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

Childhood Trauma Is a War Injury: How ACEs Rewire the Brain and Fuel Crime

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, childabuse, Featured Articles, Mikes Favorite Posts, Reporting and News - US Based

Childhood trauma and Post‑Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in war veterans look different on the surface—but biologically, they are strikingly similar. We accept that a soldier torn apart by bullets or standing next to a friend killed by a bomb will carry invisible brain injuries. Yet we still struggle to see how growing up in a violent, chaotic, or deeply neglectful home can damage a child’s brain in many of the same ways.

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

Common Misconceptions About CPS, Debunked

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, childabuse, Guest Posts

Public opinion about Child Protective Services is shaped by powerful myths that rarely match reality. Drawing on research summarized by Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota, this article challenges common misconceptions about CPS, child removals, racial bias, poverty, and foster care outcomes—and explains why evidence based, child centric policies are essential for at risk children and for the workers trying to protect them.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Children Are Failing In CPS: This is Why and How To Fix It

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

America’s child protection system is failing the very children it was built to save. Instead of preventing abuse, neglect, and family destruction, CPS has become part of the machinery that fills prisons, shatters families, destabilizes classrooms, and overwhelms our health‑care system with preventable trauma, mental illness, violence and addiction. Wrapped in layers of conflicting privacy rules and starved of honest data, child protection agencies hide more than they reveal—leaving lawmakers to make life‑and‑death decisions in the dark, social workers crushed under impossible caseloads, and at‑risk children returned to dangerous homes or lost in a foster care maze that rarely heals the damage already done.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

How Alcohol, Drugs, and Poverty Drive Child Abuse: From Fetal Alcohol Syndrome to Criminal Neglect

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

Parental alcohol and drug abuse, especially in the context of poverty, is one of the strongest drivers of child abuse and neglect. From fetal alcohol spectrum disorders that injure children before birth to criminalized meth labs and chronic neglect, substance use reshapes a child’s brain, home, and future. This post explains how addiction, poverty, and policy collide to harm children — and why real solutions must treat substance use as both a child protection and public health crisis.

Close-up of an eye with braided hair strands.

What School Counselors Can Do: Protect, Heal, and Empower Children

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child self harm and suicide, childabuse, Day Care and Education, Education, Reporting and News - US Based, What You Can Do

School counselors are often the only adults who truly see what traumatized students are living through. This article explains how trauma informed school counseling can spot abuse and adversity early, lead school wide change, coordinate crisis response, connect families to community support, and sustain counselors doing this work. With real world stories and a curated resource list, it’s a practical guide for counselors supporting students impacted by trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

Children holding signs advocating for children's rights and voices.

Alex Miller’s Leadership Is Rebuilding Minnesota’s CASA Program

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Protection, childabuse, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific

Minnesota’s Guardian ad Litem and CASA program has been under real strain—lost volunteers, rising caseloads, and stressed systems have put vulnerable children at risk. Alex Miller’s Minnesota CASA leadership as Chief Information Officer and Interim Program Administrator is helping move the program from crisis toward recovery. By modernizing technology, strengthening data security, and working transparently with the State Guardian ad Litem Board, he has helped stabilize turnover and rebuild trust. The result is a system that is slowly regaining its footing and putting more trained, supported advocates in the lives of abused and neglected children.

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

Northeastern University Study on the Child Welfare Crisis With Projections

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, childabuse, Guest Posts, Public Policy, Stunning Statistics

Official child welfare numbers may capture only part of the crisis. This analysis explains how poverty, Family Assessment practices, underreporting, misreporting, and weak transparency can hide the true scale of harm to children—and why future projections must account for what the system fails to record.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

In Custody, In Crisis (podcast episode #1)

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Protection, childabuse, Mental Health + Over Medication, PODCAST & STREAMING, PODCASTS, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based

dive into the “ground truth” of the foster care system — exposing the often-unseen hardships children face even after being placed in protective care. Through heartbreaking stories like Alex’s and alarming statistics on abuse

Close-up of an eye with a visible bruise underneath.

How Child Abuse and Trauma Sabotage Education, Public Health, and Public Safety

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, childabuse, Education, What You Can Do

Child abuse redefines the way a child thinks and sees the world. Abused children have severely limited learning and coping skills. An abused child’s mental development has been arrested by an anxiety and fear that supercede the learning of other personal and social skills. Without personal and social skills, and a lessening of the anxieties and fears, Abused children fail at school, don’t make friends, and keep a terribly low self image.

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.

Children of diverse backgrounds holding hands around Earth.

Modern Slavery in the UK: How the Law Still Fails Children

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Child Protection, childabuse, Children's Rights, Guest Posts, Reporting and News - International

Modern slavery did not end with history books. The UK Modern Slavery Act was meant to protect victims and hold traffickers accountable, yet thousands of children remain exploited, re trafficked, and left without real support. This KARA post explains how the law works, where it fails child victims, and what advocates say must change—plus concrete ways you can help push systems toward real protection.

Children holding signs advocating for children's rights and voices.

From Reporting to Preventing: Community Action for Child Abuse Prevention in Minnesota

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

This list of Minnesota resources—and the note below—is taken directly from CASA Minnesota in recognition of National Child Abuse Prevention Month, a time to reflect on what it really means to build safe, supportive communities where every child can thrive.

Logo for Kara, Kids at Risk Action organization.

What Social Workers Can Do: Reclaiming Hope and Safety for At‑Risk Children

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Protection, childabuse, Reporting and News - US Based, What You Can Do

Child welfare social workers stand where children’s trauma meets family hardship and broken systems. This trauma‑informed guide shows how social workers can find invisible kids, demand real accountability, build strong teams, use mandated reporting with courage, support caregivers, protect themselves from burnout, and turn casework into lasting system reform.

Children holding signs advocating for children's rights and voices.

National Volunteer Week: Why CASA/GAL Volunteers Matter for At‑Risk Kids in Minnesota

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

During National Volunteer Week, we’re shining a light on CASA and Guardian ad Litem volunteers in Minnesota—the trained community members who stand beside abused and neglected children in court, give them a consistent adult voice, and help judges make better decisions about safety, healing, and permanency.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

What Foster Parents Can Do: Healing, Advocating, and Transforming Lives

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, childabuse, What You Can Do

Foster parenting is about much more than providing a bed. This guide shows caregivers how to insist on full trauma histories, document key events, advocate against medication‑only approaches, partner with schools and agencies, and use their lived experience to reform systems and transform children’s lives.

Person peeking through a torn cardboard hole with visible eyes and hands.

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.

Mother comforting her child outside a brick building.

Cash vs. CPS: What $14 Million Really Buys

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, childabuse, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics, The States

Flint’s Rx Kids program has spent about $14 million giving pregnant and new parents roughly $6,250 per baby in flexible cash—money families use for rent, food, diapers, and medical care. By contrast, CDC linked research puts the lifetime cost of a single child maltreatment case at roughly $830,000, and a year of foster care can cost $41,000 or more per child. If cash support keeps even a small share of vulnerable families out of CPS, the investment likely pays for itself many times over—while sparing children the trauma of removal and system involvement.

Two hands gently holding each other in a comforting gesture.

From Classrooms to Homeless Shelters: How Our Choices Hurt Children

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Protection, childabuse, Education, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

Compared to other advanced nations America treats children and the people who care for them as an afterthought and then acts surprised when our schools and child‑welfare systems are overwhelmed with troubled children suffering from health and mental health issues.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

All About ACEs (Podcast)

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, childabuse, Data, invisible children, PODCAST & STREAMING, Reporting and News - US Based, Statistics

This episode of the Kids at Risk Action podcast dives into the science and societal impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs)—early life traumas like abuse, neglect, and household instability that dramatically shape physical and mental health outcomes. Through powerful commentary from child advocates

A yellow bird curiously looks at a chessboard with white pieces.

How Media Shapes Child Welfare Perception (#1 in KARA’s Child Welfare Series)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Child Protection, childabuse, Media, PODCAST & STREAMING, PODCASTS, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

how media coverage of child welfare too often focuses only on tragedy — fueling blame, misunderstanding, and reduced public support for the very systems meant to protect vulnerable children.