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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.

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Child Abuse and the Domino Effect: Why Lawmakers Need Real Data

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based

When lawmakers finally see the human and financial numbers behind child abuse and neglect, our politics can treat it as the national emergency it is—not a niche social‑services problem. Over a lifetime, the “domino effect” of abused and neglected children touches every system we claim to care about: schools, crime, taxes, public health, and public safety

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April and Preventing Child Abuse in a Time of Rising Risk

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, childabuse, Reporting and News - US Based, What You Can Do

April is National Child Abuse Prevention Month, and in 2026 we’re facing a time of rising risk for children. Economic stress, untreated mental health needs, online exploitation, and overburdened child protection systems are all pushing more families to the edge, while the nonprofits and advocates children rely on are stretched thin. This April, “awareness” isn’t enough. We need honest data about how many children are being hurt, real support for families before crisis, and stronger tools for the people on the front lines—teachers, CASAs, clinicians, social workers, and neighbors—who see abuse first and are often the only ones who can stop it.

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CASA Volunteers & Child Abuse Prevention Month: Building Protective Factors for Children

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

April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month reminds us that protecting children means more than responding after harm—it means building strong families, supportive communities, and systems that recognize warning signs early, with CASA volunteers turning those prevention ideals into reality for children in court by offering consistent advocacy for safety, healing, and stable homes.

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Hungry Like a Wolf

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Mental Health + Over Medication

Hungry Like a Wolf, a powerful new play about sexual predators, mirrors what I saw as a CASA guardian ad litem: very young children raped in their own homes, perpetrators never held accountable, and trauma that reshapes every part of a child’s life. In the U.S., 7.8 million children are reported abused each year—many sexually abused—and countless others are never seen. Until adults are willing to talk honestly about child sexual abuse and its lifelong impact, there will be no real push to change systems or protect children.

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What You Can Do Series – What Social Workers Can Do

Aces and Trauma, Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Reporting and News - US Based, What You Can Do

Social workers are the connective tissue of child protection, operating where trauma, helplessness, and institutional failure most acutely converge. Equal parts advocate, therapist, investigator, and bridge-builder, their roles are both the first line of defense and an agent of systemic change.

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America’s Child Protection Crisis: Last Week’s Most Alarming CPS Cases and Reforms

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

Each week, children are escaping brutal homes, being harmed in foster care, and caught in CPS systems that too often miss clear danger or punish families without proof. From multimillion‑dollar settlements and court battles in Texas, Washington, New York, and Illinois to new laws and policies that could reshape how abuse and neglect are investigated, this roundup highlights the most urgent child protection stories advocates, professionals, and concerned community members need to see right now.

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What You Can Do Series – What Therapists Can Do

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Education, Mental Health + Over Medication, Reporting and News - US Based, What You Can Do

Therapists—whether working in schools, clinics, community settings, private practices, or as part of multidisciplinary teams—are often the first, sometimes the only, professionals capable of translating the science of trauma into lasting recovery.

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Child Abuse, Foster Care, and Youth Self-Harm and Suicide

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child self harm and suicide, Mental Health + Over Medication, Mikes Favorite Posts, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based

Research across foster care, ACEs, and maltreatment shows that abused and systems‑involved children face dramatically higher risks of self‑harm and suicide. This post walks through key studies and calls for concrete changes in child welfare policy and practice to prevent avoidable deaths.

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A Closer Look At Child Fatality and Egregious Incident Reporting

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Data, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics

Child Fatality & Egregious Incident Reporting: A U.S. Overview America’s approach to exposing and understanding the gravest harms done to children—fatalities, near-deaths, torture, and catastrophic agency failures—reveals a nation deeply divided by geography, law, and political will. The result is a patchwork of minimal transparency. Some states shine a light on information that has been…

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Smoke‑Free or Hooked for Life? Selling Nicotine to Children and Youth (w/videos)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, PODCAST & STREAMING, Public Policy, Rebuttals & Guest Posts, Religion, Politics + the Law, Reporting and News - International, Reporting and News - US Based

Big tobacco talks about a “smoke‑free future,” but its marketing tells a different story. This post gathers key videos and articles that show how major tobacco companies push vapes, nicotine pouches and heated tobacco to children and youth while claiming to care about health.

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All Adults Are the Protectors of All Children (Don Shelby)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Public Policy, Reporting and News - International, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

Policies that keep children in homes with life‑threatening harm on the grounds of unproven or unscientific beliefs—account for avoidable homicidal deaths of hundreds of MN children and many more tortured and near-death experiences annually. When Child Protection becomes more transparent when studies like the one linked above become common, this reality will be recognized in all…

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What You Can Do Series – School Counselors Can Do

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

School counselors are the vital bridge between struggling children and the support systems they desperately need. Positioned at the intersection of school, family, and community, they are often the first line of defense—sometimes the only one—against the silent epidemic of child trauma and abuse

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Child Abuse Sad Stories & Statistics (1ST 45 days in 2026))

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Data, Domestic Violence, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics, The States

Child abuse doesn’t stop for holidays or election years. In just the first 45 days of 2026, sad stories and new statistics are already piling up. This post tracks those cases and numbers to show how many invisible children still need our protection.

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The Quantum Mechanics of Childhood Abuse & Trauma

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

Childhood abuse leaves epigenetic “scars” that behave like quantum events in a child’s developing brain—shifting the whole trajectory of a life and even echoing across generations. This post links trauma, ACEs, and America’s worst health, violence, and inequality statistics.

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Florida Child Abuse Reporting

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Domestic Violence, NEGLECT, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics, The States

Why Florida Child Abuse Reporting Matters: Florida’s child abuse and neglect is just one part of KARA’s reporting mission and our nation’s child‑death problem. Florida reviews hundreds of abuse‑related child deaths each year. This is an investigative report recently completed in Minnesota that needs to happen in all states. 

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CASA Volunteers Are Coming Back: Why Minnesota Children Need Them

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

Over 48 years, CASA/GAL (Guardian ad Litem) programs have grown into a national network of more than 900 organizations with 80,000–100,000 guardian ad litem volunteers serving close to a quarter‑million abused and neglected children each year, according to National CASA/GAL program surveys and the association’s own history. In every state but North Dakota, these volunteers are often the only adults in the courtroom whose sole job is to stand for a child’s best interests—and they do it with intentionally tiny caseloads so each child gets more time, more attention, and more consistency than overloaded systems can usually provide

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New Jersey Recent Child Abuse Death, Egregious Harm & Child Protection Issues

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Their stories

New Jersey’s recent child abuse tragedies—from Ne’Miya Duncan’s death days after a welfare visit to two brothers killed in Hillsborough—show deep failures in DCPP’s ability to protect children. This post highlights specific deaths, lawsuits, and state fatality data that reveal a child protection system still in crisis.

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LGBTQ Foster Care, Suicide, & Ground Truths (podcast #3 in KARA’s foster care series)

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, LGBTQ, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

the harsh realities faced by LGBTQ+ youth in the foster care system — a population far too often isolated, unsupported, and at devastating risk of homelessness, suicide, and trauma. They share staggering statistics, heartbreaking stories, and expose how

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Aaliya Goodwins Death & Why (podcast)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Their stories

This episode of KARA’s podcast tells the story of 5 month old Aaliya Goodwin, who died of positional asphyxia while in the care of her drug abusing parents. Drawing on the Safe Passage for Children investigation, we explore eight prior reports, repeated “Family Assessments,” and the systemic choices that left Aaliya unprotected.

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California Recent Child Abuse Death, Egregious Harm & Child Protection Issues

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Their stories

Recent California cases show children dying in foster homes, day care, and families long known to CPS, exposing egregious child protection failures. This post highlights specific deaths, audits, and multimillion dollar settlements that prove these are systemic problems, not isolated tragedies.

Child Death and Public Non Disclosure (podcast)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Data, Featured Articles, KARA News and Events, Mental Health + Over Medication, PODCAST & STREAMING, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics

Listen to KARA’s child welfare podcast on child death and public non-disclosure. Learn how secrecy laws and closed child protection records hide patterns of failure when children die—and what real transparency and accountability should look like.​

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INVISIBLE CHILDREN (their stories) audiobook – listen free here

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, invisible children, PODCAST & STREAMING, Statistics, Their stories

Listen to the powerful Invisible Children audio book and hear firsthand how our institutions fail abused and neglected children and learn what we can do to change the system. Hear the heartbreaking stories from CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers about children moved through multiple foster homes, children jailed instead of treated for trauma, and…

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Revisiting the Death Of Eric Dean (& where we are today)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Their stories

In 2014, Safe Passage for Minnesota Children reported that Pope County would face no legal penalty for its role in the slow tortured death of 4-year-old Eric Dean at the hands of his stepmother Amanda Peltier. Brandon Stahl presented Star Tribune readers with the sad fact that four Minnesota counties screen out 90% of child abuse calls.  Read more for a review of child abuse death since Eric Dean.

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Child Abuse Statistics (and the best resources)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Featured Articles, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

Child abuse crosses every community in America. This page gathers the strongest national statistics on maltreatment, CPS investigations, fatalities, and lifetime impacts on children’s brains and futures — along with links to leading data sources and resources for prevention, advocacy, and reform.

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Can Our Relationship Survive This Debate About Child Safety? – CPS reform and racism

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Children's Rights, Featured Articles, Mikes Favorite Posts, Reporting and News - US Based

Can a working relationship survive a fundamental disagreement about child safety? On our CASA board, a Black single mother and a white older man wrestle with whether CPS protects children or destroys families. This post explores that conflict and what it tells us about fixing a child protection system that is both racist and, at times, fatally timid.

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What You Can Do Series – School Boards

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Day Care and Education, Education, Mental Health + Over Medication, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based

School boards wield profound power over the safety, healing, and long-term success of children. What they choose to fund, prioritize, debate, and champion can dramatically shape school culture and community expectations around trauma, mental health, equity, and student outcomes. Yet too often, boards are

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Child Safety and MAAFPA Tensions

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Domestic Violence, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific

MAAFPA’s stated goals emphasize preventing unnecessary removals and preserving African American and other disproportionately represented families, while the Safe Passage data show rising deaths—largely from neglect, substance use, and domestic violence—often in cases where CPS already knew the family.

Child Death and Public Non Disclosure (podcast)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Data, Featured Articles, KARA News and Events, Mental Health + Over Medication, PODCAST & STREAMING, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics

Listen to KARA’s child welfare podcast on child death and public non-disclosure. Learn how secrecy laws and closed child protection records hide patterns of failure when children die—and what real transparency and accountability should look like.​

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Minnesota Family Preservation Law and Child Safety: When “Keep Families Together” Puts Children at Risk

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Religion, Politics + the Law, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Statistics

Minnesota’s African American Family Preservation Act aims to reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare. But underfunded “family preservation first” policies can leave abused children in dangerous homes or unsafe kinship foster care, with deadly consequences documented in Safe Passage fatality reports.​

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“Child Labor in Cocoa Farming in West Africa: How Chocolate Fuels Abuse—and How We Can Help

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Guest Posts, invisible children, Public Policy, Reporting and News - International

It is an open secret that child labour is rampant throughout the supply chains of major chocolate brands like Nestle, Mars and Ferrero. Despite international guidelines and targets to eradicate child labour, a lack of political will and lack of strict corporate legal responsibility enables the continued use of child labour.

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Redefining Normalcy In Child Protection (from orphan trains to protection to ?)

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

Legally, there were no protections for children in the home or orphanage at the time (nor do they have legal status today). What became of orphan train children varied from finding loving homes to sex abuse and slave labor. Over an estimated 150,000–250,000 children rode these trains making this the largest child migration in U.S. history.

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The Multiple Meanings of Child Neglect in Law (& what it means to families)

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

Parents unable to buy food for their child because of poverty are different from caregivers leaving their babies without food or care by absence, or because they are incapacitated by substance abuse or are the kind of parents who spend all their food money on drugs.

This parental distinction is also true for caregivers unable to bring their babies and toddlers in for medical appointments or court appearances. The difference between parents that would if they could and those that simply are too dysfunctional because of severe mental health or substance abuse issues are stark.

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Holding the Line For Children In Need of Protection

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Mental Health + Over Medication, Reporting and News - US Based, Their stories

What is it like to do social work, child protection, or nonprofit work with at‑risk children and families in this climate? How do you avoid being worn down by the steady drip of misinformation, negative media, and viral “anti‑CPS” narratives that are hitting workers and agencies hard?

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Deep Dive Into “Child Neglect” & CPS Deregulation

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, KARA News and Events, NEGLECT, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based

Current federal and state conversations about CPS are moving in two, conflicting, directions: a push by advocates to sharply limit “family policing,” reduce mandatory reporting, and narrow or remove “neglect” in law, and an opposing concern from child protection and public health experts that weakening these protections without robust alternative supports will increase lifechanging child abuse and trauma for millions of America’s most vulnerable children.

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Dissecting President Trump’s Child Protection Executive Order (share this widely)

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

Trump’s recent Presidential Order appears in its entirety below in the Read More section of this post. Added to the order today, is conflicted and confusing language that will have a terrible impact on the quality of life for millions of America’s abused and neglected children, families, and the communities they live in.

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Children & War Winter 2026

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Guest Posts, KARA News and Events, Reporting and News - International

Invisible children in global armed conflicts face flagrant violations of their right to life, safety and protection. Violence is inflicted directly on children and/or children face emotional and mental trauma from being ripped apart from their families, homes and chance at a prosperous future. Despite awareness of this, there is a lack of political will to take action. The following news articles details the how the world is failing to protect children in times of armed global conflicts and steps taken by some to remedy the situation.

World – “World is failing to protect children from the horrors of war”.

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Child Neglect & Substance Abuse Study

Aces and Trauma, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, NEGLECT, RESEARCH, Statistics

This study of 251 neglected children and 502 community matched control group over a 17 year period found that 32% of child abuse fatalities occurring in the same year were attributed to child neglect alone. Most of these children were unnoticed by teachers, law enforcement, healthcare workers and others and received no child protection or welfare services.

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Child Well-Being in the U.S. vs Other Rich Countries: Poverty, Mortality, and Violence

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Featured Articles, KARA News and Events, Public Policy, Reporting and News - International, Stunning Statistics

The United States ranks near the bottom of wealthy countries for child well-being, with higher child poverty, infant mortality, and firearm deaths than its peers. Learn what the data shows and why it matters.​

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Every State Has Child Death by Abuse/Neglect, Only a Few Make the News

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Domestic Violence, Reporting and News - US Based, The States

This from Idaho today. The tip the iceberg reported on by Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota recently. Add to this the Federal Government’s “Bonfire of Deregulation” millions of abused and neglected children will be underserved and many more of them die of trauma and abuse in 2026.

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Balancing IP Rights and Children’s Right to Health

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Data, Rebuttals & Guest Posts, Reporting and News - International

The WHO has highlighted alarming statistics. Millions of children suffer from preventable and treatable diseases, even though affordable treatment exists. Children’s right to health is recognized in several United Nations and international agreements.  The growing economic power of multinational enterprises (MNEs) and pharmaceutical giants raises new questions. Many ask whether these private, non‑state entities have an obligation to ensure children’s right to health.

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Happy New Year – 2026 Projections & Plans + Meet KARA People (short videos)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Featured Articles, Public Policy, Religion, Politics + the Law, Reporting and News - US Based

In 2025, the federal government declared a bonfire of deregulation in Child Protective Services (CPS) for 2026. This is part of a broader “parental rights” and religious liberty agenda. MAGA voices,

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Millions of Abused Children, 2 Powerful Programs, 1000’s of Volunteers—and Little Public Awareness”

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

Because CASA and Children’s Advocacy Centers remain largely unknown, at‑risk children and families lose critical lifelines they don’t even realize exist. Low public awareness means fewer mandated reporters, neighbors, teachers, and relatives can to turn when they suspect abuse—or how to push for a CASA volunteer or a CAC referral when a child enters the system. It depresses volunteer recruitment for CASA and philanthropic support for both models, limiting how many children can be served. It also allows policymakers to underfund these services…

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When Family Preservation and Deregulation Kill Children: Safe Passage Fatality Data

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, Public Policy, Religion, Politics + the Law, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

U.S. child welfare “bonfire of deregulation” and family‑preservation‑first strategies are unfolding in a landscape where children already have very few enforceable federal rights to safety, and where independent research shows large numbers of children dying at the hands of their caregivers.​ Safe Passage findings: children dying in “known” danger The Safe Passage for Children of…

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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”