Empty swing hanging in a dark, moody playground at night.

Ensuring Children Will Die Lawsuit in Indiana (the other way of getting better public policy)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

I visited Indiana a few years ago after the governor redirected funding from parents adopting special needs children after the adoptions had been completed (AFTER). Then governor mitch daniels directed those dollars to people most successful in dismantling services to abandoned children.
The complaint (new lawsuit) alleges that Indiana removes children from their homes to be placed into foster care at a “staggering rate — more than double the national rate” and then fails to keep them safe while in DCS custody “often placing them in inappropriate, unstable or overly restrictive placements; fails to provide necessary support services and medical and mental health care; and fails to provide meaningful case management.”

A waxwing bird perched on a branch with red berries in its beak.

Indiana Sued For Making Child Protection Almost Impossible

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

A few years ago, Vice Presidential candidate and Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels eliminated funding across the board for Indiana families adopting special needs children (after 500 adoptions by families promised these dollars for transportation, healthcare & education of their adopted children, were completed).

Indiana then became the only state in the nation to place families adopting special needs children on a wait list rather than paying subsidies.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Indiana Update (current child protection news – thanks again Mitch Daniels)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

IN: The politics of children and family services
Governing – October 09, 2012
Protecting kids and trying to preserve families isn’t only the hardest job in government, it’s by far the most politically dangerous. In resigning, Payne joins an ever-growing list of first-rate leaders in the human services field who were either fired or driven from office thanks to politics and a brutal and often purposefully ignorant press.
http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/col-politics-children-family-services.html

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Indiana’s At Risk Children & Governor Mitch Daniels;

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

efforts of a governor currying political favor at the cost of poor young lives.
Mitch Daniels needs to be identified for his personal policies ruining young lives; these policies are at the same time costing the state more money than useful and promising policies would.
By eliminating funds guaranteed to families adopting special needs children, he put the state in the precarious position of defending lawsuits and made the adopting of special needs children a giant problem in the years to come (who will adopt Indiana’s special needs children next year?)
These are recent Indiana child protection headlines for the State Of Indiana;

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Race To The Bottom, Untrained Social Workers, Over Work & More Dead & Suffering Children In Indiana

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

“We have children dying in our region and we are awarded with recognition of system improvement. Really?” he wrote. “The timing of this award is hard to accept given the recent tragic death of 10-year-old Tramelle Sturgis.

“How many more kids will die before we all take a deep look at what is going on with child welfare services in Indiana and reverse the draconian cuts in funding and see how those cuts are negatively affecting the safety net of child welfare?”

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Thank You Indiana

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - US Based

I was impressed with the tenacity and commitment of Indiana’s foster and adoptive parents in the face of this state’s mean spirited children’s politics.

The evening before my talk I listened to story after story of the “fluid” nature of Department of Child Services policy, families not being allowed to question decisions or policy for fear of being blackballed, and what it’s like to watch long established, workable policies disappear to be replaced by whimsy and bullying.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Deep Dive Into Northeastern University Child Welfare Crisis Research

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, childabuse, Education, Guest Posts, Reporting and News - US Based, RESEARCH, Statistics, The States

This deep dive expands on KARA’s child welfare crisis post by walking through five Northeastern University capstone projects. Together, they use national data, infant mortality models, county level forecasting, and poverty analysis to show where children are most at risk—and how KARA AND YOU can use this research to drive policy change.

A black face mask with the phrase 'GIVE KIDS A VOICE' printed in white.

Family First & Child Neglect Studies and Reporting

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Featured Articles, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

Contrary to a common assumption, neglect is not less damaging than abuse. Research shows neglect victims have lifelong problems because they miss developmental milestones around language, self-control, and bonding with others.

A constant dilemma in neglect cases is whether to traumatize children by removing them from their families, or leave them in situations where their brains aren’t developing normally.

Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs can make it possible to leave children at home while helping their parents improve parenting skills.

This study documents that neglect victims who got ECE moved quickly from having a language deficit to the normal range. Language development is critical to academic success and positive interpersonal relationships.
ECE can help many children avoid foster care and still obtain the baseline skills they need to thrive.

Join the Discussion on Facebook

Make a difference for the children of Minnesota today,
Donate Here!

Illustration of trauma's impact on person, family, and people, emphasizing decontextualization over time.

Sometimes People Get Shot

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Gun Violence and Control, Juvenile + Criminal Justice, Mental Health + Over Medication, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

• “From Cedarbluff, Mississippi, to parties in Houston and homes in Indiana, early 2026 brought mass shootings that briefly made headlines and then faded. This essay connects those tragedies to a deeper crisis: how our systems ignore childhood trauma, underfund mental health, and invest billions in punishment instead of care—creating adults who are dangerous because we failed them as children.”

A black face mask with the phrase 'GIVE KIDS A VOICE' printed in white.

Family First & Child Neglect Studies and Reporting 2

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Featured Articles, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

Contrary to a common assumption, neglect is not less damaging than abuse. Research shows neglect victims have lifelong problems because they miss developmental milestones around language, self-control, and bonding with others.

A constant dilemma in neglect cases is whether to traumatize children by removing them from their families, or leave them in situations where their brains aren’t developing normally.

Quality Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs can make it possible to leave children at home while helping their parents improve parenting skills.

This study documents that neglect victims who got ECE moved quickly from having a language deficit to the normal range. Language development is critical to academic success and positive interpersonal relationships.
ECE can help many children avoid foster care and still obtain the baseline skills they need to thrive.

Join the Discussion on Facebook

Make a difference for the children of Minnesota today,
Donate Here!

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

What Happens if “Child Neglect” In Child Protective Services Is Removed or Diminished

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Featured Articles, KARA News and Events, Public Policy, Religion, Politics + the Law, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

National and federal data show that child neglect is the primary allegation in a clear majority of CPS cases, so removing neglect from CPS as an entry criterion would likely eliminate investigation for roughly 60–75% of the children who are currently investigated or substantiated, with some variation by state. About 7.8 million children / year are reported abused and neglected to CPS.​ Because child abuse is invisible, it is likely that at least that many children remain unseen and unreported. The Trump child welfare executive order leans heavily into language about “unnecessary removals” and “overreach”

Logo for Kara, Kids at Risk Action organization.

Egregious Child Death in America Today

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Children's Rights, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, The States

There are few states that report out egregious harm or death of children at the hands of their parents. Minnesota Nonprofit Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota has recently compiled this report on 88 of the 200 children dying at the hands of caregivers. It should be a model for all states. How they died, why they died, and what wasn’t done that allowed these children to live such tortured lives and die so tragically. Share the report with your State Representative with a note about keeping at-risk children alive.

Close-up of a child's face with braided hair against a dark background.

Child Death and Public Non Disclosure (thank you Marie Cohen)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

Much of this article is taken from Marie Cohen’s remarkable research at the American Enterprise Institute. For those of you concerned with Child Protective Services in your community, Marie’s article is detailed and powerful. It could change your State Representative’s mind about transparency in CPS (Child Protective Services) where you live (share this state rep…

Mother comforting her child outside a brick building.

Child Abuse Investigations & Reforms

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Protection, Reporting and News - US Based, The States

WHEN YOU Share KARA’s reporting with FRIENDS, INSTAGRAM & FACEBOOK and most of all, your State Representative (find them here) change will come a little bit faster. When enough of us become informed and speak up for abused and neglected children, we will improve their lives and our communities! Please support KARA’s work with a small monthly donation: CLICK…

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Child & Youth Suicides Feb 2023 (find your state here)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child self harm and suicide, Reporting and News - US Based, Their stories

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Children’s Hospital Association have joined forces to declare a national emergency in children’s mental health, largely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “Today’s declaration is an urgent call to policymakers at all levels of government — we must treat this mental health crisis like the emergency it is,

Babies bathing together in small white tubs

Let’s Stop Counties Stealing Money From Foster Children

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Children's Rights, Reporting and News - US Based

Repurposing Federal Foster Care dollars have become a “revenue stream” for counties because taking foster child money goes “unnoticed” (from the article). In a perfect world, a County person would raise hell about repurposing foster child dollars to adults (but they don’t because they could lose their job). There is little reporting of and no transparency in the Child Protection System.

Boy peeks around corner at two people in a warmly lit room.

October Is Domestic Violence Awareness Month

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Domestic Violence

Watching your mother being beat up or raped is the same trauma as being beaten or raped to a five or nine year old.  Untreated trauma lasts forever and it changes a person forever.

The United Nation’s-Secretary General Antonio Guterres has warned that being confined with abusive partners during the pandemic has led to a “horrifying global surge in domestic abuse”.  This well organized domestic violence reporting and resource guide with hotlines and practical advice …

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Lawsuits and the Death of Two Year Old Arianna Hunziker

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths

Arianna was wrapped in sheets, left alone in a closed room and slowly starved to death. Foster parents Sherrie and Bryce Dirk will go to prison for murdering Arianna. This solves nothing.

There is something terribly disturbing about a State sanctioned foster family starving a 3 year old State Ward child to death that needs to see the light of day.

Arianna must not have had a County social worker (today’s Star Tribune article …

Silhouette filled with negative words reflecting self-doubt and low self-esteem.

Child Suicide Reporting (3 weeks ending 10.17.20)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Mental Health + Over Medication

These articles reflect current trends in child suicide & self-harm in America today. Only a fraction of child/youth suicides are successful. The vast majority of self-inflicted harm remains invisible. Mental health services are badly needed by young people today as the COVID pandemic is locking children into toxic homes with little or no access to the adults that could help them.

Book cover titled 'Childhood Made Crazy' by Eric Maisel.

Minnesota Child Protection Stories, Statistics & COVID – June 2020

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, COVID 19 and its Impacts

The nightmare of George Floyd’s murder and the burning, street violence and social upheaval continuing as this already too hot summer gets underway is raining down extra hard on children already suffering the traumas of toxic circumstances.

Closed schools locked abused children with their abusive caregivers.

This additional social violence creates more fear, pain and stress that leads to more drug & alcohol use & more domestic violence, more trauma and less escape from it.

A young girl with messy hair looks sad in front of a blackboard with emotional writing.

The Pandemic Impacting Child Abuse and Foster Care (state by state)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, COVID 19 and its Impacts

Because schools are closed, after-school activities are canceled and churches aren’t having youth groups and community activity with trusted adults outside the home have evaporated – the chances an abused child can find help to interrupt abuse in the home are dramatically reduced. 

Add to that, families living with troubled children are finding the COVID environment much harder now.

More anxiety, substance abuse and family violence are happening because of lost jobs and the 24/7 close quarters of people locked into toxic homes because of the pandemic.

Every state is struggling with child protection, domestic violence and foster care.  What’s it like to be a foster child or a foster parent in your state?  The following articles are arranged by state.  Check out your state here;

Silhouette filled with negative words reflecting self-doubt and low self-esteem.

Child & LGBTQ Suicide & Self-Harm (stories, statistics & trauma informed resources)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Mental Health + Over Medication

What would you say to the 12 year old boy who told you how he plans to suicide by cop? Or to the mother of the young girl you speak for in court that told her child “I wish you’d never been born”?

Words don’t come easy.

This survey of 12,000 LGBTQ youth identifies the extreme stress, anxiety, rejection and overwhelming feeling of danger these children grow up with.

Mother tiger carrying cub in mouth

Recent Stories, Statistics & Articles About Adoption & Foster Care

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action

After a 9 day trial, foster mom Melissa Sondrol was convicted of of assaulting her infant state ward child, breaking multiple bones and withholding medical information from providers. The court was not allowed to hear her prior histories of abuse. This infant has suffered for years in MN and will live a life very different from other children due to the traumas visited upon him as a foster child – and the things that happened to him prior to entering child protection.

Stories about the shortage of foster care providers, lack of training and resources and transparency within the system are not uncommon – remember, we only read about the very worst cases – the sadness in foster care goes much deeper.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Sad Stories June 2019 (III – child suicide)

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Mental Health + Over Medication, Reporting and News - US Based, The States

The National Poison Data System, researchers found more than 1.6 million cases of 10- to 24-year-olds attempting to kill themselves by poisoning from 2000 to 2018. More than 70% of the suicide attempts by poisoning were in young women.

U.S. youth emergency psychiatric hospitalizations and suicide attempts are escalating at alarming rates.

Among children between the ages of 5 and 17, annual emergency department encounters for suicidal ideations and attempts have more than doubled from 2008 (0.66%) to 2015 (1.82%)7. That equates to an increase of 35,266 encounters for SI or SA during the period of 2008-11 to 80,590 encounters from 2012-2015.