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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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Cost Neutral Child Protection: The Deadly Lesson of Gabriel Fernandez

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Their stories

When paramedics arrived, eight-year old Gabriel Fernandez was not conscious. His skull was cracked. Three ribs were broken. Bruises and burns covered his body. Two teeth were knocked out of his mouth. X-rays would later show that the third-grader had BB pellets embedded in his lung and groin. Gabriel’s mother, Pearl Fernandez, 29, and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, 32, told the paramedics that Gabriel’s injuries were self-induced. Later Aguirre said that he delivered ten or so blows to Gabriel’s stomach for lying and “being dirty.”

Before Gabriel’s death, his mother was the target of six investigations of child abuse. One of Gabriel’s teachers reported the boy coming to school battered. One of Gabriel’s therapists reported that Gabriel said that he was forced to perform oral sex on a family member. Gabriel told a teacher he’d been beat with a belt buckle until he bled and his mother shot him with a BB gun. Gabriel wrote a suicide note, found by his teacher.

According to documents obtained by the LA Times and a recent wrongful death lawsuit filed by Gabriel’s grandparents, Gabriel was never interviewed privately by a social worker about his abuse. Fernandez and Aguirre have been charged with first degree murder of a child. The two have yet to enter their pleas. Two months after Gabriel’s death, four DCFS employees related to his case were fired.

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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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Why Minnesota’s Youngest Students Are Turning Violent: Childhood Trauma in K–3 Classrooms

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Education, Mental Health + Over Medication, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific

“157 staff injuries and 142 cleared classrooms in a single year raise a hard question: Why are Minnesota’s youngest students turning violent? This piece traces those outbursts back to unhealed childhood trauma—and outlines what K–3 schools, families, and policymakers must do differently if we want safer classrooms instead of more suspensions.”

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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.

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Nation Out of Step: An Early Childhood Education Manifesto for 2026

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Education, Featured Articles, Public Policy, Reporting and News - International, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

Education is the engine of progress and prosperity. A nation that underinvests in its children’s earliest years limits its own future. Neuroscience and economics now converge on a simple truth: what happens from birth to age five shapes the brain, health, behavior, and earning power for life—and early childhood education is where that development can be steered toward success.

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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.

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Fosters and the Orphan Tax: How States Take Social Security from Foster Youth ________________________________________

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

Most foster youth only discover years later that Social Security benefits meant for them were taken by counties to “reimburse” foster care costs, leaving them to age out with no savings, no housing deposit, and no money for school or a car. With up to one third experiencing homelessness by their mid 20s and earning far less than their peers, every dollar matters. This post explains how the so called “orphan tax” works, why the complexity argument is specious, and how existing Social Security and ABLE style accounts could be used to protect foster youths’ benefits instead of padding agency budgets.

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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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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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The Physics of Child Protection in America

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

Child protection in America behaves like a complex system engineered for surveillance, not support. Poverty, racism, and weak safety nets keep generating the same tragedies. What would happen if we rebuilt it around children’s rights, prevention, and healing?

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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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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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COVID + ICE RAIDS Impacting America’s Schools

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Day Care and Education, Education, Public Policy, Reporting and News - US Based, Stunning Statistics

COVID school closures and ICE raids have combined to drive U.S. reading, math, history, and civics scores to historic lows. This post outlines national NAEP data, the states with the deepest learning loss, and what these trends mean for children’s futures, especially in immigrant and high poverty communities.

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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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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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Minnesota’s Children and Federal Policy: Local Pain For Children From National Decisions

Adoption, Foster and Kinship Care, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Day Care and Education, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific

Federal decisions on health care, food, child care, and social services are reshaping daily life for Minnesota’s children, especially those already at risk. When Washington freezes or cuts key programs like Medicaid, SNAP, Head Start, child care funds, SSBG, and TANF, the damage shows up in our counties, schools, clinics, and courtrooms. This post explains how national politics is putting Minnesota kids in harm’s way—and what we can do about it.

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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.

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The Cost of Children Waiting for Their Voice In Court (Guardian ad Litem)

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

Hundreds of children in Minnesota’s child protection system are waiting for a guardian ad litem – the only independent voice they have in court. Every extra month in foster care deepens trauma and drives up costs. This article explains how many children have no GAL, what it costs in dollars and human suffering, and why restoring and expanding CASA/GAL programs is both a moral and fiscal imperative.

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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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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.

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

He Carries His Passport Everywhere Now (from a Minneapolis Teacher)

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Children's Rights, Day Care and Education, Domestic Violence, KARA News and Events, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Their stories

A Minneapolis teacher describes a 17 year old who carries his U.S. passport everywhere after ICE raids—showing how immigration enforcement terrorizes children, families, and classrooms.

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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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Direct & Collateral Damage of ICE Raids on Schools and Daycare

Aces and Trauma, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Protection, Children's Rights, Day Care and Education, Domestic Violence, KARA News and Events, Public Policy, Reporting and News - MN Specific, Reporting and News - US Based

Imagine being a child watching armed officers dragging children and teachers from your school and the chaos of citizen protesters risking violence to stop it. These attacks are destroying the fabric of your community and will make your next days, weeks, and months of classroom learning full of fear that it will happen again.

Targeting children in or around schools to enforce immigration laws is a profoundly traumatizing attack on children and ethical failure of a society’s duty protect minors.

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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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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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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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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”

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Responding to Richard Wexler’s Child Neglect Imprint News Article

Aces and Trauma, All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection, Child Abuse and Deaths, Children's Rights, Public Policy, Rebuttals & Guest Posts, Reporting and News - International, Statistics

Richard Wexler’s Child Neglect in America article uses a Swedish child neglect study to make sweeping claims about “American child neglect and poverty,” even though childhood conditions in the two countries are radically different. In the Nordic welfare states, far fewer children live in deep poverty and families receive broad supports like child benefits, paid leave, subsidized childcare, and universal health care, while U.S. child poverty is roughly twice as high and basic needs often go unmet without thin, means‑tested programs