Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

November Sad Stories Part I (find child abuse stories in your state here)

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

American states are struggling to find answers for saving at risk children and reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues

37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)

12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

Four orange tabby cats peering out window

September Sad Stories 2017 Part II

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

OH: Greene County in need of additional foster families

Xenia Daily Gazette – August 31, 2017

Greene County Children’s Services has seen a 22 percent increase in new children services cases from 2015 through 2016 in addition to a 65 percent increase in children being placed – but only 51 licensed foster homes.

http://www.xeniagazette.com/news/20868/greene-county-in-need-of-additional-foster-families

OR: Volunteers sought for foster care Citizen Review Board

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

CASA guardian ad-Litem News Feb thru May 2017 Part II (be a voice for children)

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

FIND YOUR CASA here – CASA’s around the U.S. If you are not listed, send me your info and we will include it.

Find out what the other 975 CASA’s from around the nation are up to.

Last year, more than 76,000 CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers helped more than 251,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes, according to casaforchildren.org. Volunteers are everyday citizens who have undergone screening and training with their local advocate program.

Volunteer to be a CASA guardian ad Litem,

Help KARA maintain this page; info@invisiblechildren.org (do you know an active or retired GAL that might have time to gather guardian ad-Litem news?)

All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

CASA guardian ad-Litem News Feb -May 2017 Part I

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

FIND YOUR CASA here – CASA’s around the U.S. If you are not listed, send me your info and we will include it.

More than 251,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes, according to casaforchildren.org. Volunteers are everyday citizens who have undergone screening and training with their local advocate program.

Volunteer to help KARA maintain this page; info@invisiblechildren.org (do you know an active or retired GAL that might have time to gather guardian ad-Litem news?)
All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children

Guardian ad Litem Presentation for Prospective Volunteers

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

May Sad Stories Part II

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

37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health January 2017)

12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in almost all states, 1/3 of state wards children are forced to take psychotropic medications. Florida reports 48% of its foster children are forced to take Prozac like drugs.

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Sad Stories April 2017 Part III

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

KARA tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.
These pages are a sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma, abuse & tragedy are never reported.
American states are struggling to find answers for saving at risk children and reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect in our communities.
37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health January 2017)

6-12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines Florida reports 48% of its foster children are forced to take Prozac like drugs.
ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

Yellow butterfly on purple coneflower bloom

Sad Stories April 2017 Part I

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

KARA tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

These pages are a sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma, abuse & tragedy are never reported.

American states are struggling to find answers for saving at risk children and reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect in our communities.

37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health January 2017)

12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines Florida reports 48% of its foster children are forced to take Prozac like drugs.

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

A rocket launches with mountains in the background.

Sad Stories March 2017 Part II

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

OR: Report: Child welfare review teams under microscope
Merced Sun-Star – March 06, 2017
Barely three days after 12-year-old Caden Berry of Keizer died, the head of Oregon’s child welfare agency ordered a full review of the agency’s interactions with his family.
Also: Report: Child welfare agency struggled to fix problems: http://www.bendbulletin.com/localstate/5126903-151/report-child-welfare-agency-struggled-to-fix-problems?referrer=fpblob
http://www.mercedsunstar.com/news/business/article136731693.html
OR: 44 children left in harm’s way: Oregon’s child welfare agency struggled to fix problems
Statesman Journal – March 04, 2017
Clyde Saiki, director of the state Department of Human Services, wanted to know if “system issues” may have prevented the state from saving the boy’s life. DHS has publicly published reviews for at least 44 children since 2004, involving children the agency knew of who died or were severely injured.
http://www.statesmanjournal.com/story/news/crime/2017/03/04/inside-state-child-welfare-investigative-team/96928358/
TX: Democratic lawmaker says Texas CPS workloads make ‘a travesty’ of child protection
Dallas Morning News – March 06, 2017
The bill would encourage CPS to hire 893 more employees over the next two years and create an additional 825 slots at sister agencies such as Adult Protective Services, Child Care Licensing and the unit that operates the protective services department’s hotline for reporting abuse, the Legislative Budget Board has estimated.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/child-protective-services/2017/03/06/democratic-lawmaker-says-texas-cps-workloads-make-travesty-child-protection

Green mountainside overlooking calm blue lake

February 2017 Sad Stories Part IV

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

AKARA tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens.

This is only a sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma, abuse & tragedy are never reported.

American states are struggling to find answers for saving at risk children and reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect.

The U.S. is experiencing the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and with serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues.

37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health January 2017)

12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines Florida reports 48% of its foster children are forced to take Prozac like drugs.

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

Indoor glass conservatory with pond and flowers

CASA Guardian ad-Litem News Around the Nation December 2016 -January 2017

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

FIND YOUR CASA here – CASA’s around the U.S. If you are not listed, send me your info and we will include it. Thank you Sai Yang and Century College for your research and writing on this page.

These CASA guardian ad-Litem articles have been gathered from around the nation.

Find out what the other 975 CASA’s from around the nation are up to.

Last year, more than 76,000 CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers helped more than 251,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes, according to casaforchildren.org. Volunteers are everyday citizens who have undergone screening and training with their local advocate program.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

January 2017 Sad Stories Part II

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

KARA tracks current news about at risk children bringing transparency and attention to our youngest and most vulnerable citizens. Please note that what you see here is only a sampling of what should be reported – the great majority of child trauma & abuse never gets reported.

American states are struggling to find answers for saving at risk children and reversing the explosive growth of child abuse and neglect. Today, many state ward children are the 4th and 5th generation of abused children raising their own families without parenting skills and serious drug, alcohol and mental health issues

37% of children overall and 57% of Black children are reported to child protection services in America by the time they turn 18. (American Journal of Public Health 1.17)

12 million children a year are reported to child protection services each year and in many states, 1/3 of foster children are required to take psychotropic medicines

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN

Compilation of information and writing on this page is the hard work of David Vang, Mike Toronto, Jamar Weston, Adolf Nchanj and Blaz Zlate, Callie Benscoter, (student volunteers at Century College) Katie Frake, Boston College, Julie O, and KARA.

Bougainvillea climbing white wall by door

December Sad Stories Part II

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

CA: Culp: Looking at 2016 in the Rear-View Mirror (Opinion)

TechWire – December 28, 2016

One of the biggest sessions at the American Public Human Services Association’s Information Systems Management Conference this year was California’s showcase of its move to agile development and modular procurement approaches to its new Child Welfare System. The feds are getting impatient with states’ efforts at connecting systems and providing a more holistic view of a person and/or a family – and the federal government is backing up its guidance with technology funding parameters. Although the federal wave seems to be confined to one department at the moment (in terms of strongly worded advice), there are plenty of signals that suggest more is to come.

http://www.techwire.net/commentary/culp-looking-at-2016-in-the-rear-view-mirror.html

CA: San Gabriel Valley Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio appointed first Latina chair of human services committee

San Gabriel Valley Tribune – December 28, 2016

State Assemblywoman Blanca Rubio, D-Baldwin Park, has been appointed as the first Latina chair of the Assembly’s human services committee, her office announced Tuesday. The committee oversees child welfare services, foster care, CalWORKs, developmental disabilities services, adult protective services and other human services programs.

http://www.sgvtribune.com/government-and-politics/20161228/san-gabriel-valley-assemblywoman-blanca-rubio-appointed-first-latina-chair-of-human-services-committee

IA: ‘Numerous’ abuse reports made in starved child case, lawmaker says (Includes video)

Des Moines Register – December 29, 2016

Natalie Finn and her siblings were the subjects of “numerous” reports of alleged child abuse and neglect before the 16-year-old died in October of starvation, a state lawmaker said after a confidential briefing Thursday with top officials in Iowa’s Department of Human Services.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2016/12/28/numerous-abuse-reports-made-starved-child-case-lawmaker-says/95935520/

IN: Need for Indiana foster homes surges as opioid addicts leave children behind (Includes video)

Fox59 – December 27, 2016

Adoption advocates are calling on Hoosiers to foster children as Indiana battles yet another symptom of the opioid epidemic. The Villages of Indiana reports a surge in children being pulled from homes where parents are addicted to drugs. As a result, they are running out of good foster homes.

http://fox59.com/2016/12/27/need-for-indiana-foster-homes-surges-as-opioid-addicts-leave-children-behind/

MS: State reminds people of safe haven law

WDAM – December 28, 2016

The state of Mississippi is stepping up its effort to remind people of a very important law. The safe haven law allows mothers to “leave their baby, up to 3 days old, with an employee at any emergency medical provider, hospital emergency room or a licensed adoption agency”.

http://www.live5news.com/story/34143285/state-reminds-people-of-safe-haven-law

NE: Editorial, 12/28: Child abuse investigation is justified

Lincoln Journal Star – December 28, 2016

In the last three years, there have been 36 reports of sexual abuse in state licensed facilities and the child welfare system, a chilling accumulation that has rightfully prompted an investigation by the state inspector general for child welfare.

http://journalstar.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-child-abuse-investigation-is-justified/article_2430d303-c118-54cb-a509-2c6fdbd2af0f.html

OR: NBC5 News Investigation: Inside OnTrack Part 3 (Includes video)

KOBi5 – December 28, 2016

Close-up of koala on tree branch

October Sad Stories Part II

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

WA: Can this tool fix our troubled foster care system?
Crosscut Seattle – October 28, 2015
Anyone who has filed a tax return by hand knows that filling out bureaucratic forms can be a dreary, time-consuming enterprise. For child welfare and youth homeless social service providers, it can be a hindrance to the very outcomes those forms are trying to achieve: providing quality care for the state’s most vulnerable kids. Partners for our Children, a group out of University of Washington’s School of Social Work, is trying to solve that problem.
http://crosscut.com/2016/10/can-this-tool-fix-our-troubled-foster-care-system/

US: Modernizing Foster Care (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 28, 2016
The shortage of foster families will continue to increase. Previous blogs have discussed ways to lessen the need for temporary homes by preventing unnecessary removals and by hastening the time to a permanent home through reunification or adoption. In addition, foster parents should be more adequately compensated.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/modernizing-foster-care/21957

Smiling young boy outdoor portrait by tree

August 2016 Sad Stories (Part 3 through August 31)

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

AZ: Report: Foster Care Rates Sky-Rocket, More Arizona Children Living In Poverty (Includes audio)
KJZZ – August 18, 2016
“Fifty-one percent, so more than half of the kids in Arizona are in low income families,” she said. “And that’s a concern because we know that there are a number of other factors that are affected by that particular benchmark.” Arizona Kids Count Data Book: http://kjzz.org/sites/default/files/8-17-16AZKidsCount-2016_FINAL_for-web-1_0.pdf
http://kjzz.org/content/352635/report-foster-care-rates-sky-rocket-more-arizona-children-living-poverty

CA: First of three bills to protect foster kids passes Assembly
Daily Democrat – August 18, 2016
Legislation that would create a more rigorous process for the prescribing of potentially harmful psychotropic drugs to foster children easily passed off the Assembly floor Thursday afternoon.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20160818/NEWS/160819882

CA: Lawmakers advance bill to decriminalize prostitution for minors
Los Angeles Times – August 18, 2016
SB 1322, authored by Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), would make the crimes of solicitation and loitering with intent to commit prostitution misdemeanors inapplicable to children younger than 18. It also would allow law enforcement to take sexually exploited children into temporary custody if leaving them unattended would pose an immediate threat to their health or safety.
http://www.latimes.com/politics/essential/la-pol-sac-essential-politics-updates-california-lawmakers-reject-bold-step-1471556676-htmlstory.html

Colorful abstract painting with various geometric shapes and lines.

CASA guardian ad Litem News & Stories for August 2016

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

Jan. 17 trial date set in Sullivan County homicide
Terre Haute Tribune Star
Tribune-Star/Lisa TriggDefendant Joshua Travis Hall is led from the Sullivan Superior courtroom by Sheriff Clark Cottom following a hearing Monday …
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Attorney Janie Lindamood leaves mark on community, children, legal profession
Johnson City Press (subscription)
She represented children in delinquency cases and was often appointed as a child’s guardian ad litem, which in Tennessee is a licensed attorney …
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Family Court: abused children need more advocates
The News Journal
The CASA is appointed as the child’s guardian ad litem, which involves being party to any court agreement or court plan for the child and is …
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Judge notes ‘disturbing evidence’ in wards of court application
Irish Times
The alleged sexual abuse and brutal treatment of two children, both aged under 10, was “the most disturbing evidence I have read in 20 years on the …
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Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

July 2016 Sad Stories Through July 15-29 (part 2)

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

IN: Christensen/Laurin: Should lawyers report child abuse learned in representation? (Opinion)
Indiana Lawyer – July 27, 2016
A lawyer’s reporting obligation depends on whether confidentiality and/or privilege are implicated. In short, lawyers may not report privileged communications regarding child abuse. However, lawyers may report information that is only confidential, though not privileged, and are obligated to do so under the Reporting Statute.
http://www.theindianalawyer.com/christensenlaurin-should-lawyers-report-child-abuse-learned-in-representation/PARAMS/article/40994

MN: Lawmaker Plans to Push for More Distance Between Officers and Families in Child Protection Removal Process (Includes video)
KSTP TV – July 26, 2016
Representative Ron Kresha wants to look into putting child protection workers in charge of removing kids from abusive and neglectful homes instead of law enforcement officers.
http://kstp.com/news/new-child-protection-removal-process/4211361/

NC: Nonprofit acquires home in county for homeless teen girls
BlueRidgeNow.com – July 27, 2016
Lambert estimates that Homes for Youth facility will be ready to accept teen girls in about a year. The nonprofit will identify potential residents through referrals from the Department of Social Services and Henderson County Public Schools prior to opening.
http://www.blueridgenow.com/article/20160727/NEWS/160729871?Title=Nonprofit-acquires-home-in-county-for-homeless-teen-girls

Simple black silhouette of three people standing close together.

June 2016 Sad Stories (part 1)

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

MN: Washington County: Child protection changes increase caseload
South Washington County Bulletin – May 27, 2016
State funding will allow Washington County to hire three more child protection workers, but officials say there is no additional funding to process those cases through the legal system.
http://www.swcbulletin.com/news/government/4039730-washington-county-child-protection-changes-increase-caseload

NV: A different approach to foster care
Nevada Daily Mail – June 01, 2016
Keech provided an overview of the process, including the strengths and weaknesses of the child welfare system. “In general, child welfare case managers are amazing and wonderful people,” said Keech, “but within the first weeks of starting their work, they see more evil and suffering than any should see in a lifetime.”
http://www.nevadadailymail.com/story/2309720.html

OK: Sen. James Lankford says Oklahoma needs more foster families (Includes video)
KTUL – May 31, 2016
“When foster children go back home with their parent, forever family or wherever that may lead, that growth and that change continues on and they have a little bit of us to carry with them as well,” Lyndsey said.
http://ktul.com/news/local/sen-james-lankford-says-oklahoma-needs-more-foster-families

PA: Advocates say PA’s child abuse hotline has had major problems since 2010, so why did the state wait so long to investigate? (Opinion)
New Pittsburgh Courier – May 31, 2016
The report released May 24 states that the agency identified “an alarming rate of calls to ChildLine [were] not answered by [Department of Human Services] caseworkers in 2015, along with inadequate staffing for the hotline and a severe lack of monitoring of hotline calls.” Report: http://www.paauditor.gov/Media/Default/Reports/ChildLine%20Interim%20Report-%20Final%205-23-16.pdf
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2016/05/31/advocates-say-pas-child-abuse-hotline-has-had-major-problems-since-2010-so-why-did-the-state-wait-so-long-to-investigate/

US: Many Children Not Getting Enough Food During Summer Months (Incudes audio)

Rapid City man charged with child abuse for beating 1-year-old child
Rapid City Journal
A Rapid City man accused of beating a 1-year-old girl pleaded not guilty Monday to aggravated child abuse. Robert R. Arguello, 39, faces up to 15 …

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Couple accused of beating their children returning to lower court for upgraded charges
MLive.com
Jackson County Assistant Prosecutor Katie Branigan asked the court to change both of Tina Harbert’s two counts of second-degree child abuse to …

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Man charged for allegedly beating child with stick
Sioux City Journal
STORM LAKE | A Storm Lake man is charged with child endangerment causing bodily harm after he beat a 12-year-old girl with a stick, police said.

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Trial dates set for women charged after boy’s fatal beating
WXIX
Trial dates were set Monday for three women charged after police say a 5-year-old boy was beaten to death earlier this year. The women all pleaded …

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Judge allows man’s statement in Hancock child-abuse case
Herald-Mail Media
Aaron Jacob Vanmeter, 22, of Hancock is charged with first-degree child abuse resulting in serious physical injury, second-degree child abuse and …

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Prosecutors to File Additional Charges in Child Abuse Case
Tristatehomepage.com
The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office plans to formally file additional charges against three people accused of having a role on what police …

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Breaking the cycle of child abuse
Seacoastonline.com
PORTSMOUTH – When Deb Cram started writing about her own childhood abuse four years ago, she didn’t know where her words would lead.

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Gwinnett couple accused of stripping, tying up, beating child
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Arrest warrants allege the abuse took place June 1 at their home on Buford’s … The warrant issued for Moss also accuses her of tying the child up and …

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NEW: Jury now deliberating in Larkins child abuse trial
Wyoming Tribune
They are accused of beating their children with belts, a wooden backscratcher and their hands, intentionally causing them mental injury and abusing a …

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Man charged in connection with sexual assault, beating of Mineral City boy
Canton Repository
MINERAL CITY Along state Route 800 is a playground where most children in this small village go to play. There’s a basketball court, some picnic …

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Three children speeding in a red pedal car

New Jersey Child Protection News October 2015 through April 2016

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

NJ: Many post-foster care teens lacking needed mental health care
NorthJersey.com – October 27, 2015
In many states, children who live in foster homes age out of this system by the time they turn 18 or 21, a transition that can leave some at least temporarily without access to health insurance or unable to continue care with doctors who were treating them before. Information Gateway Resource: Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living Programs: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/independent/programs/
http://www.northjersey.com/news/health-news/many-post-foster-care-teens-lacking-needed-mental-health-care-1.1442030

NJ: Advocate: New Jersey making progress getting kids adopted
New Jersey 101.5 – October 12, 2015
Cecilia Zalkind, executive director of the Advocates for Children of New Jersey, said she believes overall, progress is being made in the state, from kids going from foster care into legal, permanent families through adoption.
http://nj1015.com/adoption-picture-brightening-in-nj/

NJ: Several N.J. child welfare offices receive death threats
nj.com – October 08, 2015
Eight state child welfare offices have received calls this week “threatening to shoot up the site or kill everyone in the building,” according to emails from the Department of Children and Families obtained by NJ Advance Media.
http://www.nj.com/politics/index.ssf/2015/10/several_nj_child_welfare_offices_receive_death_thr.html

Colorful abstract painting with various geometric shapes and lines.

CASA guardian ad-Litem News Around The Nation 1.1.16-2.13.16

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

FIND YOUR CASA here – This page tells the stories of CASA’s around the U.S. If you are not listed, send me your info and we will include it. Thank you Sai Yang and Century College for your research and writing on this page.

See what other CASA volunteers are doing – share your stories and blogs; info@invisiblechildren.org

– See more at: CASA News

An advocate for adolescents
Sierra Vista Herald
For the last 20 years, Hager has volunteered as a Court Appointed Special Advocate — who call themselves CASAs — for Cochise County. A CASA is …
Chamber Spotlight: CASA volunteers work to help abused, neglected children – gulflive.com (blog)
CASA volunteer training set for February – Tahlequah Daily Press
Determined, and a bit overwhelmed, I work through rigorous CASA training – Grand Junction Daily Sentinel
Full Coverage

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DCS workers deny allegations they failed to protect abused child
nwitimes.com
Elizabeth Lozano took the 4-year-old boy to a hearing in Lake County on Oct. 23, 2013, and a court-appointed special advocate noticed he had a …

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Public invited to CASA of McKean County annual meeting
Bradford Era
Bob Esch, board president, will talk about what is special about being a Court-Appointed Special Advocate. CASA volunteer Gary DeVore of Port …

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Letter: Remembering Chief Judge Kaye
Albany Times Union
The Court Appointed Special Advocates Programs of New York state and the New York State CASA Association are deeply saddened by the recent …

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Colorful abstract painting with various geometric shapes and lines.

CASA guardian ad-Litem News Around The Nation 10.1.15 Through 12.31.15

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

FIND YOUR CASA here – This page tells the stories of CASA’s around the U.S. If you are not listed, send me your info and we will include it. Thank you Sai Yang and Century College for your research and writing on this page.

See what other CASA volunteers are doing – share your stories and blogs; info@invisiblechildren.org

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Sad Stories November 2015

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

CA: Six children are dead. Could these needless deaths have been prevented?
Los Angeles Times – November 24, 2015
There are community-based services he could have tapped, but they’re fragmented and hard to navigate without professional help, said USC child welfare professor Jacquelyn McCroskey.
http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-1124-banks-troubled-parents-20151124-column.html

FL: Mistakes detailed in Janiya Thomas death
Southwest Florida Herald Tribune – November 24, 2015
Child protection investigators closed probes prematurely, turned in crucial paperwork late and failed to adequately identify safety concerns when they investigated incidents involving the mother of an 11-year-old found dead in a freezer this past October, a Department of Children and Families report released Tuesday found.
http://www.heraldtribune.com/article/20151124/NEWS/151129803?Title=Mistakes-detailed-in-Janiya-Thomas-death
– See more at: http://invisiblechildren.org/2015/11/26/sad-stories-november-2015/#sthash.uuJlOpd4.dpuf

Three child silhouettes on white background

Child Death and Child Abuse Articles (for September 2015 – find your state/country here)

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

Every month KARA publishes articles that 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.

Sign up for our weekly children’s issues updates (free)

All Adults Are The Protectors of All Children

Curled fox sleeping in snowy landscape at sunset

Child Death and Child Abuse Articles (for July 2015 – find your state/country here)

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

KARA tracks child abuse and death articles from around the nation (and some international cases).  Most non death child abuse cases never make it into the media.  This page is KARA’s discovery of information through July 26 2015 and is only a fraction of this child welfare news around the nation.  For a look farther…

Close-up of koala on tree branch

Child Welfare News Through June 9, 2015 – Sad Stories – Glad Stories (15 days)

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

ND: Child Abuse and Neglect on the Rise
KFYR-TV – May 21, 2015
More than 12,000 incidents of child abuse and neglect were reported to the Department of Human Services in 2014.

MO: & KS: EDITORIAL: Volunteers needed to help endangered kids after record caseload increases in states
The Kansas City Star – June 02, 2015
Caseload numbers rise and fall for a variety of reasons, and not all of them are bad. More people could be reporting suspected child abuse, for instance. But the increases in the two-state region are too dramatic and longstanding to qualify as a blip.

Smiling young boy outdoor portrait by tree

Child Protection News Gathered Nationally (find your state here)

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

ALL ADULTS ARE THE PROTECTORS OF ALL CHILDREN Most of our news for this page (300 + articles) is gathered from; Child Welfare in the News is distributed at no charge by Child Welfare Information Gateway (www.childwelfare.gov), a service of the Children’s Bureau/ACF/HHS (www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb). It features news stories on topics of interest to child welfare…

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

Important Points By Brandon Stahl (Star Tribune) Today On Pope County

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, Reporting and News - MN Specific

The following quotes from Brandon Stahl’s reporting today in the Star Tribune indicate the depth and scope of child protection troubles in MN.  That Governor Dayton used “Colossal Failure” language and created a task force to investigate the sad tortured death of 4 year old Eric Dean is to be commended.  Awful things happening to…

Indoor party with toddler and adults

This Week’s At Risk Children’s News

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

SC: Exclusive – Robert Guinyard’s life and death in SC’s child welfare system
The State – August 17, 2014
Since his death, Robert has become the face of the debate over whether Social Services is doing all it can to protect children like the 4-year-old, one of 67 children who died last year after contact with the state’s child welfare agency.
http://www.thestate.com/2014/08/17/3623563/exclusive-robert-guinyards-life.html

Close-up of koala on tree branch

How America Treats Its Children

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

The recent International Labor Organization study proves that the U.S. is one of three nations on the planet that does not provide some kind of monetary payment to new mothers who’ve taken maternity leave from work. America also provides the least amount of maternity leave among the industrialized (and many emerging and third world) nations.

That is what we think of children in America. New Zealand and Norway provide up to 14 weeks of paid leave, and 70 nations provide paid leave for fathers.

In America, we pay our daycare workers what we pay food service workers (the lowest paid people in the nation) and have almost no requirements for education or training for the difficult and important task of raising our youngest citizens.

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Children In The News (update)

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

MI: Littlest victims: Here’s one easy way you can (and should) fight child abuse (Includes Video)
mLive – May 01, 2014
This video, titled Make the Call, is a community effort to encourage people to make that call.
http://www.mlive.com/news/flint/index.ssf/2014/05/littlest_victims_heres_one_eas.html

MI: DHS Launches new Child Welfare Software
MI News 26 – April 30, 2014
The DHS used a “soft launch” to debut the new (Michigan Statewide Automated Child Welfare Information System) on Wednesday morning.
http://www.minews26.com/content/?p=31172

Paraglider silhouette over misty layered mountain peaks

Tip Of The Iceberg – Medicating Six Year Olds

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

We forget that before Prozac, there was Thorazine and the side effects were pronounced and obvious. These new drugs are much more insidious in how side effects manifest themselves.

The underlying issues driving dangerous and emotionally charged behaviors in children must be identified and dealt with if mental health is going to be attained. Anything less fails the child and the community.

Public policy assumes that it’s economically way cheaper to provide drugs than really helping a child.

Work done by the medical community and the Federal Reserve proves that building children is much more economically viable than trying to rebuild badly broken adults. In my volunteer work within the system, I’ve seen it born out again and again.

Close-up of koala on tree branch

Faith Healing & Another Child Death In Philadelphia

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

8 month old Brandon Schaible died of treatable pneumonia because his parents don’t believe in medicine.

This is not as rare as one would hope. In Idaho, 144 children have died in the Followers of Christ Church due to lack of medical care. Religious shield laws are everywhere (does your state have them?

Idaho makes it legal to deny children medical care (including to death). In Oregon 15-month-old Ava Worthington. 16-year-old Neil Beagley. 8-month-old Alayna May Wyland. 9-hour-old David Hickman died that way. Below are articles related to child death due to religious practice and the legal underpinnings (further down) that make withholding medical treatments from children legal.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

CASA News

FIND YOUR CASA here – These CASA guardian ad-Litem articles have been gathered from around the nation. Find out what the other 975 CASA’s from around the nation are up to. Last year, more than 76,000 CASA and guardian ad litem volunteers helped more than 251,000 abused and neglected children find safe, permanent homes, according to casaforchildren.org. Volunteers are everyday citizens…

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Tracking America’s Most At Risk Children (Compiled)

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

New documents obtained by KCAL9 detail previous allegation of abuse in the case of a now- deceased 8-year-old Palmdale boy who investigators say was tortured and beaten to death. Gabrieal Frenandez suffered a skull fracture, several broken ribs and severe burn marks over various spots of his body before he was hospitalized last month, according to the La County Sheriff’s Department. He died from injuries may 24. The mother confessed that she had been abusing the boy from time to time. His mother Pearl Fernandez and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre have been charged for murder.
The Republican governor last week defended O’Day’s leadership, even after the agency told a federal judge it couldn’t say with any certainty how many children died while in its custody.

The department previously reported the deaths of 151 children in their custody between January of 2009 and July of 2012 but retracted that number after a third party reported that number to be less than exact.

They now say they are not sure how many have died.

According to the Tennessean in the first six month of 2012 there were 31 deaths among children, ranging from newborns to teenagers.
Abdifatah Mohamud was bludgeoned to death by his stepfather a year after the boy called 911 to report he was being abused. Mother of drowned toddler speaks out

January 28, 2013. Washington DC, Maryland.

The mother of a 15 month old boy has commented that the court, judges, and police failed to help her son when his death could have so easily been prevented. The father of the boy, despite being under investigation for abuse, was granted unsupervised visits by a judge. Shortly thereafter, he killed the child.

http://www.nbcwashington.com/video/#!/news/local/Mother-of-Drowned-Toddler-Speaks-Out/188504431

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Total Disaster In Tennessee (NV, TN, CA, & TX in Trouble Too) Disappearing Watchdogs Around the Nation

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

When detectives interviewed Brewer, she told them the children were punished for stealing food. The case “even shocked some of our most veteran children’s case workers,” Hudson said.

Brewer pleaded not guilty to eight felony counts, including torture, cruelty and assault with a deadly weapon at her arraignment Jan. 18. Her attorney, alternate public defender Hung Phi Du, declined to comment.

After Brewer’s arrest, county investigators uncovered a history of child maltreatment investigations involving Brewer going back to 2001, when callers to a hotline twice reported that she was abusing her two biological children. Both times, social workers concluded that the allegations were unfounded.

In 2006, Brewer was recruited by a private agency called Aspiranet. Based in South San Francisco, the contractor is one of the state’s largest foster care providers, serving 2,000 children a year.

Aspiranet placed 23 children in Brewer’s care over the next five years, among them the half siblings she ended up adopting.

The children’s mother had been found to be suffering from schizophrenia and depression. They came to Brewer in 2009; it was their fourth foster home.

During Brewer’s five years as a foster parent, the county child-abuse hotline received at least seven calls from people alleging that she was maltreating children, including the half siblings.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Bastards; How Yesterday’s Rejection Of The Disabilities Treaty Damages America’s Children

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

Even after a wheelchair delivered heartfelt plea from 89 year old, handicapped, former Senator Bob Dole, our U.S. senate rejected the UN treat to ban discrimination against people with disabilities.

The reason given was that acceptance would “infringe on American sovereignity”.

The real reason is that we would have to agree to the International Rights of the Children Treaty and quit training American 12 year old’s as soldiers like the rest of the world has.

America is the ONLY nation to not sign the Rights of The Children Treaty (Somalia doesn’t count because it does not have a functioning government).

The rest of the world (200 + nations) agrees that it is wrong to train children as young as 12 as soldiers.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Speaking From The Heart In Reno

All Posts from Kids at Risk Action, CASA, GAL and Child Protection

Wow & Thank You CASA Reno for the opportunity to give the keynote talk at your CASA volunteer recognition dinner. Cathy & I had the pleasure of getting to know your very fun city & many of your committed & engaged child protection volunteers.

High energy, an elegant atmosphere, combined with a terrific dinner, a very professional video tribute to volunteers, and superbly executed silent auction made the “Speaking From The Heart” event a most memorable experience.

My best wishes and admiration for CASA Reno & all of the dedicated individuals that make your organization a necessary & powerful voice for Nevada’s vulnerable children.

Silhouettes of a family with two adults and one child.

Little Is Known About Deaths & Serious Injuries To Children In America

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

While this article was about children in America’s day care centers, I draw your attention to the terrific increase in brutal violence against children outside of day care.

As a guardian ad-Litem for Hennepin County I have witnessed indescribable violence against children (none of which was ever made public).

As stated in this Star Tribune article; “we don’t even know where or how to establish a baseline for this”.

Day care workers in America are paid less than food service workers (the lowest paid employees in the nation).

The rest of the industrialized world long ago recognized the value of healthy children and qualified day care centers.