: Registry protects children from adult-oriented messages
C & G News – September 02, 2015
The state is working to get the word out about a program that works much like the well-known Do Not Call Registry to protect children from adult-oriented messages via electronic devices.
http://www.candgnews.com/news/registry-protects-children-adult-oriented-messages-85916
MT: Montana insists it can’t release child death information
Associated Press – September 02, 2015
Montana child welfare officials have reiterated their position that state law prohibits disclosure of information about child abuse deaths despite a warning from the federal government that continued secrecy could jeopardize grant money.
http://wspa.com/ap/montana-insists-it-cant-release-child-death-information/
OH: Becoming a Foster Parent in Ohio
Cincinnati Parent – September 02, 2015
14,000 Ohio children currently live in foster care. Foster kids are often transient, moving from temporary home to temporary home after experiencing neglect, abuse or simple bad luck. Many will age out of the foster care system before they ever find a permanent home.
http://cincinnatiparent.com/becoming-a-foster-parent-in-ohio/
PA: Dauphin County child agency announces changes, improvements following tragedy (Includes video)
WHTM – September 02, 2015
After the tragedy of Jarrod Tutko Jr., issues arose with the agency tasked to prevent such abuse. A year later, Dauphin County Children and Youth Services announced improvements and new standards of operation. Also: Children & Youth Services addressing deficiencies, Dauphin County commissioners told: http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/09/children_youth_services_addres.html
http://abc27.com/2015/09/02/dauphin-county-child-agency-announces-changes-improvements-following-tragedy/
TX: Gatesville attorney named judge of new specialty CPS court
Waco Tribune-Herald – September 02, 2015
A Gatesville attorney with broad experience in family law and cases involving neglected and abused children has been appointed to preside over a new court created solely to handle Child Protective Services cases.
http://www.wacotrib.com/news/courts_and_trials/gatesville-attorney-named-judge-of-new-specialty-cps-court/article_d6981054-9413-58f5-894c-390483383678.html
TX: Rep. John Otto receives CASA’s 2015 Big Voices for Little Texans award
Dayton News – September 02, 2015
Besides CASA Liberty/Chambers Counties Executive Director Debbie Dugger, CASA’s CEO Vicki Spriggs and Director of Public Affairs Andrew Homer were on hand to present Otto with the 2015 Big Voices for Little Texans award recognizing Otto for his “outstanding leadership and dedication to improving the child protection system” during the 84th Legislative Session.
http://www.yourhoustonnews.com/dayton/news/rep-john-otto-receives-casa-s-big-voices-for-little/article_5a22ef8e-d9a7-501d-a8e6-07875d78b555.html
US: Stories of Mexican mothers having babies in U.S. are complex, Texas doctors say
Los Angeles Times – September 03, 2015
The mother arrived at the hospital last week in need of an emergency caesarean section, saying she had crossed the border to run an errand in town, not so her baby would be born an American citizen.
http://www.latimes.com/nation/immigration/la-na-texas-anchor-babies-20150903-story.html
US: Closed Adoption Is on its Last Legs So Here’s What We Must Do (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 02, 2015
Release of a new memoir, God and Jetfire: Confessions of a Birth Mother, has brought up many opinions on the success or failure of open adoption. (You don’t have to be familiar with the book to read this post.)
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/lori-holden-/why-closed-adoption-is-on_b_8059664.html
US: From the Expat Blog: Help for Expatriates Adopting a Child Overseas
Wall Street Journal – September 02, 2015
Adopting a child while living abroad involves particular challenges, from the logistical to the emotional. Legal requirements will vary depending on factors like the parents’ nationality, where they reside and which country they will be adopting from.
http://www.wsj.com/articles/from-the-expat-blog-help-for-expatriates-adopting-a-child-overseas-1441222560
US: Hillary Clinton unveils $10 billion plan to fight substance abuse
Yahoo! News – September 02, 2015
Clinton outlined the key goals of her proposed strategy, which include increased local drug prevention efforts for teens and expanded access to drug treatment for all addicts, including those charged with nonviolent or low-level drug offenses.
https://www.yahoo.com/politics/hillary-clinton-unveils-10-billion-plan-to-fight-128201729971.html
US: Marissa Mayer, please take your full maternity leave (Opinion)
CNBC – September 02, 2015
Even as I wish Mayer and her family the best, my heart is with all the other mothers in this country who also went back to work within two or three weeks–most of them not by choice. According to data analyzed from a Department of Labor survey by Abt Associates, an astounding 1 in 4 women in the U.S. return to work in that period of time–with disastrous consequences for their own health, breastfeeding and the well-being of their infants.
http://www.cnbc.com/2015/09/02/marissa-mayers-maternity-plan-sends-wrong-message-commentary.html
US: The number of child abuse cases in the military hits a decade high
Washington Post – September 02, 2015
Confirmed cases of abuse and neglect of military children increased markedly in 2014, Defense Department data showed on Wednesday, prompting concerns among Pentagon about efforts to safeguard the nation’s over 1 million military children.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2015/09/02/the-number-of-child-abuse-cases-in-the-military-hits-a-decade-high/
US: The Perversion of American Birth Certificates (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 02, 2015
Amended BCs were created to legalize the façade that adoption was “the same as if” having a child born to you. Because they do not indicate any alteration has been made, many people grew into adults never knowing they were adopted giving false medical history to their health professionals and causing feelings of betrayal upon discovery.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/the-perversion-of-america_b_8073128.html
US: What the Media Doesn’t Tell You About Foster Parents Like Me (Opinion)
Huffington Post – September 02, 2015
As anyone who has worked with foster children will tell you, most foster children face an enormous amount of emotional issues, many times stemming from the lack of healthy love.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-degarmo/foster-parents_b_8066912.html
US: ‘Three Little Words’ A Must-Read for Child Welfare Professionals
Chronicle of Social Change – August 25, 2015
I just discovered this book, which is surprisingly classified as Young Adult. But Three Little Words should be required reading for any child welfare professional. Ashley’s story illustrates some ways that things have improved and some ways they haven’t, and casts light on debates that are still raging.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/three-little-words-must-read-child-welfare-professionals/12350
US: Could This Simple Financial Device Be Key to Launching Low-Income Kids to the Middle Class?
Chronicle of Social Change – August 25, 2015
Why should every child start saving by at least five years old? Lots of reasons, but if you want to go straight to the data, then here it is: because it makes you more likely to go to and complete college. In other words, it gets kids on board and buying into their own financial and educational future as early as possible.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/simple-financial-device-key-launching-low-income-kids-middle-class/12440
INTERNATIONAL
Canada: Langley university helps foster kids succeed
Langley Advance – September 02, 2015
Children who grew up in government care are getting some extra help to succeed in post-secondary school.
http://www.langleyadvance.com/news/323995091.html
Congo: US Pushes Congo to Allow Adoptions Despite Trafficking Fears
JakartaGlobe – August 05, 2015
Legislators in the United States are lobbying the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo to give 400 adopted children exit visas, after it suspended international adoptions because of fears children were being trafficked.
http://jakartaglobe.beritasatu.com/international/us-pushes-congo-allow-adoptions-despite-trafficking-fears/
Mexico: Mexico won’t prosecute adoptive parents who paid for kids
Associated Press – September 03, 2015
The chief prosecutor in the Mexican border state of Sonora has decided to drop charges against adoptive parents who paid a former official for babies taken from poor or drug-addicted mothers.
http://news.yahoo.com/mexico-wont-prosecute-adoptive-parents-paid-kids-022615826.html
Philippines: Too many unwanted kids in PH, Grace Poe laments
Inquirer.net – September 03, 2015
With still too many unwanted children in the country, Sen. Grace Poe on Wednesday pushed for a more streamlined adoption process in order to give these children a better chance to live full and productive lives.
http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/718826/too-many-unwanted-kids-in-ph-grace-laments
AZ: Neglected children need advocates
Payson Roundup – September 01, 2015
Neglect is the No. 1 reason that 17,810 children are under state care in Arizona as of April 30, 2015. Eighty percent of those children are living in a licensed foster home or in kinship care.
http://www.paysonroundup.com/news/2015/sep/01/neglected-children-need-advocates/
CA: Truancy court works to keep children in school
Inside Bay Area News – September 01, 2015
The program, entering its 11th year, uses a carrot-before-the-stick approach when it comes to habitually absent students.
http://www.insidebayarea.com/breaking-news/ci_28739752/truancy-court-works-keep-children-school
MA: Reports of child abuse, neglect in state rose last year.
Statehouse News Service – September 01, 2015
Reports of abuse and neglect of children in Massachusetts rose in 2014, according to an annual report released Tuesday, which documents the deaths of 40 children receiving state services last year. Report: http://www.mass.gov/childadvocate/docs/annualreport2015.pdf
http://www.lowellsun.com/breakingnews/ci_28738353/reports-child-abuse-neglect-mass-rose-last-year
MN: Child abuse risk rises when parent enters new relationship (Includes video)
KARE 11 – September 01, 2015
Family Enhancement Center executive director Libby Bergman, who is also a member of the Hennepin County child abuse prevention advisory team, says a biological connection to a child often protects them from abuse. “And also being around when that child was first born so you can create that bond with a child,” Bergman said. “Often they are stepping into a situation where a child’s behavior — they don’t understand them or have tools to manage a child’s behavior.”
http://www.kare11.com/story/news/2015/09/01/risks–child-abuse-rise-when-parents-enter-new-relationship/71544260/
MS: Hurricane Katrina leaves impact on coastal foster care
Clarion-Ledger – September 01, 2015
Before Hurricane Katrina, the county averaged about 90 children in custody on average, Latham said, but the storm turned demographics upside down.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2015/09/01/hurricane-katrina-leaves-impact-coastal-foster-care/71558112/
NY: EDITORIAL: Girl’s interests must come before CPS push for secrecy
Glenn Falls Post-Star – September 02, 2015
The people at CPS want the court case conducted in closed session so badly they are willing to put the girl’s placement on hold while they fight the decision to keep the case in open court.
http://poststar.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-girl-s-interests-must-come-before-cps-push-for/article_a7ceda21-33e6-5ff5-9ebf-87bec8d8205b.html
NY: County putting CPS workers in suburban schools
Buffalo News – September 01, 2015
A new partnership aims to bring Erie County Child Protective Services workers into the county’s 28 suburban school districts one or two days a week.
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/erie-county/county-putting-cps-workers-in-suburban-schools-20150901
PA: Child welfare caseworker facing child pornography charges
Associated Press – September 02, 2015
A Pennsylvania child welfare caseworker is under arrest after police say they turned up more than 800 child pornography images on his home computer.
http://www.njherald.com/story/29941026/child-welfare-caseworker-facing-child-pornography-charges
RI: Authorities investigate DCYF finances
NBC 10 News – September 01, 2015
The Rhode Island State Police has been called to examine potential financial issues at the Department of Children, Youth and Families.
http://www.turnto10.com/story/29937736/authorities-investigate-dcyf-finances
TX: County’s first child protection judge sworn in
San Angelo Times – September 01, 2015
Gary L. Banks was sworn in as the first associate judge of the Child Protection Court for the Concho Valley on Tuesday. Banks presides over child protection suits filed by the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services for Concho, Runnels and Tom Green counties.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local-news/countys-first-child-protection-judge-sworn-in_93574609
TX: New residential youth home comes to North Lawndale
Austin Weekly News – September 01, 2015
This week, 65 youths will move into the newly built Uhlich Child Advocate Network (UCAN) Therapeutic Youth Home in North Lawndale as part of a plan by the nonprofit to relocate its North Side campus to the West Side.
http://www.austinweeklynews.com/News/Articles/9-1-2015/New-residential-youth-home-comes-to-North-Lawndale/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_campaign=RSS
US: Will: Law puts children’s race before their needs (Opinion)
Washington Post – September 02, 2015
The 1978 act’s advocates say it is not about race but about the rights of sovereign tribes, as though that distinction is meaningful. The act empowers tribes to abort adoption proceedings or take children from foster homes, solely because the children have even a minuscule quantum of American Indian blood. Although this act is supposedly not about race.
http://hamptonroads.com/2015/09/will-law-puts-childrens-race-their-needs
US: Boarding schools: A black hole of Native American history
National Catholic Reporter – September 01, 2015
Like many in Cheyenne River, and throughout Indian Country, Hollow Horn attended an American Indian boarding school. Boarding schools were government and church-run educational facilities that openly sought to Westernize and Christianize Native American children — an experience that facilitated a direct continuation of the logic brought by the Doctrine of Discovery. Information Gateway resource: Historical, Cultural, and Political Background: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/americanindian/historical/
http://ncronline.org/news/peace-justice/boarding-schools-black-hole-native-american-history
US: Report looks at implications of religious exemption laws
Windy City Times – September 01, 2015
The Movement Advancement Project ( MAP ) today released a new report examining how state and federal religious exemption laws-which expand the ways in which people and organizations can be exempt from laws and regulations that conflict with their religious beliefs-are being used to harm a broad range of people, interfere with law enforcement, and undermine the rule of law. Report: http://www.lgbtmap.org/file/policy-spotlight-report-RFRA.pdf
http://www.windycitymediagroup.com/lgbt/Report-looks-at-implications-of-religious-exemption-laws/52639.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Child Welfare Campaigners Say There’s No One Left To Provide Independent Oversight On Nauru
Buzz Feed – September 01, 2015
Child welfare campaigners say there’s no one left to provide independent oversight of the conditions in detention camps. Report: http://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Senate/Regional_processing_Nauru/Regional_processing_Nauru/Final_Report
http://www.buzzfeed.com/alexlee/transfield-takes-welfare-services-on-nauru?utm_term=4ldqpia#.kp0mY5P86
Mexico: 8 pay-for-adoption parents arrested in scandal
Associated Press – September 01, 2015
Authorities revealed last week that a child welfare official in Sonora took at least nine babies from poor or drug-addicted mothers and offered them in adoption with false paperwork for between $5,000 to $9,000.
http://wkrg.com/ap/8-pay-for-adoption-parents-arrested-in-mexico-scandal/
United Arab Emirates: Family first line of defense in child protection: MoI
Emirates 24/7 – September 01, 2015
The role of the family is to act as the first line of defense in protecting children from any exposure to risks, said Colonel Mubarak bin Muhairom, General Director of Community Protection and Crime Prevention at the General Secretariat of the Office of H.H Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior.
http://www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/family-first-line-of-defense-in-child-protection-moi-2015-09-01-1.602014
United Kingdom: Social workers ‘pressured’ to downgrade child protection cases as referrals surge
Community Care – September 02, 2015
Survey of more than 1,000 children’s social workers finds almost half have been pressured to reclassify child protection cases to a lower level of intervention.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2015/09/02/social-workers-pressured-downgrade-child-protection-cases-referrals-surge/
AZ: Arizona foster parents want info on rule changes
Arizona Daily Star – August 31, 2015
Arizona wants feedback on the nearly 600 pages of rules that will govern its new child welfare agency — but many of those affected say they didn’t know their opinions were sought and they don’t understand what’s changing under the new system.
http://tucson.com/news/local/arizona-foster-parents-want-info-on-rule-changes/article_4081c6eb-1385-544f-9c00-6b515137c14d.html
CA: While Counties Delay Mental Health Services, Out-of-County Foster Youth Languish
Chronicle of Social Change – August 31, 2015
Long delays for mental health support are a common experience for the more than 12,500 foster youth who are placed out of county in California.
http://bit.ly/1O49WQo
CA: With Mental Health, Calif. Child Welfare Systems Must Learn from the Best (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – August 31, 2015
As policy makers and advocates work to improve California’s system of crisis services for children and their families, it is worth considering lessons learned from implementing the settlement agreement for Katie A v Bonta, a landmark case in the state involving mental health guarantees for children who are in, or at risk of entering, foster care.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/analysis/calif-child-welfare-systems-must-learn-best/12698
GA: Churches form partnership to recruit, help foster parents
Gainesville Times – August 30, 2015
After months of planning, seven churches from six different denominations will band together in the search and support of foster care parents in the region. Information Gateway Resource: Working With Faith-Based Communities: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/faith-based/
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/111774/
ID: State Supreme Court Rules Survivors of Boy Scout and Mormon Sexual Abuse May Proceed with Lawsuit
Clearwater Tribune – August 31, 2015
The Idaho Supreme Court ruled last Thursday that 16 men who filed a child sex abuse lawsuit against the Boy Scouts of America and the Mormon Church can proceed with their claims.
http://www.clearwatertribune.com/news/online_only_news/idaho-supreme-court-rules-survivors-of-boy-scout-and-mormon/article_45674bbe-5035-11e5-83c1-674476584a73.html
LA: When Louisiana lost its foster children
PBS News Hour – August 29, 2015
Two days before Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the Gulf Coast, Herman Clayton packed his two kids and four foster children into a van and fled New Orleans, heading north to Shreveport. Seventeen hours later, Sonia Cooper, a child welfare worker, filled two vans with 15 children, nine of them foster kids, and drove west toward Houston.
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/updates/katrina-foster-kids/
NM: Foster care advocates get new wings (Includes video)
KOBTV NBC News – August 29, 2015
Thanks to a new partnership between New Mexico Kids Matter, the Child Youth and Families Department and Angel Flight introduced Saturday at the Double Eagle Airport, foster kids have better access to guardians.
http://www.kob.com/article/stories/S3892400.shtml?cat=500#.VeT0O5eE3_Y
SC: Give DSS the money needed to fix problems (Opinion)
Rock Hill Herald – August 29, 2015
Susan Alford, director of the S.C. Department of Social Services, told a state Senate panel Monday that it will take a lot more money to fix the agency’s many problems. With the welfare of hundreds of children at stake, the Legislature needs to give her the money she needs to repair what amounts to a broken agency.
http://www.heraldonline.com/opinion/article32747232.html
TN: Child advocacy center adds Shelbyville branch
Times-Gazette – August 30, 2015
Junior’s House Inc., a child advocacy center based in Fayetteville but serving Lincoln, Marshall, Moore and Bedford counties, is about to open a satellite location in Shelbyville, and has scheduled a concert Oct. 15 at Shelbyville Central High School with country singer, author and former foster child Jimmy Wayne
http://www.t-g.com/story/2226430.html
TX: Foster Child Protection (Includes video)
KAUZ-TV – August 31, 2015
Previously, the Ombudsman Office within Texas Child Protective Services handled claims of child abuse and neglect, but many former foster youth highlighted the challenges that office faced.
http://www.newschannel6now.com/story/29927259/foster-child-protection
US: Congress moves toward an overhaul of US foster-care system
Washington Post – August 31, 2015
The federal government has long chipped in for foster care for children whose parents are abusing or neglecting them. But some advocates for children say the money would be better spent helping children’s biological parents take care of them properly.
http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20150831/congress-moves-toward-an-overhaul-of-us-foster-care-system
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Mike Baird is on a winner with social impact investing (Opinion)
The Age – September 01, 2015
In the pioneering project Newpin run by Uniting Care Australia in NSW, parents of children at risk under five participate in an intensive educational and therapeutic program aimed at breaking the cycle of intergenerational neglect and abuse. The program has restored 66 children who would otherwise be in foster care to their families.
http://www.theage.com.au/comment/smh-editorial/mike-baird-is-on-a-winner-with-social-impact-investing-20150901-gjcq4f.html
Australia: The Advertiser Editorial September 1: Child abuse notifiers must get answers
The Advertiser – September 01, 2015
OF all the damning statistics we have seen about the operation of the state’s child protection agency, the revelation that half of the calls reporting suspected abuse or neglect are going unanswered is the most alarming.
http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/opinion/the-advertiser-editorial-september-1-child-abuse-notifiers-must-get-answers/story-fni6unxq-1227506713801
Canada: Nearly 70 foster children placed in Sask. hotels due to spike in caseload (Includes video)
CTV News – August 31, 2015
Nearly 70 foster children in Saskatchewan have been housed in hotels over the past two months – a number the province’s opposition party says is unacceptable. “We are shocked and frustrated that the government mislead the public,” NDP Social Services Critic David Forbes said Monday.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/nearly-70-foster-children-placed-in-sask-hotels-due-to-spike-in-caseload-1.2542079
Pakistan: Child abuse in Pakistan (Opinion)
Daily Times – September 01, 2015
In Pakistan, women and children are the most vulnerable beings. The recent child abuse scandal of Kasur is a landmark example of their vulnerability in Pakistan. The incident has been observed by human rights groups worldwide, which have expressed their concerns and sympathy to the affected children and women.
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/opinion/01-Sep-2015/child-abuse-in-pakistan
Philippines: DOJ issues 13-page advisory against online child abuse
Newsbytes – September 01, 2015
The Department of Justice Office of Cybercrime (OOC) issued on Tuesday, Sept. 1, its 13-page advisory warning Internet users of the problem of online child abuse. The Advisory: http://doj.gov.ph/files/cybercrime_office/Advisory%20on%20Online%20Child%20Abuse.pdf
http://newsbytes.ph/2015/09/01/doj-issues-13-page-advisory-against-online-child-abuse/
AZ: Carlow brings hope to combat suicide
Native Sun News – August 31, 2015
Under the Garrett Lee Smith State-Tribal Youth Suicide Prevention program SAMHSA supports implementation of statewide or tribal youth suicide prevention and early intervention strategies. Grants support public-private collaboration among youth-serving institutions, schools, juvenile justice systems, foster care systems, substance abuse and mental health programs, and other child and youth supporting organizations.
http://www.indianz.com/News/2015/018719.asp
CA: Funding sought for mentally ill youth transitional living facility
Chico Enterprise Record – August 28, 2015
The program coordinator of Stairways Empowered Living is “chasing funding” for a youth facility that offers transitional housing, programming and health services for those with mental illness, through a partnership with a local youth organization.
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20150828/funding-sought-for-mentally-ill-youth-transitional-living-facility
CA: The Price of a Placement: Recruiting Foster Families in San Francisco’s Million-Dollar Market
Chronicle of Social Change – August 26, 2015
Los Angeles County’s aim to place foster children in homes within their own communities is often thwarted by the stark reality that those communities lack sufficient foster beds.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/county-ca-price-placement-recruiting-foster-families-san-franciscos-million-dollar-market/12649
CO: & UT: Father’s 7-year fight for child adopted in Utah without his consent moves forward
Deseret News – August 28, 2015
The biological father of a child who, as a newborn, was placed for adoption in Utah without his knowledge or consent has another opportunity to seek custody of his daughter under a new Colorado Court of Appeals decision.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865635616/Fathers-7-year-fight-for-child-adopted-in-Utah-without-his-consent-moves-forward.html
GA: State of emergency: Shortage of foster homes leads to separated siblings, moving far from home
Calhoun Times – August 30, 2015
Georgia is in a “state of emergency” when it comes to foster care, and Floyd County was ranked the fifth highest county per capita for children removed from their homes, according to DFCS officials and a report from Georgia Child Welfare Measures.
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/state-of-emergency-shortage-of-foster-homes-leads-to-separated/article_485e34c2-4edc-11e5-bf52-6f023a9a80c6.html
HI: One-Stop Center to Help Micronesians Opens in Hawaii
Honolulu Civil Beat – August 28, 2015
The one-stop center is run by We Are Oceania (WAO), which advocates for Pacific Islanders from the Micronesia region living and working in Hawaii. The Micronesian population in Hawaii, which hails from Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and other islands, is estimated to total between 15,000 and 17,000 people.
http://www.civilbeat.com/2015/08/one-stop-center-to-help-micronesians-opens-in-hawaii/
HI: Kakaako: Homelessness is Complicated. But is This The Best We Can Do?
Huffington Post – August 27, 2015
We know they need social services, child welfare assistance, collaboration with the schools and volunteer services. We also know that the long-term economic gain comes when we solve this problem, mainstream these people, get them on their feet.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/powell-berger/kakaako-homelessness-is-c_b_8052194.html
IL: CASA Kane County expands services to young adults leaving foster care (May require registration)
Chicago Tribune – August 28, 2015
The nonprofit serves 100 percent of the children in both the abuse/neglect and probate courts within the 16th Judicial Court system, providing advocates who work for the best interest of abused and neglected children, the release said. It is expanding its transitional youth program by offering advocates training and more services and by collaborating with agencies and other community donors to help young adults leaving the foster care system.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/suburbs/elgin-courier-news/news/ct-ecn-casa-older-kids-st-0830-20150828-story.html
IL: Photographer Putting Faces To Illinois Foster Kids (Includes video)
CBS Chicago – August 25, 2015
The founder of the site, photographer Susan McConnell, hopes it will put focus on an often overlooked form of adoption. “Everyone knows about the other two types of adoption, you can adopt an infant from an agency and you can adopt from overseas, but no one knows about the third type of adoption, which is adoption from foster care,” McConnell says.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2015/08/25/photographer-putting-faces-to-illinois-foster-kids/
KS: More parents want to sue DCF (Includes video)
KAKE – August 28, 2015
KAKE News reported Thursday that concerned community members want to file a class action lawsuit against the Department for Children and Families. They’re accusing the agency of taking kids from their homes without cause and placing them in abusive foster homes. Now other parents are joining the cause and sharing their experiences.
http://www.kake.com/home/headlines/323176171.html
KY: Fund solutions — not failure — when it comes to foster care (Includes video)
WDRB – August 28, 2015
Each year, the federal government spends around $4.4 billion to maintain the foster care program, yet very little of that is allocated to services helping prevent the need for foster care.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29910096/shipley-fund-solutions-not-failure-when-it-comes-to-foster-care
MA: Court stresses rights of adoptees in contested cases
Boston Globe – August 27, 2015
The chief justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has ordered that all pending private adoption cases be reviewed to ensure that children at the center of those disputes have attorneys appointed to represent their interests.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/26/probate-chief-orders-review-adoption-cases/9eVmVDElOTlROonUSn6KnO/story.html
MS: Plaintiffs seek to block state ban on gay couples adopting
Associated Press – August 28, 2015
Four lesbian couples are asking a federal judge to immediately stop Mississippi from enforcing a law that bans same-sex couples from adopting or taking children into foster care.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2015/aug/28/plaintiffs-seek-to-block-miss-ban-on-gay-couples-a/
NC: Tribe moving along with child welfare system
Cherokee One Feather – August 27, 2015
Principal Chief Michell Hicks signed a Title IV-E Pre-Print, which is a document containing plans and policies for the Tribe’s new child welfare system, in his office on Monday, Aug. 24. The pre-print is a deliverable submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families — Children’s Bureau (US DHHS ACF-CB) for their review and approval.
http://theonefeather.com/2015/08/tribe-moving-along-with-child-welfare-system/
NE: Program supporting at-risk youths to go statewide
Associated Press – August 28, 2015
An innovative program for at-risk youths has won a grant that will allow it expand across Nebraska and serve a larger variety of struggling kids.
http://columbustelegram.com/news/state-and-regional/program-supporting-at-risk-youths-to-go-statewide/article_946ce5a2-f7a0-5d45-986a-d5515f105a42.html
NV: Gun-owning foster parents to fight DFS removal of kids (Includes video)
News 3 Las Vegas – August 29, 2015
The agency told the Bebers in documents that “the incident did not describe an adult exercising sound judgment.” And it cited a law that forbids any foster parent from having a loaded firearm in their home, regardless of the situation.
http://www.news3lv.com/content/news/local/story/las-vegas-beber-Department-Family-Services-guns/FDDKXJRlAUu408VrhSVh8w.cspx
NY: CPS wants abuse case kept secret
Post Star – August 28, 2015
A child’s chance of getting out of foster care has been delayed by efforts of Warren County Child Protective Services to keep secret a case in which they allowed a heroin addict to care for an unrelated child.
http://poststar.com/news/local/cps-wants-abuse-case-kept-secret/article_72da793a-c0a8-58b4-9167-c4cb36f98dd0.html
OK: Aging out of DHS system increases risk of homelessness
NewsOK – August 31, 2015
Jennifer Boyer, programs supervisor for DHS’ Oklahoma Independent Living program, said the agency has some programs designed to ease the transition for those who age out of the state’s child welfare system into independence, but “we just don’t have enough.”
http://newsok.com/aging-out-of-dhs-system-increases-risk-of-homelessness/article/5443461?custom_click=rss
OR: Bikers take stand against child abuse
East Oregonian – August 31, 2015
Black Jack said sometimes children just need to know someone is there for them after suffering abuse. Local bikers have been known to respond to a 2 a.m. call to stand guard outside the house of a child who is scared their abuser is coming back for them.
http://www.eastoregonian.com/eo/local-news/20150830/bikers-take-stand-against-child-abuse
PA: Child fatality, near-fatality reports chief among corrected data in child abuse report
Penn Live – August 28, 2015
The state Department of Human Services published its revised 2014 annual child abuse report on Thursday, after removing the information from its website in July to correct errors in the initial data. The initial report already had been published months past the deadline outlined in state law.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/08/2014_pennsylvania_annual_child.html
PA: The budget impasse impacting children in foster care (Includes video)
WHP CBS 21 – August 28, 2015
Foster parent Sherri Mueller of Halifax learned this week that her foster care reimbursements are stopping until the state passes a new budget. The state has been working without a budget since July 1.
http://www.local21news.com/news/features/top-stories/stories/The-budget-impasse-impacting-children-in-foster-care-192281.shtml
TX: Law to shelter child sex trafficking victims could strain resources (Includes video)
KXAN – August 30, 2015
A new Texas law aimed at better protecting child survivors of human sex trafficking could strain the network of existing shelter facilities designed to help other young victims of abuse and neglect, advocates for child protection tell KXAN.
http://kxan.com/investigative-story/law-to-shelter-child-sex-trafficking-victims-could-strain-resources/
VA: New head of juvenile center looks to future
Culpepper Star Exponent – August 30, 2015
Roessler grew up in New Jersey and Maine before attending the University of Maine. She then received a master’s degree in social work from Virginia Commonwealth University. Roessler has been in the social work field since 1995 and much of her career has focused on children and their families, as well as adolescents in foster care. “I kind of fell into [social work], but in general I’ve always enjoyed being helpful and supportive of people, knowing I’ve had some level of impact in their life,” Roessler said. “Once I started, I was hooked. It’s nice to see change and be a part of that change. I enjoy that. For all of the difficult moments, you get to see a lot of good things happen and that?s what keeps me sticking around.”
http://www.dailyprogress.com/starexponent/new-head-of-juvenile-center-looks-to-future/article_4110462a-4f76-11e5-8438-b3bbe9ab3df4.html
US: ‘Orphan hosting’ boosts adoption odds by bringing children to U.S. to visit families
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel – August 30, 2015
Critics of hosting programs favor domestic adoption programs within a child’s own country. They question the emotional effect on children who are hosted, but ultimately never adopted. And while some families have great experiences adopting through hosting, others can feel like hosting was a honeymoon compared to the reality of parenting full time when the adoption is finalized.
http://www.jsonline.com/news/wisconsin/orphan-hosting-promotes-adoptions-by-bringing-children-to-us-to-visit-families-b99561651z1-323374441.html
US: How Two Women Fell In Love And Created Safer Spaces For LGBT Youth
Huffington Post – August 28, 2015
One class in particular, “Creating Safe Space for LGBTQ Youth,” served to sharpen their parenting aspirations. This is a state-mandated course for families wishing to foster children. The class convinced them that they were even more desperately needed than they thought, because the other parents-to-be in attendance were stunningly uneducated and startling frank with questions regarding how to “fix” gay children they might adopt.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/how-two-women-fell-in-love-and-created-safer-spaces-for-lgbt-youth_55dba9c9e4b08cd3359d169d
US: Unreported past child maltreatment may contaminate research results
Medical Press – August 28, 2015
Researchers may unknowingly be overlooking a critical factor that could aid in more consistent results in studies involving child abuse. Penn State Network on Child Protection and Well-Being faculty member Chad Shenk is opening the door to more precise results in the realm of child abuse and maltreatment and is hoping to use his findings to strengthen the research process as a whole.
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2015-08-unreported-child-maltreatment-contaminate-results.html
KY: Abuse and neglect cases rising in Kentucky’s ‘fractured’ foster care system (Includes video)
WDRB – August 27, 2015
As longtime foster parents, Louisville residents Debbie and Roger Lance know better than most the intricacies of navigating Kentucky’s foster care program.
http://www.wdrb.com/story/29893106/abuse-and-neglect-cases-rising-in-kentuckys-fractured-foster-care-system
MA: Family court orders review of some private adoptions in Massachusetts (Includes video)
Fox 25 – August 27, 2015
Private adoption cases are now under review after an order from a Massachusetts judge. The goal is to ensure kids’ rights to legal representation are not violated.
http://www.myfoxboston.com/story/29897616/family-court-orders-review-of-private-adoptions-in-massachusetts
MA: Law Prevents Braintree Family From Arranging Former Foster Child’s Funeral
CBS Boston – August 27, 2015
A Braintree foster family, which has cared for more than 100 children, has found themselves dealing with a legal loophole that is making it difficult for them to arrange a funeral for one of their foster kids.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2015/08/27/law-prevents-braintree-family-from-arranging-foster-childs-funeral/
NJ: Ocean City Resident Tabbed for State Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect
Ocean City Patch – August 27, 2015
A Cape May County Freeholder and Ocean City resident has been appointed as a public member to the New Jersey Task Force on Child Abuse and Neglect.
http://patch.com/new-jersey/oceancity/ocean-city-resident-tabbed-state-task-force-child-abuse-neglect
NY: Foster children in NYC and NJ receiving special surprises thanks to donations
WABC-TV – August 27, 2015
“Working with our clients to be able to give back to our local communities was a big part of this campaign,” said Mark Schlossberg with MilliCare by Premier Restoration. “To see the smiles on these kids’ faces after everything they go through makes it all worth it,” he adds.
http://abc7ny.com/society/foster-children-in-nyc-and-nj-receiving-special-surprises-thanks-to-donations/959407/
PA: Human service programs feel pinch during budget impasse
citizensvoice.com – August 28, 2015
“Without the state money to match, it’s not released because it can’t be,” Schwille said. “In effect, the entire $40 million for child welfare funding comes through the state.”
http://citizensvoice.com/news/human-service-programs-feel-pinch-during-budget-impasse-1.1933549
PA: Penn State offers new minor in Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies
Penn State News – August 27, 2015
This fall, Penn State students have the opportunity to delve deeper into the concentration of child protection with a new, intercollege minor in Child Maltreatment and Advocacy Studies (CMAS).
http://news.psu.edu/story/367179/2015/08/27/academics/penn-state-offers-new-minor-child-maltreatment-and-advocacy
PA: State reissues child abuse report weeks after inaccuracies reported
PennLive – August 27, 2015
The state Department of Human Services published its revised 2014 annual child abuse report on Thursday, weeks after pulling the original report to correct errors.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/08/pennsylvania_2014_child_abuse.html
SC: Safe Haven law offers options for babies, parents
Index Journal – August 28, 2015
Derek Kinney, Greenwood County EMS director, and Terry Strange, Greenwood Fire Department fire chief, have never seen a parent give up a child under South Carolina’s Safe Haven law at their respective places of work, but some people have gone to extreme measures to get rid of babies that are apparently unwanted, inconvenient, unexpected or even stillborn.
http://indexjournal.com/news/Safe-Haven-law-offers-options-for-babies–parents
TN: Cherokee hold tri-council meeting today at Red Clay
Times Free Press – August 28, 2015
“It’s been close to 170-something years since these three Cherokee tribes have gathered here,” Byrd said on Thursday. “What we’ll do at Red Clay is look at resolutions to find common ground to where we, as a unit of the three tribes, see if we can move issues forward like Indian Child Welfare, economic development, more sovereignty over the foods that are distributed to our people.”
http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/local/story/2015/aug/28/cherokee-hold-tri-council-meeting-today-red-c/322218/
TX: State Appoints Ombudsman For Foster Youth And Children (Includes video)
KWTX – August 27, 2015
The Texas Legislator last session passed Senate Bill 30 which created the position of ombudsman for children and youth in state care. The ombudsman will be a neutral, seprate party foster youth and children can issue complaints to and rely on for help navigating the child welfare system.
http://www.kwtx.com/home/headlines/State-Appoints-Ombudsman-For-Foster-Youth-And-Children-323178651.html
WV: Treatments for drug exposed infants and addicted mothers needs further study
Register-Herald – August 27, 2015
Those participating in a roundtable discussion with U.S. Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., Wednesday at Raleigh General Hospital agreed there needs to be comprehensive studies and a statewide consensus on best treatment practices for drug-exposed babies. Information Gateway resource: Responding to Substance-Exposed Newborns: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/substance/casework/res-sens/
http://www.register-herald.com/news/treatments-for-drug-exposed-infants-and-addicted-mothers-needs-further/article_a2177438-e4d4-57ca-a3b4-d562bd09f349.html
US: Juvenile Justice Reform Must Address the Unique Needs of LGBTQ Girls (Opinion)
Huffington Post – August 27, 2015
Far too many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) youth who encounter the juvenile justice system are placed in facilities that fail to address past experiences of trauma or where they are at risk for sexual violence. Juvenile justice initiatives often fail to include the unique challenges confronted by young LGBTQ women of color in their approaches, making issues associated with sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression invisible. Report: http://rights4girls.org/wp-content/uploads/r4g/2015/02/2015_COP_sexual-abuse_layout_web-1.pdf
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/hannah-hussey/juvenile-justice-reform-m_1_b_8050526.html
US: Same-sex couples sue for equal parenting rights
Wisconsin Gazette – August 27, 2015
Same-sex couples in some locales continue to fight for marriage licenses, despite the high court’s ruling. And in some states, married gay couples continue quests for equal treatment as parents, as well as equal treatment in the workplace, health care, education and accommodations.
http://www.wisconsingazette.com/lgbt/same-sex-couples-sue-for-equal-parenting-rights.html
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Children’s advocate welcomes ‘unprecedented’ child protection review
ABC News Australia – August 28, 2015
Children’s Commissioner Mark Morrissey has welcomed an “unprecedented” review of Tasmania’s child protection system, in the wake of a failure uncovered in the north-west.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-28/advocate-welcomes-unprecedented-child-protection-review/6731330
India: Child welfare police officers sensitised to POCSO Act
The Hindu – August 28, 2015
The workshop was organised by the Child Welfare Committee (CWC) and the city police to those police personnel who were nominated as Child Welfare Officers and those attached with the Anti Human Trafficking Unit.
http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Tiruchirapalli/child-welfare-police-officers-sensitised-to-pocso-act/article7588991.ece
Ireland: Foreign adoptions on the rise again, says report
Independent Irish News – August 28, 2015
The number of Irish who are successfully adopting a child from a foreign country is on the rise again, according to the annual report of the Adoption Authority.
http://www.independent.ie/irish-news/foreign-adoptions-on-the-rise-again-says-report-31484293.html
United Kingdom: How local councils can help prevent female genital mutilation
The Guardian – August 28, 2015
Female genital mutilation (FGM) is child abuse, a human rights violation and an extreme form of violence and discrimination against women and girls. It is illegal in the UK.
http://www.theguardian.com/public-leaders-network/2015/aug/28/councils-prevent-female-genital-mutilation-child-abuse
AR: Governor: Inspire others to action
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette – August 27, 2015
Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Wednesday that the two-day conference aimed at addressing problems with foster care and prisoner re-entry in Arkansas only marked a beginning. Information Gateway resource: Supporting Children and Families of Prisoners: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/supporting/support-services/prisoners/
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2015/aug/27/governor-inspire-others-to-action-20150/
CA: Out of County, CA: LA Kids Head East to Mrs. J’s House
The Chronicle of Social Change – August 26, 2015
Los Angeles County’s aim to place foster children in homes within their own communities is often thwarted by the stark reality that those communities lack sufficient foster beds.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/featured/county-ca-l-kids-head-east-mrs-js-house/12487
CO: Father seeking custody wins appeals case (Includes video)
KUSA – August 27, 2015
A father who has been fighting for custody of his daughter has gotten a big victory in the Colorado Court of Appeals. The court decided that Rob Manzanares, of New Mexico, should have full custody of his 7-year-old daughter who has been living with another family since she was illegally given up for adoption by her mother.
http://www.9news.com/story/life/moms/2015/08/27/rob-manzanares-custody-case/32468187/
CO: New plan aimed at protecting kids from child abuse
KUSA – August 26, 2015
Denver authorities held a press conference Wednesday announcing a plan that they’re calling a “child safety net” to protect kids from abuse situations. Also: Mayor: Major Changes To Child Abuse Reports After 3 Deaths In 18 Months: http://denver.cbslocal.com/2015/08/26/mayor-major-changes-to-child-abuse-reports-after-3-deaths-in-18-months/
http://www.9news.com/story/news/local/2015/08/26/denver-child-abuse-plans-prevention/32442059/
CO: Review team releases recommendations for Denver’s child-welfare system
Denver Post – August 26, 2015
A response team formed after the death of a 23-month-old boy released its first round of improvements to Denver’s child-welfare system on Wednesday.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28708730/review-team-releases-recommendations-denvers-child-welfare-system
FL: Adoption appeal seeks to address legal holes (Includes video)
NBC2 – August 26, 2015
An appeal has been made on an extremely rare adoption case in which a Collier County judge ruled a recently divorced man could “un-adopt” his stepson. In 2011, Bernard Sherman married Oksana Sherman, a Ukrainian native and permanent U.S. resident. Sherman agreed to adopt her son, Daniel, who was living in Ukraine at the time with family and was quickly brought to Florida.
http://www.nbc-2.com/story/29887313/adoption-appeal-seeks-to-address-legal-holes#.Vd6MtNzD-Wx
MA: Court stresses rights of adoptees in contested cases
Boston Globe – August 27, 2015
The chief justice of the Massachusetts Probate and Family Court has ordered that all pending, private adoption cases be reviewed to ensure that children at the center of those disputes have attorneys appointed to represent their interests.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/08/26/probate-chief-orders-review-adoption-cases/9eVmVDElOTlROonUSn6KnO/story.html
MN: John W. Eyster: A need for foster parents once more (Opinion)
The Gazette – August 26, 2015
The THUMBS DOWN item published by The Gazette this week remind us all that there is a lack of foster parents in Rock County. It reminds us that the need for foster parents is increasing.
http://www.gazettextra.com/20150826/john_w_eyster_a_need_for_foster_parents_once_more
MO: Schools work to place child-abuse hotline posters by Friday deadline
Southeast Missourian – August 27, 2015
Missouri school districts are working to post a child-abuse and neglect hotline number in every student restroom in light of new legislation recently signed into law by Gov. Jay Nixon.
http://www.semissourian.com/story/2225536.html
MT: Feds warn Montana it faces cutoff of child abuse prevention program funding
Associated Press – August 26, 2015
The federal government says it will strip Montana of a child abuse prevention grant if the state does not start providing the public with mandatory details about children who die from abuse and neglect. Also: Feds tell Montana to comply with disclosure rules or face loss of child abuse prevention aid: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/08/26/feds-tell-montana-to-comply-with-disclosure-rules-or-face-loss-child-abuse/
http://helenair.com/news/state-and-regional/feds-warns-montana-it-faces-cutoff-of-child-abuse-prevention/article_327978ad-a822-5658-9c8a-6167d54e8123.html
NE: $15 million investment expected for Nebraska youth leaving foster care (Includes video)
KETV – August 26, 2015
A first-of-its-kind federal investment in the future of Nebraska children aging out of foster care aims to replicate a model proven in Omaha and Lincoln.
http://www.ketv.com/news/15-million-investment-expected-for-nebraska-youth-leaving-foster-care/34939294
NJ: State Supreme Court rules immigrant children abused in home country
NJ Advance Media – August 26, 2015
Immigrant children who fled abuse and abandonment in their home countries need only to show that one parent had mistreated them in order for federal immigration authorities to consider granting them legal residency, the state Supreme Court said Wednesday. Also: N.J. Supreme Court Rules for Immigrant Children: http://www.courthousenews.com/2015/08/26/n-j-supreme-court-rules-for-immigrant-children.htm
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/08/nj_supreme_court_rules_immigrant_child.html
NY: Foster home shortage creates void for teens in Oswego County (Includes video)
WSYR-TV – August 26, 2015
A shortage of foster homes in Oswego county is forcing caseworkers to send some kids to foster homes, group homes, or residential facilities in other areas. Less than half of the teens in foster care in Oswego County have the option of staying in a home that’s close to their friends and family, according to the Department of Social Services.
http://www.localsyr.com/story/d/story/foster-home-shortage-creates-void-for-teens-in-osw/34011/v5IskJU9SkO7H2fwWePSmg
PA: Ceremony Wraps Up Backpack Challenge, Honors Achievements Of Children In Foster Care
CBS 3 – August 27, 2015
She, Aicha, and Troy attribute a lot of their success to the Achieving Independence Center, established by DHS, and run by Valley Youth House, to help foster youths make a successful transition to adulthood.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/08/27/backpack-challenge-foster-care/
PA: Mechanicsburg Area School Board reviews more changes to child abuse protection policies
PennLive – August 27, 2015
The Mechanicsburg Area School Board will change its policies on volunteers and child abuse again based on recent changes to state laws. The board had it first review of the policy changes Tuesday night and could approve them next month.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/08/mechanicsburg_area_school_boar_81.html
SC: Study: Human Trafficking More Prevalent Than We Think in SC (Includes video)
WLTX 19 – August 25, 2015
The study found that 20 percent of kidnapping and prostitution cases elements of human trafficking were present in the police reports. Dr. Mark Small is the lead researcher; he says, “This study although it has some limitations, certainly indicates that the problem needs to be looked at more seriously and studied more seriously. Its hard to figure out how to respond to a problem if you don’t know its magnitude and severity.” Study: http://www.scdps.gov/ohsjp/stats/SpecialReports/Human_Trafficking_Report_20150630_final.pdf
http://www.wltx.com/story/news/2015/08/25/study-finds-human-trafficking–more-prevalent-than-we-think–south-carolina/32350027/
TX: Barnett named senior VP for Buckner Children and Family Services (Press release)
Buckner International – August 26, 2015
Brad Barnett has been named Senior Vice President of Buckner Children and Family Services starting Sept. 1, according to Buckner International President and CEO Albert Reyes.
http://lufkindailynews.com/news/community/article_70a9be42-4c02-11e5-a1fe-5b3a672fdfd6.html
TX: Ex-Abilene schools superintendent gets probation in fraud, failure to report child abuse cases
Associated Press – August 26, 2015
A former West Texas educator must serve three years of probation for not immediately reporting alleged improper relationships between teachers and students.
http://www.dailyjournal.net/view/story/14b282017755408181bdd5472d0f98ad/TX–Abilene-Superintendent-Probation
VT: Trine Bech: Making the child protection system work (Opinion)
VTDigger – August 26, 2015
Vermont Parent Representation Center (VPRC) is a parent advocacy and support organization for families at risk of losing their children to state custody. For over five years we have been hearing the voices of parents and families and bringing these voices to the decision-making tables.
http://vtdigger.org/2015/08/26/trine-bech-making-the-child-protection-system-work/
US: Murky Justice Served in 1980s Child Sex Abuse Cases (Audio available later today)
WNYC – August 27, 2015
During the 1980s in over nine states, some 190 day care workers were formally charged with sexual crimes against the children they cared for. In We Believe the Children: A Moral Panic in the 1980s, Richard Beck argues that many of these day care workers may not have received fair trials. There was a decade-long outbreak of collective hysteria, and social workers and detectives employed coercive techniques when interviewing children that led to unwittingly false confessions.
http://www.wnyc.org/story/truth-behind-child-sex-abuse-cases-1980s/
US: Are Parents Disposable and Interchangeable? (Opinion)
Huffington Post – August 26, 2015
The high demand for newborn infants, coupled with the tens of thousands of dollars adopters are eager to pay, creates a climate in which mothers report being encouraged by adoption facilitators to claim fathers as “unknown” and lie to the fathers about their children. Often they are sent out-of-state to arrange adoptions surreptitiously. Many fathers are left in the dark until it is too late.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mirah-riben/are-parents-disposable-an_b_8044786.html
US: Ending Human Trafficking: Building a Better World and Partnerships for Sustainable Security and Human Dignity
US Department of State – August 26, 2015
Last month at the release of the U.S. Department of State?s 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report, Secretary of State John Kerry forcefully articulated the threat posed by human trafficking globally and encouraged all communities to end the scourge of modern slavery and fight back.
http://www.state.gov/j/inl/rls/rm/2015/246350.htm
US: Tribe moving along with child welfare system
Cherokee One Feather – August 26, 2015
Principal Chief Michell Hicks signed a Title IV-E Pre-Print, which is a document containing plans and policies for the Tribe’s new child welfare system, in his office on Monday, Aug. 24. The pre-print is a deliverable submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration of Children and Families – Children’s Bureau (US DHHS ACF-CB) for their review and approval.
http://theonefeather.com/2015/08/tribe-moving-along-with-child-welfare-system/
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Almost 300 Qld child abuse reports per day
news.com.au – August 27, 2015
Queensland’s government insists it is able to act upon the hundreds of reports of suspected child abuse that flood in every day. Ms Fentiman was also grilled about 644 reports of suspected child abuse from schools that never reached police and child protection agencies because of an IT malfunction with reporting system. Also, Backlog means potential child abuse cases still remain unchecked: http://www.adelaidenow.com.au/news/national/backlog-means-potential-child-abuse-cases-still-remain-unchecked/story-fnii5v6u-1227500980450
http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/almost-300-qld-child-abuse-reports-daily/story-e6frfku9-1227500984767
Australia: North-west child protection failures report finds office was operating ‘outside of normal procedure’
ABC News Australia – August 27, 2015
An urgent report into child protection services in Tasmania’s north-west has found the office was operating outside of normal procedure.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2015-08-27/north-west-child-protection-failures-report-released/6728068
Australia: Police anger over past handling of abuse
news.com.au – August 27, 2015
Youth centre staff treated children with a lack of respect which allowed systemic abuse to occur in a Victorian state-run facility, a former worker says.
http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/focus-on-police-response-to-child-abuse/story-e6frfku9-1227500495415
Canada: Alberta government will investigate all child welfare deaths (Includes video)
CTV News – August 26, 2015
Irfan Sabir, Minister of Human Services, says the province will commit to reviewing the death of every child who dies or is seriously injured in provincial care or while receiving protective services.
http://calgary.ctvnews.ca/alberta-government-will-investigate-all-child-welfare-deaths-1.2534932
International: Why does it take victims of child sex abuse so long to speak up?
The Conversation – August 26, 2015
These allegations of sexual abuse are “historical” in two ways. First, they pertain to incidents of abuse that are often decades old. Second, it is no exaggeration to say that these allegations are remaking history. These disclosures of abuse challenge our cultural memory and collective understandings of public figures. They tell a more complex and disturbing story than the version of history that we are most familiar with.
http://theconversation.com/why-does-it-take-victims-of-child-sex-abuse-so-long-to-speak-up-46412
AR: Foster families, caseworkers in short suppy
Arkansas Online – August 24, 2015
The state suffers a severe shortage of foster parents everywhere but Northwest Arkansas, a recent study showed. Having just enough, however, doesn’t guarantee a home for all the children who need one.
http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2015/aug/24/foster-families-caseworkers-in-short-su/?f=latest
AZ: My Turn: Looking past our homeless children (Opinion)
Arizona Republic – August 23, 2015
But the kids I have met in recent months haven’t seen a lot of opportunity in their lives. What they have seen is pain, dysfunction and chaos. The Arizona State University School of Social Research surveyed 246 youths locally last summer. They report:
* 38 percent have been placed in a foster care or group home.
* 26 percent have been sexually coerced or sexually trafficked since becoming homeless.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2015/08/24/turn-looking-past-homeless-children/32157183/
AZ: New child-welfare system about to make old mistake (Opinion)
Arizona Republic – August 23, 2015
The state’s new child-welfare agency wants permission to do what the old agency was dismantled for doing on its own. The failure to investigate reports of child abuse became the scandal that buried Child Protective Services and led to the creation of the Arizona Department of Child Safety a little more than a year ago. Now DCS wants to turn that discredited practice into official policy.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/editorial/2015/08/24/new-child-welfare-system-make-old-mistake/32236407/
CA: When A Budget Motel Is ‘Home,’ There’s Little Room For Childhood (Includes audio)
National Public Radio – August 16, 2015
California ranks third in the U.S. — behind only Kentucky and New York — in the percentage of children who don’t have a home, according to the National Center on Family Homelessness.
http://www.npr.org/2015/08/16/432472821/when-a-budget-motel-is-home-theres-little-room-for-childhood
IL: Grant received to assist former foster youth
Vidette Online – August 23, 2015
ISU’s Center for Adoption Studies received a $50,000 grant to study former foster youths and better understand their needs as they navigate college.
http://www.videtteonline.com/index.php/2015/08/23/grant-received-to-assist-former-foster-youth/
IL: State bans gay conversion therapy for minors
Metro Weekly – August 21, 2015
Governor’s signature makes Prairie State the fifth jurisdiction to prohibit sexual orientation change efforts.
http://www.metroweekly.com/2015/08/illinois-bans-gay-conversion-therapy-for-minors/
MA: Editorial: We owe it to the children
Milford Daily News – August 22, 2015
The toll of dead or grievously injured children who were or should have been under the protection of the state Department of Children and Families continues to grow.
http://www.milforddailynews.com/article/20150822/OPINION/150828574/2011/OPINION?rssfeed=true
MI: Preventing LGBT Youth Homelessness: Ruth Ellis Center Pilot Program Keeps LGBT Foster Kids Safe at Home
Edge Media Network – August 22, 2015
Since 1999, Ruth Ellis Center in Detroit has served the needs of runaway, homeless and at-risk LGBT youth. In fact, it’s the only organization in the country that has a residential program for LGBT youth in the foster care and juvenile justice system. But studies suggest that these kids are better off when they can stay at home. So now, Ruth Ellis Center has launched a pilot program with Child Protective Services to give foster families the resources they need to be supportive of their at-risk gay youth.
http://www.edgeboston.com/news/family/news//183211/preventing_lgbt_youth_homelessness:_ruth_ellis_center_pilot_program_keeps_lgbt_foster_kids_safe_at_home
MO: When drugs hit home, family drug court aims to keep family together
Springfield News-Leader – August 23, 2015
Unlike Greene County’s other treatment courts, participants don’t have criminal charges and are typically referred to the court through Children’s Division case workers.
http://www.news-leader.com/story/news/local/ozarks/2015/08/23/drugs-hit-home-family-drug-court-aims-keep-family-together/32243325/
ND: HerVoice: Child abuse survivors channel their inner superhero
InForum – August 23, 2015
The three friends are helping head up the first ever Superhero 5K Run/Walk for Prevent Child Abuse North Dakota, a topic they know all too well. All three women were abused as children and have worked together through the Authentic Voices program to spread the word and help victims know they are not alone. “We want anyone who has been through child abuse to know they have superheroes in their communities, people willing to help,” says Lura, who first had the idea for the superhero run.
http://www.inforum.com/shesays/family/3822720-hervoice-child-abuse-survivors-channel-their-inner-superhero
NY: Slain toddler’s dad files federal lawsuit
Times Herald-Record – August 21, 2015
Among those named in the suit are Ulster County and its Department of Social Services and its commissioner. The suit claims that in the final weeks of Mason’s life, witnesses to his abuse made anonymous calls to child abuse tip lines but that the county “did not initiate any CPS investigation or assign any caseworker.”
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150821/NEWS/150829827/-1/SPORTS0301
OK: Couple files suit challenging Indian Child Welfare Act
Tulsa World – August 24, 2015
An Oklahoma couple has filed a federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of portions of the Oklahoma Indian Child Welfare Act. The couple specifically objects to provisions of the Oklahoma act that permit tribes to intervene in private, voluntary adoption cases involving Indian children.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/homepagelatest/couple-files-suit-challenging-indian-child-welfare-act/article_62b9bc7c-0a56-590f-9c46-69a8961002d7.html
PA: Faculty union decries background checks
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette – August 22, 2015
Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities are implementing criminal background checks on all their professors, though most do not teach minors and are exempt from such checks under state child protection law, the faculty union says.
http://www.philly.com/inquirer/education/20150821_Faculty_union_decries_background_checks.html
TX: New state law will help East Texas foster kids navigate bureaucracy (Includes video)
KTRE – August 21, 2015
Foster children in Deep East Texas and the rest of the state will eventually have a state ombudsman to listen to their complaints or concerns.
http://www.ktre.com/story/29853996/bass-gary-new-state-law-will-help-east-texas-foster-kids-navigate-bureaucracy
VT: Recent deaths challenge many in human services
Times Argus – August 24, 2015
The tragic deaths of three central Vermonters created a swirl of conversation revolving around the social work profession. Despite the scrutiny of the duties performed, the effects on those served and those who provide support, and the system whose policies they enact, human services must still be rendered.
http://timesargus.com/article/20150824/THISJUSTIN/708249927
VT: Protect workforce from harm (Opinion)
Times Union – August 23, 2015
Child and family social services workers are increasingly being threatened and assaulted, according to anecdotal reports, although few studies have been done. A recent survey of 1,000 school social workers found that 35 percent reported being assaulted or physically threatened, while one-third reported being in fear of their safety at least once a month, according to the National Association of Social Workers.
http://www.timesunion.com/tuplus-opinion/article/Protect-workforce-from-harm-6461078.php
US: Commentary: The myth of the ‘anchor baby’ deportation defense
Washington Post – August 23, 2015
This is the definition that has little legal underpinning. For illegal immigrant parents, being the parent of a U.S. citizen child almost never forms the core of a successful defense in an immigration court. In short, if the undocumented parent of a U.S.-born child is caught in the United States, he or she legally faces the very same risk of deportation as any other immigrant.
http://www.pressherald.com/2015/08/23/commentary-the-myth-of-the-anchor-baby-deportation-defense/
US: Kol Koreh Addresses Child Abuse, Urges Reporting To Secular Authorities
The Jewish Press – August 23, 2015
One-hundred-and-seven rabbanim and dayanim have contributed their signatures to a kol koreh (public pronouncement) affirming the halachic obligation of all Jews to immediately report and notify secular law enforcement when they know of an instance of child abuse. The kol koreh is a historic watershed, due to its unprecedented, broad-based support from a large number of haredi rabbanim. Also: Prominent US-based haredi rabbis declare obligation to report child abuse to police: http://www.jpost.com/Breaking-News/Prominent-US-based-haredi-rabbis-declare-obligation-to-report-child-abuse-to-police-412937
http://www.jewishpress.com/news/breaking-news/kol-koreh-addresses-child-abuse-urges-reporting-to-secular-authorities/2015/08/23/
US: MLB announces a domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse policy
NBC Sports – August 21, 2015
In a year when violent and criminal off-the-field behavior by athletes has appeared prominently in the news, Major League Baseball has, for the first time, announced a comprehensive policy regarding players involved in domestic violence, sexual assault and child abuse cases. The policy was announced jointly with and in agreement with the players union.
http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/08/21/mlb-announces-a-domestic-violence-sexual-assault-and-child-abuse-policy/
INTERNATIONAL
Australia: Adelaide parents in Parliament House rally against child abuse
News.com.au – August 23, 2015
Hundreds of concerned parents and carers have taken part in a rally against child abuse in Adelaide, calling for tougher minimum sentences and more transparency from authorities.
http://www.news.com.au/national/south-australia/adelaide-parents-in-parliament-house-rally-against-child-abuse/story-fnii5yv4-1227495262704
United Kingdom: Children in care being re-homed due to financial pressures, NIHRC report says
BBC News – August 21, 2015
Some children in care are being re-homed three or more times a year due to financial pressures within health trusts, a Human Rights Commission report has found. Report: http://www.nihrc.org/uploads/publications/Alternative_Care_and_Children.pdf
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-34015295
CA: Are Traumatized Students Disabled? A Debate Straight Outta Compton (Includes audio)
National Public Radio – August 20, 2015
Exposure to violence can have negative effects on cognitive development, says Susan Ko of the National Center for Child Traumatic Stress. A lawsuit involving a California school district contends that trauma sometimes constitutes disability, requiring schools to provide accommodations.
http://www.npr.org/sections/ed/2015/08/20/432885473/are-traumatized-students-disabled-a-debate-straight-outta-compton
CA: Fostering a Better Future
City on a Hill Press – August 20, 2015
At UC Santa Cruz, there are 120 students out of 15,645 undergraduates who classify as former foster youth, wards of the court or orphans as of June 2015, according to the Financial Aid Office. Former foster youth make up a small portion of the population at UCSC because many foster youth face significant barriers that make getting to the university especially difficult.
http://www.cityonahillpress.com/2015/08/20/fostering-a-better-future/
CO: Foster Care Youth Face Steep Path to High School Graduation
Rocky Mountain PBS News – August 20, 2015
A Rocky Mountain PBS I-News analysis of data provided by the Colorado Department of Human Services (CDHS) revealed that only 28.7 percent of the state’s foster youth will graduate from high school on time, but at least 38 percent will have been incarcerated between ages 16 and 19.
http://inewsnetwork.org/2015/08/20/foster-care-youth-in-colorado-face-steep-path-to-high-school-graduation/
IL: State latest to ban ‘ex-gay’ therapy for minors
Huffington Post – August 20, 2015
“Our version of this legislation is the most comprehensive bill in the nation, barring health providers from engaging in this practice and affording survivors access to consumer fraud action against the perpetrators of this abuse,” Cassidy said in a statement.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/illinois-bans-gay-conversion-therapy_55d668b4e4b020c386de2cc4
KY: Volunteers needed to review cases of children in foster care
Harlan Daily Enterprise – August 20, 2015
The Kentucky General Assembly created the state CFCRB in 1982 as a way to decrease the time children spend in foster care. CFCRB volunteers review Cabinet for Health and Family Services files on children placed in out-of-home care and work with the cabinet and courts on behalf of the state’s foster children. The volunteer reviewers help ensure that children receive the necessary services while in foster care and are ultimately placed in permanent homes.
http://harlandaily.com/news/2080/volunteers-needed-to-review-cases-of-children-in-foster-care
MA: ‘Crisis-Level’ Caseloads Triple for State Child Welfare Workers (Includes video)
Boston Herald – August 20, 2015
The state’s beleaguered child welfare agency – grappling with the death of a 2-year-old girl at an Auburn foster home – has seen the number of staffers handling “crisis-level” workloads more than triple over a recent 18-month period, statistics show.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news_opinion/local_coverage/2015/08/crisis_level_caseloads_triple_at_dcf
NJ: Court reverses N.J. child-abuse law; kids left alone in car not necessarily a crime
NorthJersey.com – August 20, 2015
The state’s highest court noted the dangers young children face when no adults are watching over them. However, the Supreme Court overturned a ruling issued last year by an appeals panel, which found that leaving a child alone inside a vehicle, “no matter how briefly,” was enough to support a child-abuse charge.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/ruling-that-made-leaving-kids-in-car-child-abuse-no-matter-how-briefly-overturned-by-nj-supreme-court-1.1395764
NY: Judge: County investigators violated Constitution
Times Herald-Record – August 20, 2015
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Orange County violated the U.S. Constitution when it questioned a 5-year-old girl about secondhand child-abuse allegations without her parents’ consent.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150820/NEWS/150829896/-1/OPINION
NY: Middletown day care worker charged with child endangerment
Times Herald-Record – August 20, 2015
A day care worker was charged Wednesday with misdemeanor child endangerment after officials say she failed to take action after learning that four children in her care were being abused.
http://www.recordonline.com/article/20150820/NEWS/150829958/-1/OPINION
PA: State System faculty union going to court over background checks
Lancaster Online – August 21, 2015
Pennsylvania’s 14 state-owned universities are implementing criminal background checks on all of their professors, even though most do not teach minors and are exempt from such checks under state child protection law, the faculty union says.
http://lancasteronline.com/news/health/state-system-faculty-union-going-to-court-over-background-checks/article_54d1ef95-5bdd-54dc-a720-e31cf9168e81.html
PA: Child Welfare Agencies Call On Governor Tom Wolf To Expand Funding During Budget Impasse
CBS Philadelphia – August 20, 2015
It’s now seven weeks that Pennsylvania has been without a budget, and agencies that rely on state funding are starting to sweat. That prompted a gathering in Delaware County on Thursday, to push the governor to label child welfare programs as “essential” so they’ll continue to receive state funding during the impasse.
http://philadelphia.cbslocal.com/2015/08/20/child-welfare-agencies-call-on-wolf-to-expand-funding-during-budget-impasse/
PA: State downgrades Dauphin County Children & Youth licensing status
PennLive.com – August 20, 2015
The state Department of Human Services placed Dauphin County Children & Youth Services on a six-month provisional license on Thursday. The ruling followed a months-long review into the agency’s operations.
http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2015/08/dauphin_county_children_and_yo_1.html
RI: Children In Crisis: Can We Solve The Group Home Conundrum? (Includes audio)
Rhode Island Public Radio – August 20, 2015
Rhode Island puts too many children in group homes. Everyone agrees that’s bad.
http://ripr.org/post/children-crisis-can-we-solve-group-home-conundrum
TX: A difficult path: foster kids transitioning into adult life (Includes video)
CW39 NewsFix – August 20, 2015
The PAL program, which stands for Preparation for Adult Living, aims to give them the skills necessary to start a new life as independent adults, so they can make their own decisions and build a positive future.
http://cw39.com/2015/08/20/a-difficult-path-foster-kids-transitioning-into-adult-life/
WA: Centene’s Subsidiary Wins Statewide Foster Care Contract (Press release)
PR Newswire – August 20, 2015
Coordinated Care of Washington will manage the healthcare services and programs for children and youth in foster care and adoption support programs, as well as young adult alumni of the foster care system (ages 18-26 years old). Coordinated Care of Washington will provide a comprehensive and coordinated medical benefit, which includes primary care, ancillary services, pharmacy, and an outpatient mental health benefit.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/centenes-washington-subsidiary-wins-statewide-foster-care-contract-300131146.html
WI: Meth epidemic increases need for social workers
Rice Lake Chronotype – August 19, 2015
The number of abused and neglected children in Barron County has, in the words of Health and Human Services director Stacey Frolik, exploded, with the majority of cases involving parents addicted to methamphetamine.
http://www.apg-wi.com/rice_lake_chronotype/news/meth-epidemic-increases-need-for-social-workers/article_244d778e-46b5-11e5-b5ce-c7df3850f56e.html
US: The myth of the ‘anchor baby’ deportation defense
Washington Post – August 20, 2015
Here’s the basic concept: People, namely women, come to the United States illegally and give birth to children, generally for the specific purpose of bolstering legal attempts of the child’s parents remain in the United States or even become citizens themselves.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2015/08/20/the-myth-of-the-anchor-baby-deportation-defense/
KARA apologizes for the difficult formatting of the articles below. Support KARA and we will have more resources to devote to our blog.
Mom indicted in child death on swing case USA TODAY Four months after a three-year-old boy was found dead in a swing in Maryland, his mother has been indicted on charges of manslaughter and child … Grand jury indicts mother in death of child found in swing – FOX 5 DC Grand Jury Indicts Md. Mother in Death of Child Found in Swing – WBOC TV 16 Maryland mother indicted in death of child found in playground swing – CTV News |
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Child death rates cut by half, but UN target missed Yahoo News One of the MDGs was to cut the death rate of under-fives by two-thirds … which also said the rate of improvement is accelerating, with child mortality … |
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Child death rates cut by half, but UN target missed Reuters LONDON (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Children are half as likely to die before their fifth birthday now than they were in 1990, researchers said on … Child death rate dropped by more than half since 1990: report – CTV News UNICEF: Child deaths fell by 50 percent since 1990 – Nature World Report New report says child death rate dropped by more than half since 1990 _ but misses UN goal – Minneapolis Star Tribune
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Attala county sheriff speaks on investigation into child’s death WJTV Sheriff Nail says the death is the worst he’s ever seen in a child. Right now the investigation is ongoing to determine what caused the trauma to this … Parents in custody in connection with child’s death – WAPT Jackson Attala County Authorities Investigate Child’s Death – WTOK Attala authorities investigate death of 1-year-old girl – Jackson Clarion Ledger |
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AG investigates child’s death in Manchester WMUR Manchester The child was taken to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead Sunday. An autopsy was done on the toddler Tuesday … NH authorities investigate ‘untimely death‘ of toddler – Boston Globe Police Investigate ‘Untimely’ Death of 21-Month-Old Girl – NECN AG investigating death of Manchester toddler – The Union Leader |
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| 2015: Child death toll up to 19 after being left in hot cars |
Tucson News Now
We see and hear about this far too often, but so far in 2015 there have been 19 child vehicular heat stroke deaths, according to kidsandcars.org.
Indian babysitter to serve jail time over Connecticut child’s death Reuters An Indian national who had worked as a baby sitter in Connecticut was sentenced to 14 years in U.S. federal prison for the death of a 19-month-old … Indian babysitter to serve jail time over Connecticut child’s death – Yahoo News Indian Babysitter to Serve Jail Term Over Child’s Death in US – NDTV Indian babysitter jailed for 14 years over child’s death in US – The Indian Express |
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Hastings woman arraigned in child’s death Grand Island Independent Azudany Serrano-Contreras, 33, is facing charges of intentional child abuse resulting in death, a Class 1-B felony, for the death of 19-month-old … Babysitter accused in death of Hastings child – Nebraska Radio Network Family Grieving Over 19-Month-Old’s Death – 1011now |
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Mom pleads guilty to neglect in child’s death Columbus Dispatch The mother of a 4-year-old who was beaten to death by a boyfriend pleaded guilty this morning in Franklin County Common Pleas Court to child … |
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Authorities in Nevada probing death of child in hot vehicle Fox News Kids and Cars, a nonprofit that tracks child deaths and injuries in and around automobiles, says it was the 16th such case of its kind in the nation this … Police: 4-year-old who died may have been 3 hours in hot vehicle on 100-degree day in Vegas – Minneapolis Star Tribune Las Vegas Police looking into child’s death – St. George Daily Spectrum Authorities in Vegas Probing Death of Child in Hot Vehicle – ABC News |
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Lawyer Blasts Claims Commissioner For Delays In Child-Abuse Death Case Hartford Courant DCF’s own records showed that during the month before the child’s death, the agency was aware that Athena had been injured at home on multiple … |
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Helena man pleads not guilty in child’s death The Missoulian in justice court via a video call Monday on charges of deliberate homicide and obstructing a police officer. Coburn’s bail was initially set at $100,000, … Helena man pleads not guilty in child’s death – SFGate Coburn pleads not guilty in beating death of Helena toddler – KXLH Helena News |
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Charges still possible in child death case KLAS-TV Police say the death of a 4-year-old boy who was left inside a hot car Thursday appears to be accidental, but charges are still possible for the adult … |
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Hastings Man Facing Charges in Child Death Case NBC Nebraska HASTINGS, Neb. — Border Patrol Agents arrested 33-year-old Azudany Serrano‐Contreras on Aug 16. in relation to a death of a Hastings child. |
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Odisha child death toll rises to 28 in 5 days Mid-Day Cuttack: With four more infants dying in the past 24 hours, the child death toll at the state run Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Post Graduate Institute of … Tech Panel to Probe Child Deaths – The New Indian Express Odisha child death toll rises to 28 in 5 days – Business Standard Odisha child death toll rises to 28 in 5 days – Jewocity.com (press release) (blog) |
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Police are investigating the child’s death as a potential suicide. Here’s the latest: http://www.wibw.com/…/Body-found-on-school-playground-in-Ha…
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US: Indian babysitter gets 14 years in jail over child’s death
MSN.com
An Indian woman who worked as a babysitter in Connecticut has been sentenced to 14 years in jail for the death of a 19-month-old child in her care …
TWO SAINT JOSEPH RESIDENTS CHARGED IN CHILD’S DEATH
Northwest MO Info
TWO SAINT JOSEPH RESIDENTS CHARGED IN CHILD’S DEATH. August 31, 2015 Local News. TWO SAINT JOSEPH RESIDENTS ARE IN …
