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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.

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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.

AK: Presbyterian Church apologizes for abuse of Native students
Bristol Bay Times – October 28, 2016
“We apologize for the pain and suffering that our church’s involvement in the Indian boarding school system has caused. We are aware of some of the damage that this cruel and ill-conceived system of assimilation has perpetrated on United States citizens of Native American ancestry. For this, we are truly and humbly sorry.” So began the long-awaited apology from the Presbyterian Church to Alaska Natives, Native Hawaiians, and Native Americans/American Indians at this year’s Alaska Federation of Natives Convention in Fairbanks.
http://www.thebristolbaytimes.com/article/1643presbyterian_church_apologizes_for_abuse_of_1

AR: Hutchinson administration resists accountability in child rape case
Arkansas Times – October 28, 2016
After a nightmarish revelation about serial rapes by a state-approved foster parent, the Hutchinson administration, from the governor on down, resist talking about how it happened.
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/10/28/hutchinson-administration-resists-accountability-in-child-rape-case

AZ: Department of Child Services claims number of Arizona kids in foster care is dropping
KTAR – October 31, 2016
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services says that nearly 428,000 kids are in foster care nationwide, and the number went up for three straight years between 2012 and 2015. The department also said Arizona has one of the highest growth rates. But the director of the Arizona Department of Child Services claims things are turning around in this state.
http://ktar.com/story/1335533/dcs-director-claims-number-arizona-kids-foster-care-dropped/

CA: Girls caught in custody battle after parents are killed in head-on collision
Star-Telegram – October 30, 2016
At issue is the federal Indian Child Welfare Act, known as ICWA, which gives tribal governments a strong voice when it comes to custody proceedings that involve American Indian children. The act was enacted in 1978 because American Indian children were being removed from their traditional homes at a high rate and placed in non-Indian homes, thus preventing them from knowing their culture. In court papers, Shingle Springs contends that it has custody rights to the children because Matthew Cuellar was a member of the tribe and therefore his three children are members of the tribe. Shingle Springs wants Matthew Cuellar’s aunt, Regina Cuellar, to get custody of the children. Information Gateway Resource: Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA): https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/diverse-populations/americanindian/icwa/
http://www.star-telegram.com/news/nation-world/national/article111537747.html

CO: Why Does Our Legal System Still Put Kids In Chains?
5820 – November 01, 2016
Twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia have stopped using restraints on juveniles. Colorado isn’t one of them.
http://www.5280.com/news/magazine/2016/10/why-does-our-legal-system-still-put-kids-chains

CO: Statewide child abuse hotline seeks to increase awareness, accessibility
Loveland Herald Reporter – October 30, 2016
Colorado state officials hope a statewide child abuse hotline they implemented in January 2015 is increasing awareness and simplifying the reporting process for residents. So far, the data suggest the 1-844 line is helping.
http://www.reporterherald.com/news/larimer-county/ci_30520822/statewide-child-abuse-hotline-seeks-increase-awareness-accessibility?source=rss

CT: DCF Routinely Takes Custody Of Kids With “Specialized Needs,” Data Show
Hartford Courant – October 28, 2016
The state has taken custody of more than 860 children since 2011 because their families could not access or provide “specialized care” for their mental health or physical conditions, according to judicial department data.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-dcf-custody-for-care-folo-20161028-story.html

GA: New ministry at Lakewood Baptist aims to help children through foster care and adoption
Gainesville Times – October 27, 2016
Tom Smiley, Lakewood Baptist’s senior pastor, said the ministry is responding to a need for foster care and adoption in Hall County. “We became aware of the tremendous need in the Hall County, Northeast Georgia area regarding the need for foster care and adoption through (the Division of Family and Children Services),” Smiley said. “So we just began to pray and to inquire about how we could establish a work.”
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/199/article/119967/

LA: Louisiana’s high court rules priests don’t have to reveal what is heard in confessionals
The Advocate – October 28, 2016
The case involves a young woman who claims she told a Baton Rouge-area Catholic priest that a longtime church parishioner was sexually abusing her when she was 14 but the priest did nothing to stop or report the alleged abuse. Also: Court: Law can shield priests from reporting abuse evidence: http://www.beaumontenterprise.com/news/crime/article/Court-Law-can-shield-priests-from-reporting-10421129.php Information Gateway Resource: Mandated Reporting: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/responding/reporting/mandated/
http://www.theadvocate.com/baton_rouge/news/courts/article_54c7bc3c-9d5b-11e6-bd7e-e3457316f1e4.html

NH: Lawmakers react to ‘alarming’ report on DCYF child-abuse cases
New Hamsphire Union Leader – October 27, 2016
The preliminary report by an outside agency investigating the handling of child abuse cases by the state was called “disturbing” and “alarming” Wednesday by members of the legislative Commission on Child Abuse Fatalities.
http://www.unionleader.com/state-government/Lawmakers-react-to-alarming-report-on-DCYF-child-abuse-cases-10272016

NJ: The Trentonian to oppose judge’s ‘unconstitutional’ prior restraint order
Trentonian – October 28, 2016
Free-speech advocates have denounced a Mercer County judge who has ordered The Trentonian not to publish information about a child custody case from a document it obtained lawfully. The case involves a 5-year-old boy who was found with drugs at school twice in the last two months. He was taken away from his grandmother and placed into foster care by the Division of Child Protection and Permanency after a teacher at the International Academy of Trenton Charter School found crack cocaine in the student’s folder Oct. 24.
http://www.trentonian.com/general-news/20161028/the-trentonian-to-oppose-judges-unconstitutional-prior-restraint-order

NY: Levin lauds changes to foster care system
Brooklyn Daily Eagle – October 28, 2016
A package of bills approved by the City Council on Oct. 27 will improve the foster care system for nearly 10,000 children in New York City, according to Councilmember Stephen Levin, who chairs the Committee on General Welfare.
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/articles/2016/10/28/levin-lauds-changes-foster-care-system

OH: Hamilton County JFS loses $210,000 after falling short of state target
WCPO – October 31, 2016
Hamilton County JFS, in fact, was the only one of 85 county agencies in Ohio that didn’t get any money at all through a state “visitation incentive fund.” Ohio Department of Job and Family Services created the fund to try to increase the number of children and parents involved in the child welfare system who are visited at least once every 30 days.
http://www.wcpo.com/news/insider/hamilton-county-agency-loses-out-on-210000-in-state-funds-to-help-kids

OH: Butler Co. organization seeing spike in heroin-related child neglect cases (Includes video)
Fox 19 – October 30, 2016
Advocates in Butler County said they’re dealing with a huge spike in child abuse and neglect cases related to drugs. Now, they’re desperately working to help the children. “I’ve had children 3, 4, 5 and 6 that can tell me how to use drugs,” CASA Volunteer Coordinator Sarah Owens said.
http://www.fox19.com/story/33517817/butler-co-organization-seeing-spike-in-heroin-related-child-neglect-cases

OR: Free-Range Parenting Vs. Helicopter Parenting: Why Oregon Emboldens Children To Be Independent By Walking To School Alone (Opinion)
Parent Herald – October 30, 2016
Are you a helicopter parent or a free-range parent? You would be surprised how many parents could be on the extreme sides of these parenting styles as some are overprotective while others are ultra-permissive. Even though both types of parenting have earned criticism and praise, free-range parents got a little boost lately.
http://www.parentherald.com/articles/79039/20161030/free-range-parenting-vs-helicopter-why-oregon-emboldens-children-independent.htm

PA: Inquirer Editorial: Another child’s death should prompt DHS to get its act together
Philadelphia Inquirer – October 31, 2016
Another child under the supervision of a Philadelphia Department of Human Services contractor has died under highly suspicious circumstances. How many more must die before city and state officials realize that continuing to tinker with the symptoms of what plagues this vital agency doesn’t work? It needs to be restructured from top to bottom and take a different philosophical approach to caring for vulnerable children.
http://www.philly.com/philly/opinion/20161031_Inquirer_Editorial__Another_child_s_death_should_prompt_DHS_to_get_its_act_together.html

PA: In transracial adoptions, differences should be embraced-not ignored (Opinion)
Pittsburgh Courier – October 30, 2016
It seems like a logical, mutually beneficial solution. Placing kids with “forever families,” or in permanent homes is good, right? Much of the time, it is. But transracial adoptions call for careful, thoughtful navigation – and choosing to be “color blind,” or ignore that the child is of a different race, can be harmful.
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2016/10/30/in-transracial-adoptions-differences-should-be-embraced-not-ignored/

PA: Montco Child Care Agency Must Pay $5.35 Million in Child Sex Abuse Case
Montgomeryville-Lansdale, PA Patch – October 28, 2016
After being sexually abused in her foster home, a 7-year-old girl was returned to the same home just months later, and was abused again.
http://patch.com/pennsylvania/perkiomenvalley/s/fxge5/montco-child-care-agency-must-pay-5-35-million-in-child-sex-abuse-case?utm_source=article-mostrecent&utm_medium=rss&utm_term=police%20%26%20fire&u

TX: Schwertner Tapped to Lead Senate Workgroup on Child Protection With the state facing substantial challenges in both CPS investigations and foster care capacity, Senator Schwertner takes the lead in getting child protection back on track (Press release)
Guidry News – October 28, 2016
At the conclusion of last night’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) was tasked with leading the new Senate Workgroup on Child Protection, a subset of the Senate Finance Committee that will evaluate the recent critical needs funding request submitted by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS). Also: Texas lawmakers wonder where CPS money is going: http://www.khou.com/mb/news/local/texas/texas-lawmakers-wonder-where-cps-money-is-going/343031968
http://www.guidrynews.com/story.aspx?id=1000080040

TX: DPS Troopers Assisting In Effort To Locate Thousands Of Missing CPS Children
Texas Public Radio – October 28, 2016
Special agents with the Department of Public Safety are being used to locate an estimated 2,800 children who have been deemed by the state as at high-risk for abuse.
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/10/28/175330/dps-troopers-assisting-in-effort-to-locate-thousands-of-missing-cps-children/

TX: Foster Care Chief Ups Request For Caseworker Pay Hikes
Texas Tribune – October 28, 2016
The head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has decided to ask lawmakers for an additional $8.2 million to help raise salaries for Child Protective Services workers, just one day after some legislators balked at his initial multimillion-dollar request. Also: State’s Family Services Chief Wants Raise For CPS Staff: http://dfw.cbslocal.com/2016/10/28/states-family-services-chief-wants-raise-for-cps-staff/ Related: DFPS commissioner lays out plan to overhaul CPS: http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/dfps-commissioner-lays-out-plan-to-overhaul-cps/343760575 Also: Legislators hesitate about $83 million more for child protection agency: http://www.expressnews.com/news/local/article/Legislators-hesitate-about-83-million-more-for-10421364.php Also: Legislators demand CPS reforms to protect thousands of endangered Texas children; can governor-appointed agency director deliver?: http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2016/10/28/legislators-demand-cps-reforms-protect-thousands-endangered-texas-children-can-governor-appointed-agency-director-deliver Also: Texans must insist on increasing salaries and paying for foster care (Opinion): http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2016/10/28/texans-must-insist-increasing-salaries-andpaying-foster-care
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/politics/2016/10/28/175329/foster-care-chief-ups-request-for-caseworker-pay-hikes/

TX: Foster children need better standards for medical care (Opinion)
Dallas Morning News – October 28, 2016
The first time Alexa came to my pediatric office she was having an asthma attack. Her chest was tight, she couldn’t take a deep breath, and she was wheezing. Alexa had entered foster care three weeks earlier, but her inhalers were lost in the transition. Her foster mother brought her to see me within the 30-day timeframe specified by the state of Texas, but for Alexa it was too late to avoid this asthma attack, which could have been prevented if she had been on her daily medications or had access to her rescue inhaler.
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2016/10/28/texas-foster-children-need-better-standards-medical-care

TX: How to keep kids out of danger by helping families cope early (Opinion)
Dallas Morning News – October 28, 2016
Some of these families are enrolled in family support home visiting programs with proven results. These parents, at their own request, receive visits from nurses or other trained workers who coach them on taking better care of themselves and their children. The home visitors help them develop parenting skills, bonding with and nurturing their children. This enhances the child’s cognitive development and often allows the parent to pursue education and employment opportunities.
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2016/10/28/keep-kids-danger-helping-families-cope-early

TX: Message to be Sent to Local Churches–Please Help With the State’s Foster Care Crisis!
KQXT-FM – October 28, 2016
Saying ‘failing these children is not an option’ the regional office of Child Protective Services tonight will meet with dozens of pastors and faith based leaders, trying to convince local churches and church charities to take a major role in fixing the problems which are plaguing the state’s foster care system, News Radio 1200 WOAI reports. Also: Local churches working together to develop foster care ministry: http://www.sweetwaterreporter.com/content/local-churches-working-together-develop-foster-care-ministry
http://woai.iheart.com/articles/local-news-119078/message-to-be-sent-to-local-15247434/

WA: Foster parents abandoning troubled system
Crosscut Seattle – October 28, 2016
Washington state lost nearly one in five foster homes between 2008 and 2015 amid complaints of discord and disarray.
http://features.crosscut.com/washington-foster-care-system-parents-abandon-troubled

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

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Victorian child protection services at ‘crisis point’; report (Opinion) (Correction)
National Indigenous Times – October 27, 2016
Victorian child protection services have failed Aboriginal children as the number being placed in out-of-home care escalates to crisis point, a report tabled in the Victorian Parliament has found.
http://nit.com.au/victorian-child-protection-services-crisis-point-report/

Europe: Child of ‘Britain’s Schindler’ appeals for help for refugees
Associated Press – October 29, 2016
The daughter of a stockbroker nicknamed ‘Britain’s Schindler’ for saving Jewish children from the Nazis is appealing for today’s child refugees to be treated with similar compassion.
http://www.deccanchronicle.com/world/europe/291016/child-of-britains-schindler-appeals-for-help-for-refugees.html

Ireland: Govt urged to intervene in ‘child protection travesty’ at Calais ‘jungle’ migrant camp
Breaking News .ie – October 31, 2016
There are reports that 1,400, some as young as six years old, remain stranded at the camp after French authorities began demolishing it. The Dáil is set to debate a motion on Wednesday calling for 200 of the children to be relocated here
http://www.breakingnews.ie/ireland/govt-urged-to-intervene-in-child-protection-travesty-at-calais-jungle-migrant-camp-761835.html

Italy: UNICEF calls on Italian parliament to pass bill providing support for record number of unaccompanied refugee and migrant children
UNICEF – October 27, 2016
UNICEF is calling on the Italian parliament to urgently pass an historic bill that would strengthen support and protection for the record number of unaccompanied and separated children – at least 20,000 – who have arrived in Italy this year. Near daily reports of migrant drownings on the Mediterranean show clearly that passage of the bill cannot come a moment too soon for children risking their lives to reach Italian shores.
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_92976.html

United Kingdom: London borough opens doors to ‘Jungle’ migrant children
Agence France-Presse – October 28, 2016
Horrified by the desperate plight of traumatised children in the “Jungle” migrant camp in France, one London borough is seeking to provide a new life in Britain for unaccompanied youngsters.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/london-borough-opens-doors-jungle-migrant-children-142223006.html?ref=gs

CA: Child protective services worker stabbed while conducting home visit (Includes video)
23ABC News – October 27, 2016
A child protective services worker was stabbed in the hand while making a home visit Tuesday, according to a person close to the incident. The child’s mother approached the county vehicle while the worker was inside; the victim rolled down the window and the child’s mother waved a knife at her, the source told 23ABC News.
http://www.turnto23.com/news/local-news/child-protective-services-worker-stabbed-while-conducting-home-visit

CA: Fostering more love
Our Weekly – October 27, 2016
An estimated 18,000 children in Los Angeles County are part of the region’s foster care system, with about half of these youngsters been placed with a relative, according to the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
http://ourweekly.com/news/2016/oct/27/fostering-more-love/

FL: Fight to keep children safe (Opinion)
The Panama City (Florida) News Herald – October 27, 2016
The Family First Prevention Services Act, which has passed the House and has a good chance of making it through the Senate, would address the harsh reality that tears too many children from their families and puts them in foster care rather than funding services that would keep them safer and happier with their own parents.
http://indexjournal.com/opinion/editorial/Fight-to-keep-children-safe-18679269

IN: New report shows foster care numbers increasing in Indiana (Includes video)
WEISH – October 28, 2016
Nearly three quarters of the states reporting to the Department of Health and Human Services said the number of foster children went up since last year. Indiana is one of the top five states with the highest jumps. The study is suggesting the increase over the last three years could be due to parental substance abuse.
http://wishtv.com/2016/10/28/new-report-shows-foster-care-numbers-increasing-in-indiana/

MA: Should marijuana use matter in child welfare cases?
The Boston Globe – October 27, 2016
The little-noticed provision states that parents’ marijuana use, possession, and cultivation can’t be the primary basis for taking away custody – or other parental rights like visitation – unless there is “clear, convincing and articulable evidence that the person’s actions related to marijuana have created an unreasonable danger to the safety” of a child. It would become law on Dec. 15 if voters greenlight Question 4.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/27/should-marijuana-use-matter-child-welfare-cases/e1nxygDVIzhle4fVqcW9iP/story.html

ME: RSU 9 after-school, summer programs seek to reduce child abuse, neglect
Franklin Sun Journal – October 27, 2016
FRANKLIN, which stands for Friends Reducing Abuse and Neglect of Kids Living in our Neighborhoods, is funded by a $1.5 million 21st Century grant received in May. The money supports the after-school and summer programs for Regional School Unit 9 pupils in kindergarten through grade 5 over five years.
http://www.sunjournal.com/news/franklin/2016/10/27/rsu-9-after-school-summer-programs-seek-reduce-child-abuse-neglect/2019877

MI: State lawmakers working to close legal loophole to end underground trafficking of kids
WWMT – October 26, 2016
When things don’t work out with your adoptive children, can you give them away to someone you barely know? Michigan Lawmakers say right now the answer is, “Yes.”
http://wwmt.com/news/michigan-politics/state-lawmakers-working-to-close-legal-loophole-to-end-underground-trafficking-of-kids

MN: Children at Risk: Foster Children’s Rights Ignored (Includes video)
KSTP – October 28, 2016
At just 12 years old, McKenna is fighting for the thousands of foster kids across the state who don’t have a voice. Because, in Minnesota, they’re not always given one.
http://kstp.com/news/children-at-risk-foster-childrens-rights-ignored-child-protection-mckenna-ahrenholz-childrens-law-center/4303701/?cat=1

NY: Number of US foster kids rises; parents’ drug abuse a factor
Associated Press – October 27, 2016
After dropping sharply between 2005 and 2012, the number of children in the U.S. foster care system has increased for a third year in a row, according to new federal data released Thursday. A major factor: Worsening substance abuse by parents.
http://www.wboc.com/story/33501128/number-of-us-foster-kids-rises-parents-drug-abuse-a-factor

NY: Some city child-welfare workers juggle more than 15 cases
The New York Post – October 27, 2016
More than 14 percent of city child-welfare workers were recently juggling at least 15 cases simultaneously – the highest percentage since right after the tragic death of Nixzmary Brown, a troubling new report shows.
http://nypost.com/2016/10/27/some-city-child-welfare-workers-juggle-at-least-15-cases/

OH: 19 Ohio hospitals sign on to screen for earliest signs of child abuse in infants
Cleveland.com – October 27, 2016
Doctors and nurses at 19 Ohio hospitals, including four in Northeast Ohio, will soon receive training on how to screen for signs of child abuse in the state’s most vulnerable residents – infants six months and younger. About one in 10 child abuse victims in Ohio have a record of an early injury that should have raised red flags and triggered followup care, but less than a third of children receive this care.
http://www.cleveland.com/healthfit/index.ssf/2016/10/9_ohio_hospitals_sign_on_to_sc.html

OH: Heroin Hitting Kids: How the epidemic is changing child welfare (Includes video)
WRGT – October 27, 2016
The state calls them silent victims. More and more kids and being taken from drug-addicted families, and there’s a record number of kids in Ohio state custody right now. Foster families are virtually impossible to find.
http://abc22now.com/news/local/heroin-hitting-kids-how-the-epidemic-is-changing-child-welfare

OH: Local woman building recovery center for drug-addicted newborns (Includes video)
WRGT – October 27, 2016
Resources for this unbelievable problem are almost non-existent. Brigid’s Path, an opiate recovery and rehab center, was created out of necessity.
http://fox45now.com/news/local/local-woman-building-recovery-center-for-drug-addicted-newborns

OR: South Korean adoptee faces judge in deportation case
Associated Press – October 27, 2016
An adoptee facing deportation to his birth country has made his initial appearance before an immigration judge in Portland, Oregon. Adam Crapser came to the United States from South Korea when he was 3 years old, but his adoptive parents never sought citizenship for him. That made him eligible for deportation after he was later convicted of a felony. Also: Adam Crapser Came Here Legally as an Infant and Is Now Being Deported. That Is Maddening. (Opinion): http://www.slate.com/blogs/the_slatest/2016/10/27/adam_crasper_came_here_legally_as_an_infant_and_is_now_being_deported_that.html Also: Why a South Korean adoptee will be deported to his birth country: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1027/Why-a-South-Korean-adoptee-will-be-deported-to-his-birth-country
http://www.kgw.com/news/politics/south-korean-adoptee-faces-judge-in-deportation-case/67337876

OR: Strangers Become Family at This Multigenerational Housing Project
Yes! Magazine – September 25, 2016
The cluster of townhomes and apartments brings together low-income elders and nine adults who have adopted or are in the process of adopting children out of foster care through an organization that provides on-site services and creates a support network for all.
http://www.yesmagazine.org/issues/the-gig-economy/strangers-become-family-at-this-multigenerational-housing-project-20160925

PA: Foster Care Agency Hit With $5M Verdict Over Sex Abuse (Requires free registration)
The Legal Intelligencer – October 27, 2016
Presbyterian Children’s Village has been hit with a more than $5 million verdict for placing a child in a foster home where she was sexually abused, despite allegedly knowing that the foster home was being investigated for abuse allegations.
http://www.thelegalintelligencer.com/home/id=1202770971323/Foster-Care-Agency-Hit-With-5M-Verdict-Over-Sex-Abuse?mcode=1202617075166&curindex=0&slreturn=20160928000717

SC: Need for foster homes growing in S.C. (Includes video)
WHNS – October 27, 2016
South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley and DSS Director Susan Alford kicked off a state-wide effort to recruit more foster parents earlier this year. They said too many children were having to go to other counties or group homes. Their hope is that more families would open their doors to foster children. They have even worked to make the application process a little easier and shorter.
http://www.foxcarolina.com/story/33503257/need-for-foster-homes-growing-in-sc

TX: DPS Assisting Child Protective Services In Welfare Checks (Includes video)
Time Warner Cable News – October 27, 2016
What began as a request to lawmakers for increased funding has resulted in a statewide, multi-agency effort to make contact with endangered children. The Department of Public Safety is partnering with Child Protective Services to check in on critical cases in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio after CPS officials testified to the Senate Finance Committee that more than 2,800 at-risk children hadn’t been checked on. Also: Foster care agency addresses concerns: http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Foster-care-agency-addresses-concerns-10418912.php Also: Tempers Flare As Lawmakers Work To Fix Child Welfare System: http://tpr.org/post/tempers-flare-lawmakers-work-fix-child-welfare-system#stream/0 Also: State Leader Rejects Funding Request From CPS Chief: http://waco100.iheart.com/articles/247-texas-news-494117/state-leader-rejects-funding-request-from-15243433/
http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2016/10/27/dps-assisting-child-protective-services-after-legislative-outcry.html

TX: Foster care chief ups request for caseworker pay hikes
The Texas Tribune – October 27, 2016
The head of the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services has decided to ask lawmakers for an additional $8.2 million to help raise salaries for Child Protective Services workers, just one day after some legislators balked at his initial multi-million request. On Thursday evening, agency commissioner Hank Whitman wrote in a letter to Senate Finance Committee members that “providing a salary increase will have a positive impact on retention.” Also: Emergency CPS plan calls for $1,000/month pay raise: http://kxan.com/2016/10/27/emergency-cps-plan-calls-for-1000month-pay-raise/ Also: TexProtects Statement on Senate Finance CPS Hearing (Press release): http://www.texasinsider.org/texprotects-statement-on-senate-finance-cps-hearing/
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/27/agency-revising-its-plan-include-needed-pay-increa/

TX: Schwertner Tapped to Lead Senate Workgroup on Child Protection
Texas Insider – October 27, 2016
At the conclusion of last night’s Senate Finance Committee hearing, Senator Charles Schwertner (R-Georgetown) was tasked with leading the new Senate Workgroup on Child Protection, a subset of the Senate Finance Committee that will evaluate the recent critical needs funding request submitted by the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS).
http://www.texasinsider.org/schwertner-tapped-to-lead-senate-workgroup-on-child-protection/

TX: Tempers Flare As Lawmakers Work To Fix Child Welfare System
KSTX – October 27, 2016
In the past two years, 171 Texas children have died from abuse and neglect while in the state’s care. And tempers flared Wednesday as state lawmakers discussed how to fix Texas’ broken child care system. Also: State Leader Rejects Funding Request From CPS Chief: http://waco100.iheart.com/articles/247-texas-news-494117/state-leader-rejects-funding-request-from-15243433/ Also: Empty words make for empty promises (Opinion): http://www.hillcountrynews.com/opinion/article_57283a1a-9c75-11e6-8070-4b9ff83d1c85.html
http://tpr.org/post/tempers-flare-lawmakers-work-fix-child-welfare-system#stream/0

VI: Title IV-E Agency Approves Grant for DHS to Help Foster Children, Adoption
St. Thomas Source – October 28, 2016
When the V.I. Department of Human Services (DHS) recently developed and submitted its grant application for Title IV-E approval, federal officials commended it for the efficient manner in which the application was processed.
http://stthomassource.com/content/news/local-government/2016/10/28/title-iv-e-agency-approves-grant-dhs-help-foster-children-a

WV: Diane Mufson: Do we Americans really care about our children? (Opinion)
The Herald-Dispatch – October 27, 2016
No doubt some who read this headline will think that it is a foolish question. “Of course, we Americans care about our children,” respond most people. And besides, look at all the legislation produced in this past decade to protect the unborn child. But, what about the children already alive? Do we really care about them?
http://www.herald-dispatch.com/opinion/diane-mufson-do-we-americans-really-care-about-our-children/article_94609c5b-499f-5286-907a-92165b6c7fd8.html

US: Adoption, its uncertainties and how to adjust
Chicago Tribune – October 27, 2016
While adoption is an option for growing a family, it’s also difficult for families who already have children to determine how and when to tell them about their new sibling. Parents struggle with telling children too early because the adoption could fall through. But they don’t want to wait until the last minute, as a child needs time to adjust. Information Gateway resource: Siblings and Adoption From Foster Care: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adopt-parenting/foster/siblings/
http://www.chicagotribune.com/lifestyles/sc-seamless-adoption-family-1101-20161027-story.html

US: DCFS Looking Into Brad Pitt’s Pattern Of Child Abuse Behavior; Extends Investigation & Safety Plan On 6 Kids With Angelina Jolie (Includes video)
News Everyday – October 27, 2016
Actor Brad Pitt is still under scrutiny as the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) extended its fact-finding investigation into the actor’s alleged child abuse, not just during the incident aboard their private jet plane but even before that. The safety plan, a protective order imposed by DCFS and part of any pending divorce that should have expired on October 20, is also being extended, reports say.
http://www.newseveryday.com/articles/50932/20161027/dcfs-looking-into-brad-pitts-pattern-of-child-abuse-behavior-extends-investigation-safety-plan-on-6-kids-with-angelina-jolie.htm

US: Children’s Health Coverage Rate Now at Historic High of 95 Percent (Press release)
Georgetown University Health Policy Institute – October 26, 2016
Recently released data from the U.S. Census Bureau examining health insurance coverage rates in 2015 find that, for the period 2013-2015, children’s uninsured levels experienced the largest two year decline on record; this decline coincided with the implementation of most of the provisions of the Affordable Care Act. The U.S. saw the rate of uninsured children decline from 7.1 percent to 4.8 percent during this time period (See Figure 1). Report: http://ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/UninsuredKidsReport2016.pdf Also: CA: State Cuts Number of Uninsured Children by More than Half (Includes audio): http://ccf.georgetown.edu/2016/10/26/childrens-health-coverage-rate-now-at-historic-high-of-95-percent/ http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-28/childrens-issues/calif-cuts-number-of-uninsured-children-by-more-than-half/a54717-1 Also: Report Says Illinois Has Made Huge Strides in Health Care for Children (Includes audio): http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-27/childrens-issues/report-says-illinois-has-made-huge-strides-in-health-care-for-children/a54678-1 Also: New York Near Top for Children’s Health Insurance: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-27/childrens-issues/new-york-near-top-for-children/a54688-1 Also: More Utah Children Have Health Coverage, Study Says: http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-27/childrens-issues/more-utah-children-have-health-coverage-study-says/a54693-1
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-27/health-issues/new-hampshire-top-tier-state-in-childrens-health-coverage/a54650-1

US: No Difference in Behavioral Issues In Children Adopted By LGBT Parents
MedicalResearch.com – October 26, 2016
Controversy continues to surround parenting by lesbian and gay (LG) adults and outcomes for their children. As sexual minority parents increasingly adopt children, longitudinal research about child development, parenting, and family relationships is crucial for informing such debates.
https://medicalresearch.com/author-interviews/no-difference-in-behavioral-issues-in-children-adopted-by-lgbt-parents/29168/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Liberals Announce Countrywide Talks On First Nation Child Welfare
The Canadian Press – October 27, 2016
The federal Liberals attempted Thursday to fend off criticism of their response to a landmark human rights tribunal decision by announcing talks about First Nations child welfare. Also: Commons debates First Nations child welfare: http://www.simcoe.com/news-story/6933124-commons-debates-first-nations-child-welfare/
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca/2016/10/27/liberals-first-nation-welfare_n_12679914.html?

China: MRI shows brain disruption in children with PTSD (Press release)
Medical News Today – October 27, 2016
PTSD is a mental health problem that occurs in the wake of one or more traumatic experiences. Children are particularly vulnerable to the effects of PTSD, as the multiple neurochemical and hormonal effects associated with childhood trauma can lead to lasting changes in brain structure and function. Brain imaging with MRI is a promising tool for identifying vulnerable patients and allowing interventions to begin sooner, potentially preventing any adverse brain changes. Report: http://pubs.rsna.org/doi/10.1148/radiol.2016160907
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/313732.php

Malaysia: Minister mulling compulsory parenting courses to curb child abuse
The Malay Mail Online – October 27, 2016
Minister of Women, Family and Community Development, Datuk Rohani Abdul Karim said parenting courses may be made compulsory to curb child abuse.
http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/minister-mulling-compulsory-parenting-courses-to-curb-child-abuse

United Kingdom: Calais now ‘really, really dangerous’ for child migrants
Church Times – October 28, 2016
Bishops and charities have raised concerns over the handling of the refugee crisis both in the UK and on the Continent, and also for the welfare of hundreds of unaccompanied children, as operations to evacuate and dismantle the refugee camp in Calais began this week. Also: Calais minors lured from camp then abandoned by authorities: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/oct/27/calais-camp-minors-children-abandoned-uk-france-human-rights
https://www.churchtimes.co.uk/articles/2016/28-october/news/uk/calais-now-really-really-dangerous-for-child-migrants

United Kingdom: Child cruelty and neglect cases almost treble in five years
Belfast Telegraph – October 28, 2016
The number of cases of cruelty and neglect of children in Northern Ireland has almost trebled over the last five years. The PSNI recorded 341 offences for cruelty to children and young people in 2015/16, compared to 116 cases in 2011/12.
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/child-cruelty-and-neglect-cases-almost-treble-in-five-years-35168792.html

AR: Stewards of Children Program Helps Stop Child Abuse in NWA
NWA – October 26, 2016
In the last year, The Children’s Safety Center has helped more than 500-hundred abused children here in Northwest Arkansas. The organization provides free services and training to help children in need. One of their new programs is called the “Stewards of Children.It’s a program that focuses on child sexual abuse prevention training for parents and adults who work with kids. Also: Local Shelter Creates Independent Living Program For Foster Kids: http://5newsonline.com/2016/10/26/local-shelter-creates-independent-living-program-for-foster-kids/
http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/fox-24/stewards-of-children-program-helps-stop-child-abuse-in-nwa

AZ: Vision of one-stop shop to encourage more AZ foster parents in works (Includes video)
KPHO/KTVK – October 27, 2016
With more than 18,000 children in foster care in Arizona, advocates say it is hard to believe there isn’t a one-stop shop to help streamline services for foster families or people interested in fostering.
http://www.cbs5az.com/story/33492967/vision-of-one-stop-shop-to-encourage-more-az-foster-parents-in-works

CA: Adopted children and parents celebrate at courthouse (Includes video)
Redding Record Searchlight – October 26, 2016
The Shasta County Courthouse, not generally a very happy place, was filled Wednesday afternoon with laughter and happiness. In celebration of National Adoption Month next month, court personnel threw an early Halloween-style party for the parents of adopted children. They came accompanied by their children, many dressed in Halloween costumes.
http://www.redding.com/news/local/adopted-children-and-parents-celebrate-at-courthouse-3fc842b8-4c03-2d46-e053-0100007f6565-398794191.html

CA: Experts concerned at adoptions coming down
KHTS – October 26, 2016
November is recognized as National Adoption Awareness Month, and while all adoption-related issues are important, this month takes time to focus on children that are currently in foster care. Helping finds these children permanent homes is the main priority for the month of November.
http://www.nyoooz.com/trichy/644815/experts-concerned-at-adoptions-coming-down

CA: Rose Again Foundation inspires involvement and giving
Valley News – October 26, 2016
The Rose Again Foundation is only 3-years-old, but is already inspiring community members, some as young as 6, to get involved and to give. Today, the Rose Again Foundation provides six major programs and services.
http://myvalleynews.com/business/rose-foundation-inspires-involvement-giving/

HI: The Ties That Bond
MidWeek – October 26, 2016
In theory, the mission of The GIFT (Giving Inspiration for Tomorrow) Foundation of Hawaii doesn’t sound all that different from any other fundraising group: It aims to raise money and awareness for nonprofits. In practice, though, as Foundation member Morgan Kaya puts it, it’s “outrageously fun.”
http://www.midweek.com/the-ties-that-bond/

IN: A brotherhood against abuse: Indiana Motorcycle club chapter aims to empower children who’ve been abused
The Daily Citizen – October 27, 2016
Sporting patches on their leather vests reading, “No child deserves to live in fear,” the northwest Indiana motorcycle club aims to harness the cultural perception of bikers as big, scary dudes to empower children who’ve suffered at the hands of abusers.
http://www.daltondailycitizen.com/cnhi_network/a-brotherhood-against-abuse-indiana-motorcycle-club-chapter-aims-to/article_ca18fdcd-4454-5e5b-ac62-7de460a4285f.html

MO: License plates help prevent child abuse
St. Joseph News-Press – October 27, 2016
The St. Joseph Youth Alliance and YWCA are in search of businesses or organizations to help them promote the sale of license plates to benefit child abuse prevention programs. Motorists can help prevent child abuse by displaying the official Children’s Trust Fund license plate on their vehicle. The plates feature a child’s green handprint logo and a message that says “Prevent child abuse.”
http://www.newspressnow.com/news/local_news/license-plates-help-prevent-child-abuse/article_39468e3f-ef8f-535a-bce2-5b591b13fe22.html

NH: Lawmakers react to ‘alarming’ report on DCYF child-abuse cases
New Hampshire Union Leader – October 26, 2016
The preliminary report by an outside agency investigating the handling of child abuse cases by the state was called “disturbing” and “alarming” Wednesday by members of the legislative Commission on Child Abuse Fatalities. “Reading the report made me feel like we are on a sinking ship,” said commission member Skip Berrien, a Democratic state representative from Exeter. Report: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0Bw1u4tuUje88NzA2QmY2dktzTlE/view
http://www.unionleader.com/state-government/Lawmakers-react-to-alarming-report-on-DCYF-child-abuse-cases-10272016&source=RSS

NM: State extends eligibility for childcare assistance
Associated Press – October 26, 2016
New Mexico child welfare officials say more families will be able to keep kids enrolled in childcare programs longer without having to reapply for assistance. The state Children, Youth and Families Department says it’s now allowing families to maintain their eligibility for childcare assistance for 12 consecutive months. The previous certification period was only six months.
http://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/2016/10/26/new-mexico-extends-eligibility-childcare-assistance/92797530/

NY: On supporting child protective services workers (Opinion)
New York Nonprofit Media – October 26, 2016
Working in the child protection field is very rewarding. It can also be demanding, difficult and draining. As the leader of the first child protection agency in the world, The New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, I want to acknowledge all the professionals who work for Child Protective Services throughout the United States.
http://nynmedia.com/news/on-supporting-child-protective-services-workers

OH: State Children’s Hospitals Develop New Interventions to Prevent Repeat Child Abuse
Huntington News – October 26, 2016
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA) announced new interventions and findings that aim to reduce the occurrence of child abuse in infants six months and younger.
http://www.huntingtonnews.net/143241

OR: DHS Director Clyde Saiki on own agency: ‘There’s a lot of room for improvement’ (Includes video)
KPTV – October 26, 2016
Without question, Clyde Saiki has endured trying days in his first year as the Director of the Department of Human Services in Oregon. “When I think I’m having a tough day, I think about a caseworker who’s making a tough decision for a child,” said DHS Director Clyde Saiki.
http://www.kptv.com/story/33492654/dhs-director-clyde-saiki-on-own-agency-theres-a-lot-of-room-for-improvement

PA: I’m black. My parents are white. But it’s not a simple black-and-white issue. (Opinion)
PublicSource – October 27, 2016
Don’t get me wrong. I am a huge fan of interracial relationships of all kinds, but what I have learned is that the depth of all relationships that cross racial lines rely on true love, the flexibility for growth, deep education and mutual respect.
http://publicsource.org/investigations/i-m-black-my-parents-are-white-it-s-not-simple-black-and-white-issue#.WBGMvKQVDiw

PA: ‘Sara’s Struggles’: Not all addiction stories have a sad ending
Ephrata Review – October 26, 2016
“Sara’s Struggles” is part of a series of stories on the addiction crisis facing our society. The stories are written by Janice Ballenger, who works at Retreat at Lancaster County, a premiere 175-bed addiction center in Ephrata. Working closely with addicts, she has a burning passion to raise awareness and offer hope to all. Sara and her family’s names have been changed to protect their identity.
http://www.ephratareview.com/news/saras-struggles-not-addiction-stories-sad-ending/

PA: Adoptee-rights bill to become law
WHTM – October 26, 2016
Adoptees will be able to apply for a copy of their original birth certificates under legislation on its way to Gov. Tom Wolf’s desk. House Bill 162 passed the Senate this week with a unanimous vote of 47-0.
http://abc27.com/2016/10/26/adoptee-rights-bill-to-become-law/

PA: In transracial adoptions, differences should be embraced-not ignored
PublicSource – October 26, 2016
Placing kids with “forever families,” or in permanent homes is good, right? Much of the time, it is. But transracial adoptions call for careful, thoughtful navigation – and choosing to be “color blind,” or ignore that the child is of a different race, can be harmful. Information Gateway Resource: Transracial Adoption: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adopt-parenting/foster/transracial/
http://publicsource.org/investigations/transracial-adoptions-differences-should-be-embraced-not-ignored#.WBGJYaQVDiw

TX: Lawmakers Grill CPS Officials Over Embattled Foster Care System (Includes video)
Time Warner Cable News – October 26, 2016
Child Protective Services officials got an earful while asking for more funding at Wednesday’s Finance Committee hearing. Calling it an ongoing crisis, Texas lawmakers unleashed on CPS officials over how to fix the embattled foster care system. Also: “Beat on me,” foster care chief tells lawmakers. And they do.: https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/26/lawmakers-hear-about-troubled-agencys-plan-help-ch/ Also: Texas lawmakers to get first look at cost of fixing CPS: http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/state/texas-lawmakers-to-get-first-look-at-cost-of-fixing-cps-3fc9c8d2-2a34-3c13-e053-0100007f7414-398785561.html
http://www.twcnews.com/tx/austin/news/2016/10/26/lawmakers-grill-cps-officials-over-embattled-foster-care-system.html

TX: Lawmakers wonder where CPS money is going (Includes video)
KVUE – October 26, 2016
In October, Child Protective Services caseworkers didn’t see 2,844 children in Texas, 511 of those were at the highest risk of abuse or neglect. That’s according to Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman, who said the agency is transparent, and has areas they need to work on.
http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/texas-lawmakers-wonder-where-cps-money-is-going/342568312

TX: New housing will keep foster kids closer to home (Includes video)
KFDA – October 26, 2016
Arrow Child and Family Ministries is providing a new secure and nurturing home for hundreds of children who have been victims of abuse or neglect. The need for a residential treatment facility is critical in the panhandle. Right now there is only one other facility housing foster children.
http://www.newschannel10.com/story/33491452/new-housing-will-keep-foster-kids-closer-to-home

TX: State police fan out to find 2,800 missing foster-care kids
Houston Chronicle – October 26, 2016
In an unprecedented move, a special squad of state police is slated to fan out Thursday to locate more than 2,800 children statewide who are reported to be at a high risk of being abused or neglected, all of whom have been on lengthy waiting lists for state intervention, officials confirmed. Also: DFPS commissioner: I need troopers to find at-risk children: http://kxan.com/2016/10/26/texas-senate-holds-emergency-hearing-on-abused-and-neglected-children/
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/State-police-fan-out-to-find-hundreds-of-missing-10416115.php

US: Country to deport South Korean man 37 years after his adoption by American couple
Associated Press – October 26, 2016
A South Korean man flown to the U.S. 37 years ago and adopted by an American couple at age 3 has been ordered deported back to a country that is completely alien to him. Also: Adoptee Adam Crapser Denied Relief, Expected To Be Deported: http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/adoptee-adam-crapser-denied-relief-expected-be-deported-n673426
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2016/10/26/us-to-deport-south-korean-man-37-years-after-his-adoption-by-american-couple.html

US: How Are States Using Welfare Funding? Often, Not to Help People Work.
Governing – October 26, 2016
The 1996 law is known for its prioritization of work, but it also allows Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds to be used for programs that “encourage the formation and maintenance of two-parent families.” That wiggle room has led states to shift money over to programs that have, at best, a tenuous relationship to work. Arizona, for example, spent almost half of its TANF funds last year on child welfare.
http://www.governing.com/topics/health-human-services/gov-welfare-work-state-spending.html

US: Children rescued, pimps arrested in international prostitution crackdown
Washington Post – October 25, 2016
A coordinated international crackdown on child sex trafficking rescued 82 children, who were provided social services, and arrested 239 suspected pimps and fellow reprobates in the United States, according to the FBI. Five boys were among the victims and the average age was just under 16. Foster children are particularly vulnerable.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/10/25/children-rescued-pimps-arrested-in-international-prostitution-crackdown/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Victorian child protection services at ‘crisis point’; report (Opinion)
National Indigenous Times – October 27, 2016
Victorian child protection services have failed Aboriginal children as the number being placed in out-of-home care escalates to crisis point, a report tabled in the Victorian Parliament has found.
http://nit.com.au/victorian-child-protection-services-crisis-point-report/

Canada: New Democrats seek to force government action on First Nations child welfare
The Canadian Press – October 26, 2016
The New Democrats say they plan to turn up the political pressure on the Liberal government to take action on First Nations child welfare. Also: Manitoba condemns Ottawa on discrimination against Indigenous peoples: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/manitoba-ndp-calls-on-province-to-condemn-ottawa-on-discrimination-1.3823145
http://www.citynews.ca/2016/10/26/new-democrats-seek-to-force-government-action-on-first-nations-child-welfare/

India: Ban children from dangerous religious rituals, says India commission
Thomson Reuters Foundation – October 26, 2016
India’s child protection agency has appealed to parents not to let children take part in religious rituals that could be dangerous, following a teenager’s death after a 68-day fast.
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/reuters/news/report/20161026_Reuters_L4N1CW31I_Ban_children_from_dangerous_religious_rituals__says_India_commission.html

Nigeria: Imo vows to tackle illegal child adoption, trafficking
The Eagle Online – October 26, 2016
The Imo State Government has received the report of the committee on illegal child adoption and trafficking after seven months of its inauguration by the Deputy Governor, Prince Eze Madumere.
https://theeagleonline.com.ng/imo-vows-to-tackle-illegal-child-adoption-trafficking/

United Kingdom: Study highlights importance of parents interacting with children who have autism
South Wales Evening Post – October 26, 2016
The National Autistic Society Cymru has welcomed the results of a study which promotes early involvement by parents to help improve the condition. The early intervention approach is highlighted in a study by the medical journal The Lancet, which said helping parents communicate with their child has been shown to have reduced the severity of autism symptoms. Also: Early Intervention for Parents of Children with Autism Reduces Symptoms: http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/313706.php
http://www.southwales-eveningpost.co.uk/study-highlights-importance-of-parents-interacting-with-children-who-have-autism/story-29843226-detail/story.html

federal-investigation-uncovers-foster-parents-abuse-of-five-children

CT: Yes, There IS a Problem with the “Culture Change” in Connecticut: It Hasn’t Gone Far Enough
Chronicle of Social Change – October 25, 2016
As NCCPR discusses in detail in this report, the current governor, Dannel Malloy, and the Commissioner of his Department of Children and Families, Joette Katz, have brought a culture change to child welfare: They’re refusing to play politics with children’s lives. Report: http://nccpr.org/reports/ConnUpdate.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/yes-problem-culture-change-connecticut-hasnt-gone-far-enough/22202

IL: DCFS Works Toward Increasing Capacity Of Emergency Shelters
Northern Public Radio – October 25, 2016
Department of Children and Family Services Director George Sheldon says these homes are places youth in the state’s care can be sent in lieu of emergency shelters.
http://northernpublicradio.org/post/illinois-dcfs-works-toward-increasing-capacity-emergency-shelters

IL: UIS Child Protection Training Academy Gets New Director
WTAX – October 25, 2016
“We were able, in partnership with the Department, to transition one of the most amazing trainers at the department – 24 years with DCFS,” says Goulet. “She has moved over to UIS. Her name is Susan Evans, and she is the director of our academy.”
http://wtax.com/news/101101-uis-child-protection-training-academy-gets-new-director/

IN: Court: Worker can sue over DCS caseloads
Indianapolis Star – October 25, 2016
A Department of Child Services family case manager can sue her employer for failing to comply with mandated caseloads, according to an opinion filed Tuesday.
http://www.indystar.com/story/news/2016/10/25/court-worker-can-sue-over-dcs-caseloads/92726254/

KY: Task force hears proposed legislation to prevent child abuse and exploitation (Includes video)
WLKY – October 25, 2016
“If you are convicted of trafficking, sex trafficking, then you go on the sex offender registry, but if you’re convicted of promoting human trafficking, you are not currently required to be on the sex offender registry,” Allyson Cox Taylor, director of the Office of Child Abuse and Exploitation, said. Also: Child abuse task force mulls new protections: http://www.courier-journal.com/story/news/politics/2016/10/25/child-abuse-task-force-mulls-new-protections/92695224/
http://www.wlky.com/article/task-force-hears-proposed-legislation-to-prevent-child-abuse-and-exploitation/7208809

MD: CASA/Prince George’s County Receives $50,000 Grant from Fund for Children, Youth and Families
Riverdale Park-University Park Patch – October 25, 2016
The $50,000 grant is from the Fund for Children, Youth and Families at the Washington, D.C.-based Community Foundation for the National Capital Region. The Foundation is the administrator for the Fund and is charged with implementing its new five-year, grant-making strategy.
http://patch.com/maryland/riverdalepark/casa-prince-georges-county-receives-50-000-grant-fund-children-youth-families

MI: State Senate advances Jones bill that stops parents from giving away kids
Argus-Press – October 24, 2016
Senate Bills 923-926 would prohibit parents from transferring legal or physical custody of a child with the intent to permanently strip themselves of parental responsibility. If an unauthorized person is found to advertise for, solicit or recruit a child for adoption, they could be found guilty of a felony punishable by up to four years in prison.
http://www.argus-press.com/article_3f373dcb-0886-52f3-96ce-f05d960b667c.html

MN: County hires more child protection workers
Sun Focus – October 25, 2016
The Anoka County Board Oct. 11, acting on recommendations from staff and the board’s Management Committee, approved two new full-time child protection social worker positions, a full-time foster care licensing social worker and increasing a current 0.75 full-time equivalent child protection social worker position to full-time.
http://focus.mnsun.com/2016/10/25/county-hires-more-child-protection-workers/

MN: Crow Wing County Board: Program seeks ‘permanent connections’ for youth
Brainerd Daily Dispatch – October 25, 2016
A program intended to help youth in foster care make permanent connections with caring adults might soon be offered in Crow Wing County.
http://www.brainerddispatch.com/news/4144825-crow-wing-county-board-program-seeks-permanent-connections-youth

OH: Children’s Hospitals develop new interventions to prevent repeat child abuse
Pike County News Watchman – October 25, 2016
On Tuesday, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine and the Ohio Children’s Hospital Association (OCHA) announced new interventions and findings that aim to reduce the occurrence of child abuse in infants six months and younger.
http://www.newswatchman.com/news/article_66143362-3fcb-5f31-a939-adf10d990a78.html

OH: Theodore Decker commentary: Ohio isn’t taking very good care of its kids
Columbus Dispatch – October 25, 2016
Since 2009, the number of children in agency custody statewide has increased by 19 percent, to nearly 14,000. Over roughly the same period, counties saw state funding drop by 17 percent, for a loss of about $93 million.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/10/25/theodore-decker-column-ohio-isnt-taking-very-good-care-of-its-kids.html

OR: Foster family shortage is becoming a crisis situation
KTVL Channel 10 – October 25, 2016
For the very first time, DHS in Jackson County had no home for a child to go to last month. That child ended up sleeping on a bed set up at DHS. The agency has come close to that happening again, and has made some changes.
http://ktvl.com/news/local/foster-family-shortage-is-becoming-a-crisis-situation

TX: Arrow opens foster care treatment center
Amarillo Globe News – October 25, 2016
While the home is not yet filled with children, it is the completed first phase of a three-phase, $2.5 million project of Residential Treatment Centers and was dedicated Tuesday morning.
http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2016-10-25/arrow-opens-foster-care-treatment-center

TX: Refuge Ranch breaking ground on center for victims of sex trafficking (Includes video)
KXAN – October 25, 2016
“Located on 50 acres in a beautiful and restorative setting outside of Austin, Texas, The Refuge Ranch will provide trauma-informed, holistic care for the girls on-site,” said Crowder.
http://kxan.com/2016/10/25/refuge-ranch-offering-help-for-victims-of-sex-trafficking/

WI: Lead Poisoning: Wisconsin Among Worst in Midwest (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 26, 2016
Wisconsin’s blood lead poisoning levels among children are similar to the 2015 rate in Flint, Mich., according to a new report from the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families (WCCF). Report: Lead and Wisconsin’s Children: http://www.wccf.org/publication/5933-2/
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-26/childrens-issues/lead-poisoning-wisconsin-among-worst-in-midwest/a54643-1

INTERNATIONAL

United Kingdom: Hundreds of students take a stand over 387 unaccompanied children at Calais ‘Jungle’ camp
Gazette-Standard – October 24, 2016
Around 387 students at the Sixth Form College in Colchester gathered on the college grounds as part of a campaign called Stand Up for the 387. The campaign is designed to put pressure on UK authorities to speed up the process for re-homing migrant children at the Jungle camp in Calais.
http://www.gazette-news.co.uk/news/local/14820119.Hundreds_of_students_take_a_stand_over_387_unaccompanied_children_at_Calais__Jungle__camp/?commentSort=newest

AL: What happens to kids taken by Human Resources?
Anniston Star – October 22, 2016
According to state records, 129 children three days old or younger were taken into foster care by DHR workers in the 2016 fiscal year, which ended on Sept. 30. In fact, newborns make up about 4 percent of the 3,564 children taken in by the state last year.
http://www.annistonstar.com/news/state/what-happens-to-kids-taken-by-human-resources/article_c8d15610-98a1-11e6-a154-2ff8c5d71001.html

AZ: My Turn: We were there for kids. The Department of Child Safety wasn’t (Opinion)
AZ Central – October 24, 2016
My Turn: Motivated volunteers and court staff are giving their time, but they’re hamstrung by the absence of a key player: DCS. Also: Arizona Department of Child Safety rejects key provisions of audit: http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/arizona/2016/10/06/arizona-department-child-safety-rejects-key-provisions-audit/91617874/
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2016/10/24/department-child-safety-anybody-home/92421176/

CA: Reigniting Education in Juvie (Opinion)
Boom: A Journal of California – October 24, 2016
The schools offer an opportunity to change kids’ lives while they’re a captive audience. But in California, that opportunity is being wasted because the schools are failing. In a state preoccupied with reforming education and moving away from mass incarceration, the schools that exist at the intersection of these movements are habitually ignored, under-resourced, and not held accountable.
http://newamericamedia.org/2016/10/reigniting-education-in-juvie.php

CT: Advocates see a deck stacked against parents in DCF cases
The Day – October 22, 2016
Lawyers and others who deal with child welfare cases say that once the Department of Children and Families takes a child from a home and wins temporary custody, the deck is stacked against parents.
http://www.theday.com/local/20161022/advocates-see-deck-stacked-against-parents-in-dcf-cases

FL: OUR VIEW: Fight to keep children safe
Panama City News Herald – October 24, 2016
The Family First Prevention Services Act, which has passed the House and has a good chance of making it through the Senate, would address the harsh reality that tears too many children from their families and puts them in foster care rather than funding services that would keep them safer and happier with their own parents.
http://www.newsherald.com/news/20161024/our-view-fight-to-keep-children-safe?rssfeed=true

ME: State sits on millions in federal welfare dollars, yet poverty rises
Portland Press Herald – October 23, 2016
The state has amassed $155 million in unspent funds under the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families in less than 5 years. In less than five years, the LePage administration has quietly stockpiled $155 million in unspent TANF funds, according to state budget data, an unused balance that has grown at a rate higher than any other state in that time.
http://www.pressherald.com/2016/10/23/maine-sits-on-tens-of-millions-in-federal-welfare-dollars-even-with-extreme-childhood-poverty-on-rise/

NH: Grandparents of abused girls pushing for change in child protection laws
Union Leader – October 22, 2016
What makes this case so tragic, according to the grandparents and their attorney, is that it could have been prevented if the state put the resources needed into child welfare and amended child protection statutes to put more emphasis on child safety instead of parental rights. Also: State seeks balance in child protection statutes: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20161023/NEWS07/161029743&source=RSS
http://www.unionleader.com/Grandparents-of-abused-girls-pushing-for-change-in-child-protection-laws&source=RSS

NV: Nonprofit Spotlight | CASA provides better outcomes for children in foster care
Northern Nevada Business Weekly – October 24, 2016
In Washoe County, there are approximately 900 children who are in foster care because it is no longer safe for them to remain in their home. Once a child is removed from their home, a CASA volunteer can be assigned by the judge overseeing the child’s case. This CASA then becomes immersed in the child’s life getting to know not just them but all those around them such as their parents, relatives, foster parents, teachers, attorneys, social workers and counselors. Information Gateway resource: Representation of Children in Child Abuse and Neglect Proceedings: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubPDFs/represent.pdf
http://www.nnbw.com/news/nonprofit-spotlight-casa-provides-better-outcomes-for-children-in-foster-care/

OH: Funding for Child Protective Services is lowest in the nation (Includes video)
News 5 Cleveland – October 25, 2016
Ohio has some of the lowest funding for child protective services in the United States. Funding dropped off during the recession and never bounced back. The repercussions of this state’s heroin epidemic are being seen in courtrooms, “Those of us that have this docket are finding that we’re being overwhelmed and it is getting harder and harder to get the cases in in a timely fashion,” said Nancy McMillen, a Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court Magistrate.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/ohio-funding-for-child-protective-services-is-lowest-in-the-nation

OH: AG: Heroin epidemic unlike any other
Fairborn Daily Herald – October 24, 2016
“This opiate epidemic is unlike any drug epidemic I’ve ever seen,” he said Friday before speaking at a faith leaders conference at Cedarville University. “It goes across every demographic. From teenagers to 60- and 70-year-olds. Income doesn’t matter. Race doesn’t matter. Sex doesn’t matter. We’re losing eight to 10 people a day in Ohio.” The cost of foster care in Ohio is even on the rise because of the increase in orphaned children.
http://fairborndailyherald.com/top-stories/12328/ag-heroin-epidemic-unlike-any-other

OK: Peppers Ranch Foster Care receives $75,000 grant
Edmund Evening Sun – October 22, 2016
Founded in 1999, the Peppers Ranch Foster Care Community seeks to “break the cycle” of child abuse and neglect through loving homes, counseling and growth-oriented activities. The ultimate goal of Peppers Ranch’s Foster Care Community is to become home to as many of Oklahoma’s abused and neglected children as possible.
http://www.edmondsun.com/news/peppers-ranch-foster-care-receives-grant/article_2e768d28-97fd-11e6-bffb-7b090ff6c404.html

TX: Central Texas recovery center provides safe haven for trafficking victims
Culture Map – October 24, 2016
Girls ages 9-18 who are rescued from domestic child sex trafficking – the average victim’s age is 13, and only one in 100 are recovered – typically spend on average a year at Freedom Place, which is located at an undisclosed location outside Houston.
http://houston.culturemap.com/news/city-life/10-24-16-freedom-place-arrow-child-family-ministries/#slide=0

TX: TexProtects Statement on CPS Hiring Plan: Salaries Must Be Competitive
Texas Insider – October 24, 2016
“The Commissioner’s plan as reported is missing a key component: Competitive salaries at a level that will actually fill the positions and keep them filled with qualified caseworkers. Remember, we already have about 400 vacancies in high-need areas. We may hire 550 additional workers, but who will we retain who can handle the pressure and rigor of this job at a $34,000 entry-level salary?
http://www.texasinsider.org/texprotects-statement-on-cps-hiring-plan-salaries-must-be-competitive/

UT: In our opinion: Rethinking foster care through the lens of family relationships
Deseret News – October 25, 2016
There are two demographic groups whose needs disproportionately impact the economic well-being of the country: the young and the old. With the dependency ratio (the ratio of the young and the old compared with the working-aged population) set to rise sharply over the next 15 years, it is gratifying to see efforts to address the needs of these two groups in a more cost-effective and socially beneficial way.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865665545/In-our-opinion-Rethinking-foster-care-through-the-lens-of-family-relationships.html?pg=all

US: Female Genital Mutilation Haunts Somalis in US (Includes video)
Voice of America – October 24, 2016
Although the procedure is illegal in the United States, many Somali natives now residing in the U.S. underwent FGM as young girls and still live with pain. And, in some Somali communities, the practice is carried out in secret.
http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=http://www.voanews.com/a/female-genital-mutilation-somali-community-united-states/3557311.html

US: Foster Youth Bring Their Priorities to Capitol Hill (Includes video)
Youth Today – October 24, 2016
Foster youth sometimes get the chance to respond to lawmakers’ child welfare agendas. They may be invited to testify at a hearing or to stand onstage at a press conference. But they don’t often set the policy agenda. A group of current and former foster youth wants to change that dynamic.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/foster-youth-bring-priorities-to-capitol-hill/

US: New Guidelines To Prevent Sudden Infant Death Syndrome Released (Audio)
National Public Radio – October 24, 2016
The American Academy of Pediatrics has new advice out for parents to protect babies from sudden infant death syndrome. SIDS claims the lives of about 3,50 babies each year in the U.S.
http://www.npr.org/2016/10/24/499121066/new-guidelines-to-prevent-sudden-infant-death-syndrome-released?ft=nprml&f=2,3,46

US: Studying the effects of incarceration on women and their families
Phys.org – October 24, 2016
The number of women in prison has increased dramatically in the last several decades, yet there is little research into women’s experiences in prison and how it affects their families.
http://phys.org/news/2016-10-effects-incarceration-women-families.html

US: Op-ed: The school-to-prison pipeline is real, and we need to close it off
Salt Lake Tribune – October 22, 2016
The School-to-Prison Pipeline is a national trend where children are funneled out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. Policies like “zero-tolerance” criminalize minor violations of school rules.
http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/4489647-155/op-ed-the-school-to-prison-pipeline-is-real

INTERNATIONAL

China: Helping Adopted Children Seek Closure
Sixth Tone – October 25, 2016
The experience of adoption leaves many children with questions about their roots, but Chinese and American parents have different responses.
http://www.sixthtone.com/news/comadoption

Egypt: European Union supports Egypt in collaboration with UNICEF to expand educational opportunities and enforce child protection systems
Relief Web – October 24, 2016
The European Union (EU) and the Government of Egypt (GoE), represented by the Ministry of International Cooperation, the Ministry of Education, and the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM), in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) launched today the five-year programme “Expanding Access to Education and Protection for at Risk Children in Egypt”.
http://reliefweb.int/report/egypt/european-union-supports-egypt-collaboration-unicef-expand-educational-opportunities-and

Ethiopia: Ministry Pledges to End Child Marriage, FGM
Ethiopian Herald – October 21, 2016
The Ministry of Women and Children Affairs marked International Girl Child Day for the 3rd time in Ethiopia with a theme: ” Let’s keep our promise and commitment to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and control child early and forced marriage (CEFM) and other harmful traditional practices to ensure women participation and competency” here yesterday.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201610250513.html

Oman: Leading region in female empowerment
Times of Oman – October 24, 2016
Oman is in a much better position on issues related to girls when compared to other countries in the region, the United Nations Population Fund representative in Oman (UNFPA) has said.
http://timesofoman.com/article/94995/OmanPride/Oman-leads-the-Middle-East-region-in-female-empowerment

United Kingdom: Child migrants taken to Britain: now they need support and psychological care
The Conversation – October 23, 2016
Hundreds of unaccompanied child asylum seekers are being taken to Britain, moved from a camp in Calais, northern France, as its closure begins. There were 387 unaccompanied minors in the French refugee camp known as “the Jungle” with links to the UK and they are arriving in England in groups of 70.
http://m.medicalxpress.com/news/2016-10-child-migrants-britain-psychologicalcare.html

CA: Thousands of California Children in need of Foster Parents
KFBK – October 24, 2016
Thousands of children in California are in need of temporary out of home care because of neglect, abuse or exploitation. That has social workers putting out a call for foster parents.
http://kste.iheart.com/articles/kfbk-news-461777/thousands-of-california-children-in-need-15229563/

CA: Human Traffickers Now Hiding Behind Smartphones And Computers (Includes video)
CBS Sacramento – October 21, 2016
Gone are the days when police could find victims of human trafficking on the streets. Backpage.com is a classified advertisement site that gained popularity after Craigslist closed its adult ad section back in 2010. But it’s just one of many sites criminals use for human trafficking.
http://sacramento.cbslocal.com/2016/10/21/human-traffickers-now-hiding-behind-smartphones-and-computers/

CT: State battles child trafficking
Stamford Advocate – October 22, 2016
Child welfare authorities, faced with a growing number of suspected cases of child trafficking, are fighting back with educational programs aimed at police, teachers, medical workers and even high school students. Information Gateway resource: Preventing, Identifying, and Responding to Human Trafficking: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/trafficking/pir/
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/local/article/State-battles-child-trafficking-10068313.php

FL: Child advocacy group gets $250,000 grant
Highlands News-Sun – October 21, 2016
Alan Abramowitz, executive director of the statewide Guardian ad Litem office, announced thursday that the Florida Guardian ad Litem(GAL) Program will receive a 2016 National Court Appointed Special Advocate (National CASA) Association State Growth Grant for $250,000.
http://yoursun.com/sunnews/sebring/11785302-699/story.html.csp

FL: Congregations can make a difference for children (Opinion)
Tallahassee Democrat – October 21, 2016
Faith is an important component of the foundation that can enable children to grow up healthy, safe, and ready to learn. Health, education, and support systems are all vital for the upbringing of children. When we don’t have those, we have problems that may result in children moving into juvenile justice, child welfare, and the correctional system.
http://www.tallahassee.com/story/life/faith/2016/10/21/congregations-can-make-difference-children/92534048/

MA: Housing options needed for poorer at-risk youths (Includes video)
Boston Herald – October 22, 2016
Special: A panel on solving the homeless youth problem Boston Herald For many middle-class teens, the transition from high school to adulthood is simplified by moving into a college dormitory, where food and essential amenities are readily available – but the same comfortable passage isn’t being provided to poorer youths, a disparity city leaders and advocates say must be corrected. “Middle-class kids have the experience of transitioning into adulthood with wraparound services all around them,” said Mossik Hacobian, executive director of the anti-poverty organization Higher Ground Boston, is among the homeless advocates who think dorm-style living for low-income youths – including homeless kids and those aging out of the state’s foster care system – may be exactly what the city and state needs to solve the growing homeless crisis
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/10/housing_options_needed_for_poorer_at_risk_youths

MI: Teen’s suicide prompts state action against GR child welfare home (Includes video)
WOOD TV – October 21, 2016
State regulators cited one of Michigan’s largest child welfare agencies for failing to supervise a teenager who took his own life at the facility in July 2016.
http://woodtv.com/2016/10/21/teens-suicide-prompts-state-action-against-gr-child-welfare-agency/

MI: Legislation Would Prevent “Rehoming” Of Children
WSJM – October 20, 2016
Legislation is advancing in the Michigan Senate designed to stop the “rehoming” of kids in the state. Senator Rick Jones says some parents will look for people online who want to take their children in exchange for money, and they use state law to shield themselves while doing it. He says that’s dangerous. Also: Jones legislation aims to stop “rehoming”: http://whtc.com/news/articles/2016/oct/20/jones-legislation-aims-to-stop-rehoming/
http://www.wsjm.com/2016/10/20/legislation-would-prevent-rehoming-of-children/

MN: ‘Building with purpose’: training program aims to train foster-care youth for construction careers
Minn Post – October 21, 2016
… he’s hoping his new construction school can help nudge those unemployment numbers up, while also buying youth in the state’s foster care program more time to get their high school diploma or GED. “Construction may not be what they do for the rest of their lives,” Le said. “But what we’re doing is buying them more time.”
https://www.minnpost.com/community-sketchbook/2016/10/building-purpose-training-program-aims-train-foster-care-youth-construc

MO: Rainbow House celebrates 30 years of sheltering children in Boone County
Missourian – October 23, 2016
“We shelter kids in a storm,” said Janie Bakutes, the executive director. “The mission here since 1986 has been the same – to protect children and families in crisis. We do that through prevention, intervention and assessment.”
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/news/local/rainbow-house-celebrates-years-of-sheltering-children-in-boone-county/article_1abbc94c-9622-11e6-a918-4f36a9651ca6.html

NH: Small Spike in Attitudes: More NH Youth at Risk for Suicide (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 24, 2016
Suicide-prevention counselors in the Granite State have noticed a slight increase in two risk factors that can result in more young people trying to take their own lives.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-24/health-issues/small-spike-in-atitudes-more-nh-youth-at-risk-for-suicide/a54587-1

OH: Rural counties struggle to help kids amid drug crisis
Columbus Dispatch – October 23, 2016
Ohio’s county-run system of child-protective services has long been a tale of haves and have-nots, with property-rich counties such as Franklin able to generate millions of dollars in tax revenue to support a broad array of services. Small, rural counties such as Gallia, where property values are relatively low, poverty rates high and levies a tough sell, struggle under the local-funding model.
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2016/10/23/poor-agencies-cant-help-all-kids-in-need-amid-drug-crisis.html#

OH: Surge in heroin leads to Cleveland court system overwhelmed with child neglect cases (Includes video)
NewsNet 5 Cleveland – October 21, 2016
The surge of heroin-related cases is overwhelming many public services, including the Ohio Department of Child Protective Services.
http://www.newsnet5.com/news/local-news/oh-cuyahoga/surge-in-heroin-leads-to-cleveland-court-system-consumed-with-child-neglect-cases

PA: Mike McQueary steps back into the Jerry Sandusky spotlight he never sought
Penn Live – October 21, 2016
Here is McQueary’s post-Sandusky reality: A self-described purgatory in which some see him as the guy who let a pedophile escape in 2001, and others see him as the guy who set the stage for Paterno’s firing.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/10/mike_mcqueary_steps_back_into.html

TX: 4 Our Kids: Economic growth leads to decrease in child abuse (Includes video)
KOB 4 – October 21, 2016
It all adds up to more jobs and a stronger economy. With that, something incredible happened. Sex crimes against children dropped by 30 percent, child abuse dropped by 48 percent, child neglect cases dropped by 58 percent, and kidnapping cases dropped by 41 percent.
http://www.kob.com/investigative-news/4-our-kids-economic-growth-leads-to-decrease-child-abuse-new-mexico-el-paso-albuquerque/4298445/?cat=500

TX: Amarillo to be home to new residential treatment facility for abused, neglected children
ABC 7 Amarillo – October 21, 2016
Arrow Child & Family Ministries will be dedicating its new residential treatment facility on Tuesday, Oct. 25. The facility will be the only residential treatment facility in the Amarillo and Lubbock region for abused and neglected kids requiring a higher level of care.
http://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/amarillo-to-be-home-to-new-residential-treatment-facility-for-abused-neglected-children

TX: DFPS Commissioner defends agency to Abbott
KVUE – October 21, 2016
Texas Department of Family and Protective Services Commissioner Hank Whitman said his Child Protective Services is “struggling to meet the timeframes for initial contact and timely case closure in several regions” including Travis County. Also: Central Texas CPS Director: Retention biggest issue: http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/central-texas-cps-director-retention-biggest-issue/339345338 Also: Magic won’t save Texas’ abused children, but more, well-paid CPS workers might (Opinion): http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/commentary/2016/10/21/magic-willsave-texas-abused-children-hiring-cps-workers-paying-might
http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/dfps-commissioner-defends-agency-to-abbott/339962827

TX: ICE Extends Controversial Contract for Privately-Run Texas Detention Center
Houston Press – October 21, 2016
Immigration and Customs Enforcement has extended its contract to keep the controversial South Texas Family Residential Center, an immigrant detention facility that houses families as they await processing, privately run. The contract renewal was announced last week – months after the Department of Justice said that it would phrase out its contracts with companies that operate private prisons over concerns about their facilities’ safety and quality.
http://www.houstonpress.com/news/ice-extends-controversial-contract-for-privately-run-texas-detention-center-8881417

TX: Under fire for missed checkups on kids, CPS chief asks to swiftly hire 550 new front-line workers
Dallas Morning News – October 21, 2016
The state’s top protective services official, conceding it’s “unacceptable” that tens of thousands of children at risk of abuse and neglect haven’t had a timely visit from Child Protective Services, is asking permission to promptly hire 550 new front-line workers.
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2016/10/20/fire-missed-checkups-kids-cps-chief-asks-swiftly-hire-550-new-front-line-workers

US: Female Genital Mutilation Continues in Somali Community in US (Video)
Voice of America – October 24, 2016
The U.S. state of Minnesota is home to a large number of refugees from Somalia and has a high rate of FGM.
http://www.voanews.com/a/3563474.html

US: No Differences Noted Over Time for Children of Gay, Lesbian Adoptive Parents (Press release)
University of Kentucky News – October 24, 2016
For nearly a decade, University of Kentucky Assistant Professor of Psychology Rachel H. Farr has studied different aspects of family life among heterosexual, gay and lesbian parents and their adopted children. Her newest findings were published by the Developmental Psychology journal last week online.
http://uknow.uky.edu/content/no-differences-noted-over-time-children-gay-lesbian-adoptive-parents

US: Report: Youth Should Not Be Behind Bars (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 24, 2016
The Annie E. Casey Foundation president and CEO Patrick McCarthy says these prisons have high recidivism rates and do not improve long-term outcomes for youth. “These institutions fail at protecting the community, they fail at turning young lives around, they are unconscionably expensive, they’re prone to abuse, they defy reform and the bottom line is we have alternatives,” he states. Report: The Future of Youth Justice: http://www.aecf.org/resources/the-future-of-youth-justice
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-24/juvenile-justice/report-youth-should-not-be-behind-bars/a54594-1

US: Doctors: Babies Can Safely be Raised Vegan
Associated Press – October 21, 2016
There’s a right way and a wrong way to raise a baby on vegan food. Those who get it wrong, parents say, give the responsible ones a bad name. Also: Raising a vegan baby: Parents say abuse cases give a bad rap: http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/raising-a-vegan-baby-theres-a-right-way-and-a-wrong-way/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_food-drink
http://www.voanews.com/a/babies-can-safely-be-raised-vegan-doctors-say/3561798.html

US: Feds propose more international adoption restrictions
World – October 21, 2016
New proposed regulations will make it harder for American families to adopt children outside of the U.S., according to a group of U.S. adoption agencies protesting the rules. The State Department released proposed amendments to its intercountry adoption regulations in September and is accepting comments until Nov. 7. Proposed Regulations: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=DOS-2016-0056-0001
https://world.wng.org/2016/10/feds_propose_more_international_adoption_restrictions

US: November: National Adoption Awareness Month
WCYB – October 21, 2016
In Northeast Tennessee, more than 800 kids were in foster care last year. That’s a huge number Youth Villages in Johnson City is trying to lower.
http://www.wcyb.com/news/november-national-adoption-awareness-month/129395397

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Black youth speak out on their experiences with province’s care systems (Press release)
Canada News Wire – October 21, 2016
More than 120 Black youth who receive services from the child welfare, youth criminal justice, special needs, mental health and Provincial and Demonstration schools systems will mobilize to speak out on the issue of over-representation and other systemic barriers they face to government, child welfare providers, educators and various other service providers.
http://news.morningstar.com/all/canada-news-wire/20161021C2607/black-youth-speak-out-on-their-experiences-with-provinces-care-systems.aspx

Gaza: Protecting children from violations and abuse in Gaza
UNICEF – October 21, 2016
Families often cope by sending their children into the labour market, or into child marriage. Ninety-five per cent of children aged 1-14 experience psychosocial aggression or physical punishment, and 29 per cent of girls are married before age 18.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/oPt_92946.html

United Kingdom: Bizarre backlash as child refugees arrive in UK to tabloid press attacks
Stuff – October 21, 2016
The migrant crisis in Europe reached a new crescendo in the United Kingdom this week as French authorities moved to close a notorious camp across the English channel in Calais. Some of the unaccompanied young people who arrived from Calais were pictured in press reports covering their faces to prevent feverish speculation about their ages, following earlier reports.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/world/85594073/Bizarre-backlash-as-child-refugees-arrive-in-UK-to-tabloid-press-attacks

AZ: Fired child safety workers want wrongful firing suit revived
Associated Press – October 20, 2016
The Arizona Court of Appeals is set to consider reviving a wrongful termination lawsuit filed by five Arizona child welfare workers fired in 2014 amid an agency scandal.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/crime/article/Fired-child-safety-workers-want-wrongful-firing-9985405.php

CA: Aspiranet Expands Local Child and Family Services in Tulare County (Press release)
Briefing Wire – October 20, 2016
In July of 2016, Aspiranet Visalia was awarded the contract for the Tulare County Wraparound program that allows the agency to serve up to 20 youth and their families. “We are excited and looking forward to providing comprehensive services to our youth within the larger system of care in Tulare County, and adding a clinician to our Wraparound team,” commented Trina Newberry, Aspiranet Wraparound Program Director.
http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/aspiranet-expands-local-child-and-family-services-in-tulare-county

CA: Audit claims state agencies drugged foster kids (Video)
ABC 10 – October 20, 2016
“Instead of being taken care of, the system is just throwing pills at them.”
http://www.abc10.com/mb/news/local/california/audit-claims-state-agencies-drugged-foster-kids-/338680015

CA: Chippewa Co. looks for more child welfare funding
WEAU – October 20, 2016
Chippewa County is hoping to get more money for child welfare services. Thursday morning, the Chippewa County Health and Human Services board passed a resolution that will help provide funding for child abuse and neglect services in the county.
http://www.weau.com/content/news/Chippewa-Co-looks-for-more-child-welfare-funding-397830261.html

CO: A Governing Success Story (Opinion)
Pew Charitable Trusts – October 19, 2016
In particular, the state has improved its electoral process; begun analyzing the effectiveness of tax incentives it gives to businesses; and rigorously assessed the costs and benefits of its programs in adult criminal justice, juvenile justice, child welfare, and behavioral health systems. Also: The Pew-MacArthur Results First Initiative, a project of The Pew Charitable Trusts and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, works with states to implement an innovative cost-benefit analysis approach that helps them invest in policies and programs that are proven to work: http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/projects/pew-macarthur-results-first-initiative
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/analysis/2016/10/19/a-governing-success-story

FL: Child welfare advocates praise rules ensuring safety and well-being for LGBTQ foster youth
Proud Parenting – October 20, 2016
Equality Florida and Lambda Legal join Florida child welfare advocates in applauding the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for adopting final rules that protect the safety and well-being of LGBTQ youth in group home care in Florida. The final rules prohibit harassment and discrimination on account of sexual orientation, gender identity and gender expression, guarantee fairness in the delivery of services, and ban the debunked and dangerous practice of conversion therapy in group homes.
http://www.proudparenting.com/2016/10/florida-child-welfare-advocates-praise-rules-ensuring-safety-well-lgbtq-foster-youth/

IA: Fostering a community of support
The Oskaloosa Herald – October 20, 2016
Krystal Chambers and her husband have been going through the licensing process of being a foster/adoption family. “I couldn’t get through it without the support of my friend Tara (who is also going through the licensing), because it’s not easy and it’s very emotional. And it’s such a rewarding thing but also a difficult thing to go through,” she said. “Nobody should have to go through it alone.” The duo decided to fill a void in the community and start a support group for other foster/adoptive parents.
http://www.oskaloosa.com/news/local_news/fostering-a-community-of-support/article_26bd713e-971f-11e6-a2b0-87717d66574e.html

IL: State works to improve childhood mental health (Includes video)
WCIA – October 19, 2016
The National Alliance on Mental Health says one-in-five children, ages 13 – 18, have or will develop serious mental illness. The state is stepping up its efforts to catch those warning signs earlier rather than lager. Mental health professionals teamed up with state agencies to help transform how the state can improve.
http://www.illinoishomepage.net/news/local-news/state-works-to-improve-childhood-mental-health

KY: Presbyterians called to take a stand against sexual and gender-based violence (Press release) (Includes video)
Presbyterian Church USA – October 19, 2016
Sexual and gender-based violence is “an area of Christian life that is not easy to talk about,” Moyo said, adding that Christians need to discuss these issues and take action to protect women and girls. “There is abuse within the church by church people,” she said. “The conspiracy of silence around sexual abuse is what sustains it.” The Thursdays in Black campaign was first launched during the WCC’s Ecumenical Decade of Churches in Solidarity with Women (1988-98), and relaunched in 2013 at the WCC’s 10th Assembly in South Korea.
http://www.pcusa.org/news/2016/10/19/presbyterians-called-take-stand-against-sexual-and/

MO: Two local child welfare organizations to merge
St. Louis Business Journal – October 19, 2016
Two nonprofit, St. Louis-based child welfare agencies plan to merge without cutting operations or staff, officials said. Children’s Home Society of Missouri (CHS) and Family Resource Center (FRC) announced Tuesday they will merge in order to better provide children and families “with a full spectrum of services and support.”
http://www.bizjournals.com/stlouis/news/2016/10/19/two-local-child-welfare-organizations-to-merge.html?ana=RSS%26s=article_search

NC: Our View: For children’s sake, privacy laws need to change
Fayetteville Observer – October 20, 2016
When lawmakers return to Raleigh in January, the Ott case needs to be on the legislative agenda. While public servants deserve some privacy, it shouldn’t obstruct investigations of wrongdoing or negligence. Nor should it protect government agencies from reasonable oversight.
http://www.fayobserver.com/opinion/editorials/our-view-for-children-s-sake-privacy-laws-need-to/article_17e8f3df-bfaf-581b-8d09-5c03003212df.html

ND: Wilkin County: Child protection reports up in Sept.
Wahpeton Daily News – October 20, 2016
Wilkin County Family Services opened 12 child protection cases in September, which is twice as many as it had in September 2015. Year-to-date, the agency has received 105 reports, which is close to 110 received a year ago.
http://www.wahpetondailynews.com/news/wilkin-county-child-protection-reports-up-in-sept/article_7922002c-96d2-11e6-9fd0-f7fd76d6d478.html

NH: DCYF sued over girls’ sexual abuse (Includes video)
Associated Press – October 20, 2016
The lawsuit, filed Thursday, alleges the Division for Children, Youth and Families allowed the biological parents to have unsupervised visits with their children in 2013, even after police began investigating reports the couple had molested other children at a homeless shelter where they were living. Also: Suit alleges DCYF, Easter Seals allowed child sex abuse: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20161020/NEWS21/161029932/-1/news&source=RSS
http://www.wmur.com/article/dcyf-sued-over-girls-sexual-abuse/6963756

NY: 6-year-old Harlem boy Zymere Perkins’ death ruled a homicide
New York Daily News – October 20, 2016
In a statement Thursday, ACS said: “The NYC Administration for Children’s Services is deeply saddened to learn of the Medical Examiner’s ruling in the death of Zymere Perkins. This case is a tragedy and the review of the circumstances that led to this incident is ongoing. The city continues to examine this case, and is implementing targeted reforms.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/6-year-old-harlem-boy-zymere-perkins-death-ruled-homicide-article-1.2838740

NY: Diversity-Based Admissions Coming to 12 More City Schools
DNAinfo – October 20, 2016
A dozen schools are adopting new diversity-based admissions processes next year, after seven elementary schools began piloting the program, the Department of Education announced Thursday. These schools will give priority to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, English Language Learners and/or those in the child welfare system or affected by parental or guardian incarceration. Also: More New York City Schools Join Diversity Initiative: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/21/nyregion/more-new-york-city-schools-join-diversity-initiative.html?_r=0
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161020/boerum-hill/diversity-segregation-nyc-public-schools

OH: Ohio Supreme Court rules in favor of the Andersons in the Maddy Case
WCSM – October 20, 2016
The Supreme Court ruled that the Mercer County Juvenile and Probate Court acted within its jurisdiction in placing Maddy with the Anderson’s with the mother’s consent. A reconsideration was granted and Maddy’s adoption with the Andersons will be allowed to proceed. Also: Probate Court Can Consider Adoption Over Objections of Children Services Agency With Custody: http://www.courtnewsohio.gov/cases/2016/SCO/1020/160723.asp#.WAoj6cnMbFl
http://www.wcsmradio.com/index.php/news/21251/117/Ohio-Supreme-Court-rules-in-favor-of-the-Andersons-in-the-Maddy-Case

OK: Abuse reports preceded suspicious 2006 disappearance of Seminole County boy
The Oklahoman – October 21, 2016
The suspicious 2006 disappearance of a 9-year-old Seminole County boy was preceded by allegations of child abuse – including a report that his adoptive dad handcuffed him to a bed in response to disruptive behaviors that included “starting fires in occupied beds.”
http://newsok.com/abuse-reports-preceded-suspicious-2006-disappearance-of-seminole-county-boy/article/5523504?custom_click=rss

OK: Contributions help foster kids
Muskogee Phoenix – October 20, 2016
“We are currently responsible for the complete needs of more than 70 children,” said Nikki Baker Limore, executive director of Cherokee Nation Indian Child Welfare. “Wonderful donations such as this make it easier for us to fulfill those needs.” In August, Indian Child Welfare was involved with more than 1,800 cases nationwide.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/contributions-help-foster-kids/article_58aa216f-665a-531d-a215-045cb260fa8e.html

OK: Tecumseh-Williams named DHS tribal affairs liaison
Norman Transcript – October 20, 2016
Carmin Tecumseh-Williams has been named the Tribal Affairs Liaison for the Oklahoma Department of Human Services. She succeeds Jacque Hensley who resigned to become Tribal Chair of the Kaw Nation in July 2016.
http://www.normantranscript.com/news/tecumseh-williams-named-dhs-tribal-affairs-liaison/article_60d4b820-9655-11e6-9e10-e334b624cac0.html

PA: Former Penn State President Graham Spanier takes stand in Mike McQueary whistleblower trial
PennLive – October 20, 2016
Former Penn State President Graham Spanier, perhaps offering a preview of coming attractions, testified publicly for the first time Thursday about his handling of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse scandal. Spanier took the stand in former assistant football coach Mike McQueary’s whistleblower suit against the university.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/10/graham_spanier_testifies_in_mi.html

TX: $5 million donation to help new child abuse treatment facility (Includes video)
KSAT – October 20, 2016
Bexar County will soon have a new state-of-the-art facility to serve children and families of child abuse and neglect, thanks to a $5 million donation from local philanthropist Harvey E. Najim to ChildSafe.
http://www.ksat.com/news/5-million-donation-to-help-new-child-abuse-treatment-facility

WA: Program to foster young refugees ramps up here
Journal of Business – October 20, 2016
Having spent the last several decades working to resettle young refugee children in the Seattle area, nonprofit human services agency Lutheran Community Services Northwest has begun to do the same in Spokane through its Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program.
http://www.spokanejournal.com/local-news/program-to-foster-young-refugees-ramps-up-here/

US: A Proactive Approach to Child Welfare and Safety (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 20, 2016
Too often, state and local child welfare agencies find themselves in crisis mode, spurred on perhaps by a tragedy in the headlines, budget shortfalls, or overwhelming caseloads. This reactive approach has been a staple across the U.S. for so long that there is a startling lack of evidence-driven best practices or research to support practice and policy.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/proactive-approach-child-welfare-safety/22206

US: DOJ Launches Campaign to Help Children Exposed to Violence
Afro – October 20, 2016
The White House and the Department of Justice recently launched a campaign to help lessen the impact of violence on the nation’s youth. The Changing Minds campaign is being used to generate awareness that will educate and inspire the public to address children’s exposure to violence. Information Gateway resource: Preventing Community Violence: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/communities/preventing-community-violence/
http://www.afro.com/doj-launches-campaign-to-help-children-exposed-to-violence/

US: Raising a vegan baby: Parents say abuse cases give a bad rap
Associated Press – October 20, 2016
There’s a right way and a wrong way to raise a baby on vegan food. Those who get it wrong, parents say, give the responsible ones a bad name.
http://www.seattletimes.com/life/food-drink/raising-a-vegan-baby-theres-a-right-way-and-a-wrong-way/?utm_source=RSS&utm_medium=Referral&utm_campaign=RSS_all

US: The A.C.L.U., on Transgender Students (Opinion)
The New York Times – October 20, 2016
Every day across the country, school administrators have no difficulty including transgender students in facilities that match their gender identity while providing additional options for any student – whether transgender or not – who wants additional privacy for any reason.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/20/opinion/the-aclu-on-transgender-students.html?_r=0

US: Top 10 Ways To Change Foster Care (Opinion)
Huffington Post – October 20, 2016
Paperwork. It often interrupts services many walks of life. It is no different in the foster care world. I am still waiting on therapeutical services for children who have been in my home for 6 months, now. There needs to be less paperwork, less “red tape” and more action on behalf of the child.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-john-degarmo/top-10-ways-to-change-fos_b_12429174.html?utm_hp_ref=parents&ir=Parents

US: Departments of Justice and Health and Human Services Issue Joint Guidance for Child Welfare Systems (Press release)
US Department of Justice – October 19, 2016
The Justice Department and the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued a joint guidance letter today to state and local child welfare systems on the requirements of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 and its implementing regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color and national origin in programs and activities receiving federal financial assistance. Spanish version: El Departamento De Justicia Y El Departamento De Salud Y Servicios Humanos Emiten Una Guía Conjunta Para Los Sistemas De Bienestar De Menores: https://www.justice.gov/espanol/pr/el-departamento-de-justicia-y-el-departamento-de-salud-y-servicios-humanos-emiten-una-gu
https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/departments-justice-and-health-and-human-services-issue-joint-guidance-child-welfare-systems

INTERNATIONAL

International: East Africa: EALA Passes Bill On Human Trafficking
New Times – October 20, 2016
The East African Legislative Assembly on Tuesday passed the EAC Anti-Trafficking in Persons Bill, and it will not be forwarded to heads of state for the regional bloc for final assent.
http://allafrica.com/stories/201610200063.html

International: The world’s future hinges on supporting 10-year-old girls, says UN
The Guardian – October 20, 2016
According to the UN population fund’s (UNFPA) state of the world population 2016 report, published on Thursday, the future of 10-year-old girls will shape our collective futures. Getting girls through secondary school could reap billions of dollars a year for poorer countries, claims the study. But the hurdles girls face in reaching adulthood are significant. Report: http://www.unfpa.org/swop
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2016/oct/20/world-future-hangs-on-supporting-10-year-old-girls-un-population-fund

United Kingdom: Assistant Commissioner Martin Hewitt speaks about child protection (Opinion)
(London) Metropolitan Police – October 21, 2016
Today, I’m going to focus on one particular element of that offending; protecting children from sexual exploitation, as well as violence, abuse and radicalisation. It’s something I care deeply about and if you want to know why, let me tell you briefly about one of the first times I had to deal with a case involving an abused child.
http://news.met.police.uk/blog_posts/assistant-commissioner-martin-hewitt-speaks-about-child-protection-51225?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=Subscription&utm_content=current_news

CA: Report Analyzes California’s THP-Plus and THP+FC Foster Care Programs
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 19, 2016
A new report from the John Burton Foundation examines trends related to utilization of California’s Transitional Housing Placement-Plus (THP-Plus) and THP-Plus Foster Care (THP+FC) programs during the 2015-2016 year. Report: http://thpplus.org/wp2/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/2015-16-THP-Plus-THPFC-Annual-Report.pdf
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/report-analyzes-californias-thp-plus-thp-plus-foster-care-pro grams/22078

CT: Has Connecticut’s Cultural Change Gone Too Far? (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 19, 2016
In a column published in a Connecticut newspaper, Ms. Katz argued that a tragic outcome in a single case should not be used to reverse needed policy changes. She is right. But according to OCA, the problem is not a misguided policy. Rather, it is a set of practices that appear to be inconsistent with policy and that may be widespread.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/connecticuts-cultural-change-gone-far/22116

FL: Foundation returns to take foster kids fishing (Includes video)
Destin Log – October 18, 2016
The Larry Hatchett Fishing Foundation continued its tradition of making kids smile at the Destin Fishing Rodeo this past weekend. The Memphis, Tennessee, based nonprofit has been coming to Destin each October for the past 26 years, bringing a group of foster children from throughout the southeast to the area for a fun weekend of fishing and friendship.
http://www.thedestinlog.com/news/20161018/foundation-returns-to-take-foster-kids-fishing

MN: County hires more child protection workers
ABC Newspapers (Anoka County UnionHerald) – October 19, 2016
More child protection workers will be hired by Anoka County to keep pace with an increase in reported child maltreatment cases stemming from action by the 2015 Minnesota Legislature.
http://abcnewspapers.com/2016/10/19/county-hires-more-child-protection-workers/

MS: Forensic Interviewer Role In Combating Child Abuse (Video)
WCBI – October 18, 2016
Local groups like the Sally Kate Winters Child Advocacy Center provide a refuge for children impacted by abuse. Working with abused children takes the skill, training and caring of a forensic interviewer.
http://www.wcbi.com/video-forensic-interviewer-role-combating-child-abuse/

NC: DSS Board Approves Framework for Investigation Into Toddler’s Death
The Pilot – October 19, 2016
The county social services board on Wednesday afternoon unanimously approved the framework for a second investigation into how the agency handled the case of toddler who drowned in April, four months after being returned to his mother.
http://www.thepilot.com/news/dss-board-approves-framework-for-investigation-into-toddler-s-death/article_bbf0e216-9654-11e6-8303-27e9766074f9.html

NJ: Advocates Call for Change in Juvenile Justice System (Includes video)
NJTV – October 18, 2016
“Because the way our systems work we are so busy that we rarely have the time, we can’t start from scratch, you’re going to use the materials that come from education, from child welfare, from a police report, you’re going to utilize all of that information. So if there’s a cumulative bias that starts at the first decision point and continues at every subsequent decision point, we can promote bias against an individual without anybody noticing it,” said Rita Cameron Wedding, professor of women’s and ethnic studies at Sacramento State University.
http://www.njtvonline.org/news/video/advocates-call-change-juvenile-justice-system/

NY: Advocates For Children Call on Governor Andrew Cuomo
Hudson Valley Press – October 19, 2016
Across New York State, a growing number of children are at risk of abuse and neglect, compounded by the recent rise in heroin abuse, while the very people responsible for their protection – county Child Protective Services (CPS) workers – are often overwhelmed with high caseloads that put our most vulnerable children at risk of falling through the cracks. That’s why a bipartisan group of state and county lawmakers, children’s advocates and union leaders came together recently in Newburgh at a news conference to call on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to sign the Child Protective Services Safety Act, which the Assembly and Senate approved in June.
http://www.hvpress.net/news/126/ARTICLE/16789/2016-10-19.html

NY: ACS and Our Expectations (Opinion)
New York Nonprofit Media – October 18, 2016
We need to continue to build on what Commissioner Carrion has done in reducing caseloads, increasing training and improving retention of caseworkers to achieve better outcomes for children and families. Also: To reduce child abuse and neglect, support caseworkers: http://nynmedia.com/news/to-reduce-child-abuse-and-neglect-support-caseworkers
http://nynmedia.com/news/acs-and-our-expectations

OH: Marsh hires new foster care supervisor
The Van Wert Independent – October 19, 2016
The Marsh Foundation has hired Melissa Gearhart, LSW, as the agency’s new supervisor of its foster care division. Gearhart will oversee consultation, recruitment, licensing and maintenance of The Marsh’s foster care program.
http://www.thevwindependent.com/news/2016/10/marsh-hires-new-foster-care-supervisor/

PA: Former Penn State counsel Cynthia Baldwin defends PSU’s actions in McQueary case
PennLive – October 18, 2016
Baldwin, in an ironic twist, wound up being a staunch defender Tuesday of the university’s decision to place McQueary on paid, administrative leave during the upheaval that followed the Nov. 5, 2011 arrest of former PSU football assistant Jerry Sandusky on child sex abuse charges.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/10/cynthia_baldwin_takes_stand_in.html

TN: VOICES: Corporal punishment has zero benefit to Tennessee kids (Opinion)
The Leaf-Cronicle – October 18, 2016
Tennessee is 1 of 7 states that make up 80 percent of school corporal punishment in the U.S. State law allows local school boards to decide whether or not children can be hit with wooden boards in school to inflict pain as punishment for minor infractions known as corporal punishment with no safety standards or training to protect children.
http://www.theleafchronicle.com/story/opinion/2016/10/18/voices-corporal-punishment-has-zero-benefit-tennessee-kids/92350426/

TX: When grandparents step in, state often doesn’t help
The Texas Tribune – October 20, 2016
In Texas, more than 600,000 children under age 18 were living with a grandparent in 2014, according to U.S. Census data. But as Texas lawmakers confront a mounting crisis in the state’s foster care system, pledging to overhaul the state’s Department of Children and Families, overlooked are the older adults like Bristol who quietly take in their abandoned or neglected grandchildren.
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/20/older-adults-grandchildren-often-cannot-access-saf/

UT: Child abuse survivor inspiration behind possible bill for public registry (Includes video)
KSL TV – October 18, 2016
White’s abuse story is gaining momentum, and grabbing the attention of Utah lawmakers to propel change in laws when it comes to convicted child abusers.
http://www.ksl.com/?sid=41897285&nid=148

US: FBI sting shows child sex trafficking still thriving in United States (Includes video)
The Christian Science Monitor – October 18, 2016
Kids often enter the criminal justice system for crimes such as “running away, truancy, drugs, alcohol, petty theft,” she says, but officials and welfare workers fail to notice that “all of those are traumatic side effects to being a trafficked victim.”
http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/1018/FBI-sting-shows-child-sex-trafficking-still-thriving-in-United-States

US: In New #WithinReach Video, Comedy Stars Team Up to Get the Word Out About High-Quality, Affordable Child Care (Press release)
Center for American Progress – October 18, 2016
Comedy stars are teaming up to get the word out about high-quality, affordable child care in a new video from the #WithinReach campaign, a project of the Center for American Progress. High-quality child care gives families a fair shot to make ends meet and get ahead and allows parents to participate more fully in the workforce-but skyrocketing costs mean that child care is often out of reach for millions of hard-working Americans, leaving families struggling to choose between their paycheck and their child’s care. Information Gateway resource: Early Childhood and Child Care Services: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/preventing/programs/earlychildhood/
https://www.americanprogress.org/press/release/2016/10/18/146233/release-in-new-withinreach-video-comedy-stars-team-up-to-get-the-word-out-about-high-quality-affordable-child-care/

US: The New Focus on Children’s Mental Health
Atlantic Monthly – October 17, 2016
“It’s during childhood and adolescence where we have a large concentration of mental-health issues, and school is where many kids are spending a large portion of their day. That makes school the perfect place to focus mental-health resources,” Anderson said. “Waiting too long to pay attention to student mental health can easily lead to school dropouts or other problems later in life.”
http://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2016/10/the-new-focus-on-childrens-mental-health/504227/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: October is Child Abuse Prevention Month
Trent Hills Independent – October 19, 2016
The campaign is about “making it more comfortable for people to call” the children’s aid society because “there’s a bit of a stigma sometimes” attached to reaching out for help, but in 97 per cent of CAS investigations “kids don’t come into our care,” he said. “Most often it’s physical abuse or sexual abuse that people talk about, but there’s a lot of other issues that happen in families (where) they need help and we’re here to help families with the struggles that they have.” Also: Six Nations to Go Purple for Child Abuse Prevention Month: http://theturtleislandnews.com/index.php/2016/10/18/six-nations-go-purple-october-19-child-abuse-prevention-month/
http://www.insidebelleville.com/community-story/6919519-october-is-child-abuse-prevention-month/

Europe: Former Archbishop: ‘The clock is ticking’ for minors in Calais (Opinion)
Middle East Monitor – October 17, 2016
“The clock is ticking,” according to former Archbishop of Canterbury Lord Rowan Williams as the demolition of the Calais “Jungle” takes place next week. Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Lord Williams stated that the UK had a “basic moral imperative” to house “deeply traumatised and deeply needy people”.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20161017-former-archbishop-the-clock-is-ticking-for-minors-in-calais/

India: Anti-trafficking Bill to be introduced in Parliament soon: Maneka Gandhi
The Morung Express – October 17, 2016
Women and Child Development Minister Maneka Gandhi on Monday said the government will soon bring an anti-trafficking legislation in Parliament to cover rescue, relief and reintegration of the trafficked people.
http://morungexpress.com/anti-trafficking-bill-introduced-parliament-soon-maneka-gandhi/

Italy: UNICEF: Record Numbers of Unaccompanied Children Arrive in Italy
Arab Today – October 19, 2016
More and more migrant children have been crossing the sea to Italy without their families, bringing the number of unaccompanied minors to a record 20,000 so far this year, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said. In the first nine months of 2016 more children arrived by sea in Italy than in all of last year. This year more than 90% of the children travelled alone while in 2015 the unaccompanied accounted for 75%.
http://www.arabtoday.net/news-37/unicef-record-numbers-of-unaccompanied-children-arrive-in-italy-185534

Lebanon: The Precarious State of Syrian Refugee Women, Children in Lebanon
Rand – October 13, 2016
More than 13 million Syrians (PDF) in Syria and surrounding countries have been displaced by the conflict since March 2011, creating what some have called the worst refugee crisis in a generation. More than 1 million displaced Syrians have sought refuge in Lebanon, accounting for almost a quarter of the neighboring nation’s population of about 4.8 million. Syrians in Lebanon have become the largest refugee population in the world.
http://www.rand.org/blog/2016/09/the-precarious-state-of-syrian-refugee-women-children.html

Syria: Desperate Families Flee into War-torn Syria to Escape Mosul Fighting (Press release)
Save the Children – October 19, 2016
About 5,000 people, mostly women and children, have arrived at the Al Hol Camp from the Mosul area in the last 10 days, and at least 1,000 more are now massing at the border waiting to cross.
http://www.savethechildren.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=8rKLIXMGIpI4E&b=9357115&ct=14927139¬oc=1

United Kingdom: Some big lessons from Troubled Families
BBC News – October 18, 2016
This is despite the work of researchers from the National Institute for Economic and Social Research, who wrote: “Across a wide range of outcomes, covering the key objectives of the Troubled Families Programme – employment, benefit receipt, school attendance, safeguarding and child welfare – we were unable to find consistent evidence that the programme had any significant or systematic impact.”
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-37691390

CA: Audit slams state agencies for drugging foster kids
KXTV – October 18, 2016
During a recent hearing at the Capitol, State Auditor Elaine Howle revealed the findings on her department’s audit regarding the prescribing and oversight of psychotropic medications to children in foster care. Audit: https://www.auditor.ca.gov/pdfs/reports/2015-131.pdf
http://www.abc10.com/mb/news/local/california/audit-slams-state-for-drugging-foster-kids/326887120

CA: Lessons for Child Welfare from the California “Right-to-Lie” Case (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 18, 2016
In contrast, none of these protections is universal – and most never apply at all – in cases where the stakes often are higher: cases in which a child protective services agency decides to consign a child to the chaos of foster care.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/lessons-child-welfare-california-right-lie-case/22026

CA: Women’s Fund Gifts Total of $50,000 to Two Child Advocacy Groups
Noozhawk – October 18, 2016
With this year’s focus being child advocacy, the Women’s Fund of Northern Santa Barbara County presented $50,000 in gifts to two local organizations at its recent annual awards event at Trattoria Uliveto in Orcutt: The North County Rape Crisis and Child Protection Center and CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates).
https://www.noozhawk.com/article/power_of_purse_evident_for_the_womens_fund_of_northern_santa_barbara_county

FL: Are vulnerable kids safer a year after Janiya case? (Includes video)
WTSP – October 18, 2016
Reporter Garin Flowers talks about the one-year anniversary of the controversial local case. Eleven-year-old Janiya Thomas was the child who revealed cracks in a system with the responsibility of protecting kids.
http://www.wtsp.com/news/local/are-vulnerable-kids-safer-a-year-after-janiya-case/337587702

GA: Mandated Reporter Law
JD Supra Business Advisor – September 21, 2016
This survey discusses only the mandated reporter statute in Georgia. If your organization is governed by a state licensing agency, such as education or child care, then that agency likely has its own set of reporting requirements. Be sure to consult those regulations if they apply to you.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/georgia-mandated-reporter-law-88856/

IN: Guest Column: Consider the consequences of family reunification
Indiana Daily Student – October 18, 2016
Although statistics illustrate that family reunification is successful 53 percent of the time, we believe that family reunification should not always be the primary goal. The Department of Children & Family Services prioritizes foster care youth placement with direct family members with little regard to the caregiver’s qualifications to attend to the child’s needs.
http://www.idsnews.com/article/2016/10/consider-the-consequences-of-family-reunification

MD: Move to Pull Children From Group Homes Came Too Late for Teenager Who Died
Bowie Patch – October 18, 2016
After unannounced inspections revealed deficiencies, Maryland stopped placing young people at Delaware facilities owned by AdvoServ.
http://patch.com/maryland/bowie/marylands-move-pull-children-group-homes-came-too-late-teenager-who-died?utm_source=article-mostrecent&utm_medium=rss&utm_term=politics%20%26%20government&utm_campaign=

NC: Mandated Reporter Law
JD Supra Business Advisor – September 22, 2016
This survey discusses only the mandated reporter statute in North Carolina. If your organization is governed by a state licensing agency, such as education or child care, then that agency likely has its own set of reporting requirements. Be sure to consult those regulations if they apply to you.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/north-carolina-mandated-reporter-law-17476/

NJ: Jersey City woman assaults Child Protection and Permanency employee: cops
NJ.com – October 18, 2016
A Jersey City woman has been accused of assaulting an employee of the state Division of Child Protection and Permanency in Bayonne, police said. At 12:19 p.m. on Oct. 11, Shyeema Hammond, 20, of Lembeck Avenue was arrested after she struck the 54-year-old employee in the face in the area of 690 Broadway, according to police.
http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/2016/10/jersey_city_woman_assaults_division_of_child_prote.html

NV: Seeking Justice for Children and Families, Both ‘On and Off the Bench’: Ten Questions for Nancy Saitta, Nevada Supreme Court Justice (Retired)
The Council of State Governments – October 18, 2016
Justice Nancy Saitta was elected in 2006 to the Nevada Supreme Court, where she served as chief justice from September 2011 to May 2012. A former prosecutor and municipal and state district court judge, Saitta has been a tireless advocate for children, youth and juvenile justice reform.
http://knowledgecenter.csg.org/kc/content/seeking-justice-children-and-families-both-and-bench

NY: For New York City’s Homeless Children, Getting to School Is the Hard Part
The New York Times – October 10, 2016
Family workers carrying caseloads of 256 children at a time. A girl who had transferred to four different schools, one of them twice, by age 11. Attendance reports from multiple agencies, but with none held responsible for making sure that students actually went to school. These are some of the findings in a report on the obstacles faced by homeless children in New York schools that released by the city’s Independent Budget Office on Tuesday. Report: http://www.ibo.nyc.ny.us/iboreports/not-reaching-the-door-homeless-students-face-many-hurdles-on-the-way-to-school.pdf
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/11/nyregion/for-new-york-citys-homeless-children-getting-to-school-is-the-hard-part.html?_r=0

OH: New Partnership to Improve Educational Stability for Foster Kids (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 19, 2016
Research shows Ohio’s 14,000 foster kids are likely to experience poor educational outcomes, and for the first time, school districts and child-protection agencies are collaborating to improve their educational stability.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-19/youth-issues/new-partnership-to-improve-educational-stability-for-foster-kids/a54541-1

PA: Covenant House Pennsylvania Launches “Am I Cut Out?” Campaign To Raise Awareness Of Homeless Youth (Press release)
PRNewswire – October 18, 2016
Covenant House Pennsylvania, the region’s largest shelter exclusively serving homeless youth, is taking over Dilworth Park with an art installation entitled “Am I Cut Out?” The installation features hundreds of life-sized cutouts representing the 546 homeless youth who Covenant House turned away last year because it was full – homeless youth who were “cut out” of a safe place to call home.
http://www.tickertech.com/cgi/?a=news&ticker=a&w=&story=201610201610181341PR_NEWS_USPR_____PH20131

PA: McGarrigle bill allowing disability license plates for parents of disabled adults signed into law
Delaware County News Network – October 17, 2016
Legislation sponsored by State Senator Tom McGarrigle (R-26) allowing parents or guardians with adult children in their care to receive disability license plates was signed into law by Gov. Tom Wolf today. Act 55 of 2016 provides access to vehicle disability license plates to parents, including adoptive parents or foster parents, of adult children in their care who qualify for a disability license plate.
http://www.delconewsnetwork.com/articles/2016/10/17/life/doc5805a2b0a08e6313059548.txt

SC: Mandated Reporter Law
JD Supra Business Advisor – September 21, 2016
This survey discusses only the mandated reporter statute in South Carolina. If your organization is governed by a state licensing agency, such as education or child care, then that agency likely has its own set of reporting requirements. Be sure to consult those regulations if they apply to you.
http://www.jdsupra.com/legalnews/south-carolina-mandated-reporter-law-42165/

TX: Horrific Abuse Allegations Shock Denton as Texas Falls Under Scrutiny to Protect Kids
Dallas Observer – October 19, 2016
The gruesome allegations come as Texas’ Child Protective Services falls under scrutiny. A report by the Austin American-Statesman this month found that “more than 14,000 kids across the state had not been seen by child abuse investigators between 24 and 72 hours after a report of abuse, the state-mandated timeframe in which caseworkers must see children.” In the Dallas area, the average caseworker now lasts about six months. Austin American-Statesman article: http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/texas-cps-workers-miss-key-deadline-in-14000-child/nskch/
http://www.dallasobserver.com/news/horrific-abuse-allegations-shock-denton-as-texas-falls-under-scrutiny-to-protect-kids-8819102

US: How Immigrants Prepare for the Possibility of Deportation
Vice – October 19, 2016
On the low end, an estimated 740,000 parents with US-citizen children were deported between 2003 and 2013, according to a joint report from the Migration Policy Institute and the Urban Institute. The result is often chaos for families. At best, children are thrown to an unprepared caregiver such as a grandparent or older sibling. At worst, they end up in foster care or even adopted by a US family, preventing children from reuniting with their biological parents.
http://www.vice.com/read/how-immigrants-prepare-for-the-possibility-of-deportation

US: Surviving Life In Foster Care: Why Children In Foster Care Are Vulnerable To Depression, Learning Disabilities, Obesity & Asthma
Parent Herald – October 19, 2016
A recent study published in the journal Pediatrics found that children who have been in foster care were twice as likely to develop asthma and obesity and three times more likely to have hearing and vision issues, Medical News Today reported. As for mental health, children who have been in foster care were seven times more likely to develop depression and five times more likely to have anxiety. Study: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2016/10/14/peds.2016-1118 Also: Kids in Foster Care Have More Mental & Physical Health Problems: http://www.nwahomepage.com/news/study-kids-in-foster-care-have-more-mental-physical-health-problems Also: Foster Children Face Increased Risk Of Asthma, ADHD, Depression, And Other Health Problems: http://www.medicaldaily.com/foster-children-face-increased-risk-asthma-adhd-depression-and-other-health-401615 Also: Study shows foster care is bad for your health (Press release): https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/foster-care-bad-your-health-new-study-shows
http://www.parentherald.com/articles/75159/20161019/children-foster-care-vulnerable-depression-learning-disabilities-obesity-asthma.htm

US: Almost a Half Million Children Are in the Foster Care System
Good Housekeeping – October 18, 2016
Over 400,000 children are in the foster care system. The initial goal is to reunite them with birth families or relatives if appropriate, but that’s not always the case. At least 100,000 kids don’t qualify for reunion, most often because their parents’ rights have been terminated. Here’s a look at the state of foster care in America today.
http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/life/parenting/a41010/foster-care-in-america/

US: FBI rescues 82 children, arrests more than 200 in sex trafficking sting
United Press International (UPI) – October 18, 2016
The FBI rescued nearly 100 exploited children and arrested more than 200 adults in what has become an annual international effort to target sex traffickers. Operation Cross Country resulted in the recovery of 82 children and arrest of 239 suspects in what likely represents a small portion of child exploitation cases in the country, FBI officials say.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/US/2016/10/19/FBI-rescues-82-children-arrests-more-than-200-in-sex-trafficking-sting/1151476859195/

US: Supportive Housing Can Help Keep Families Together
Huffington Post – October 18, 2016
Separating children from their families and placing them in foster care can have devastating, long-term consequences. This is sometimes preventable, especially when the separation is related to the parents lacking stable, affordable housing. Innovative housing opportunities like supportive housing-combining affordable rent and support services-can help vulnerable families grow stronger together in safe, stable homes of their own.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/deborah-de-santis/supportive-housing-can-he_b_12538792.html

US: Survivors, advocates launch U.S.-based anti-trafficking effort
Thomson Reuters Foundation – October 18, 2016
It aims to build awareness of social, economic and other factors such as family violence, underfunded schools and poorly run foster care that leave girls and women vulnerable to trafficking, she said. he coalition brings together more than 60 lawyers, activists, artists, service providers, community leaders and others who battle sex trafficking, from escort services to the streets, organizers said at its launch in Washington, D.C. Press release: http://www.state.gov/j/tip/index.htm Report: http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/263434.pdf
http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/reuters/news/report/20161018_Reuters_L1N1CO1K7_Survivors__advocates_launch_U_S__based_anti_trafficking_effort.html

US: Young people aging out of foster care may be leaving behind critical healthcare coverage
EurekAlert – October 17, 2016
States are required to provide health insurance to young people who have aged out of the foster care system until their 26th birthday. Although the intent of the provision is to mirror the extended coverage available to young adults whose parents have private health insurance, research at the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP), Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, shows that varying interpretations of the provision by states have effectively blocked many youth formerly in foster care from accessing their federally mandated coverage. Press release: http://www.nccp.org/media/releases/release_187.html Report: http://www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1165.html Information Gateway resource: Health-Care Coverage for Youth in Foster Care-and After: https://www.childwelfare.gov/pubs/issue-briefs/health-care-foster/
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-10/cums-ypa101716.php

INTERNATIONAL

Kenya: UK partners with Kenyan police to combat child abuse
EIN Presswire – October 18, 2016
Today saw the official launch of Kenya’s first police unit dedicated to the fight against child sexual exploitation and abuse (CSEA). The new unit, established in April by the National Police Service of Kenya (NPS) in collaboration with the UK’s National Crime Agency Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre (NCA-CEOP), represents a powerful new weapon in the fight to protect Kenya’s children. It has already been instrumental in safeguarding more than 150 children, and is currently pursuing 15 cases against child sex offenders.
https://www.einpresswire.com/article/349878658/uk-partners-with-kenyan-police-to-combat-child-abuse

Lebanon: Child Protection Q3 2016 Dashboard, Inter-Agency Coordination Lebanon
Relief Web – October 18, 2016
The quarterly dashboard summarizes the progress made by partners involved in the Lebanon Crisis Response and highlights trends a!ecting people in need. The Child Protection Sector in Lebanon is working to ensure that vulnerable girls and boys are protected from violence, exploitation, abuse and neglect through equitable access to quality child protection services. Report: http://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/Interagency_Q3_2016ChildProtection_20161018.pdf
http://reliefweb.int/report/lebanon/child-protection-q3-2016-dashboard-inter-agency-coordination-lebanon

Sudan: Movies may help end female genital mutilation
Health 24 – October 19, 2016
“The movies significantly improved attitudes towards girls who remain uncut,” they reported after two experiments involving thousands of participants. The team said the findings suggested that “changing attitudes through entertainment could contribute to the abandoning of cutting”.
http://www.health24.com/Lifestyle/Woman/Your-body/movies-may-help-end-female-genital-mutilation-20161019

United Kingdom: Ofsted warning over police weaknesses in child protection
BBC News – October 18, 2016
The head of Ofsted, Sir Michael Wilshaw, has criticised police forces in England for failing to take child protection matters seriously. He said that a failure to change could lead to further cases of child abuse like the ones in Rotherham and Oxford. Also: Child abuse inquiry’s fourth chairman scales back scope of the inquiry: http://www.nigeriadailynews.news/news/world/357107-child-abuse-inquiry-s-fourth-chairman-scales-back-scope-of-the-inquiry.html
http://www.bbc.com/news/education-37690026

AK: BBBSA Needs More Positive Role Models
YourAlaskaLink – October 17, 2016
Growing up in foster care can make life more difficult and the reliable, continuous support of a positive role model scarce. Big Brothers Big Sisters of Alaska is asking for volunteers to sign up for an orientation session this month to help increase their available mentors.
http://www.youralaskalink.com/news/bbbsa-needs-more-positive-role-models/article_84dbcd00-9491-11e6-86c8-fb04e654e8c2.html

CA: In Wake of Shelter Shakeup, Pilot Program Helps Older Foster Youth Find Stability
Chronicle of Social Change – October 17, 2016
A fledgling pilot program aimed at helping older youth in foster care find and remain in stable homes is showing promise, according to the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news-2/wake-shelter-shakeup-pilot-program-helps-older-foster-youth-find-stability/22128

CT: Stepping up efforts to treat trauma in the very young
CT Mirror – October 17, 2016
Aileen McKenna trains people who work with kids on how to identify signs of trauma in very young children – things like a baby crying inconsolably or a 2-year-old hoarding or stealing food. Many times, she says, they react with surprise, as if to say, “so that’s what that was about.”
http://ctmirror.org/2016/10/17/ct-stepping-up-efforts-to-treat-trauma-in-the-very-young/

FL: Mandated Reporter Law
JD Supra – October 17, 2016
This survey discusses only the mandated reporter statute in Florida. Anyone who suspects abuse must report.
http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=f736c3db-fe90-4dfa-9dd9-eeef3b5d063e

FL: Family Treatment Court enters 10th year of giving graduates a fresh start
Gainesville Times – October 16, 2016
Losing custody of her 2-year-old son Lincoln is what Lindsey Elrod describes as the “worst thing I had ever experienced.” “That was an all new bottom for me,” said Elrod, who relapsed in 2011. In a 13-year journey of recovery, Elrod said she found herself drinking and using heavier drugs before it “quickly escalated.”
http://www.gainesvilletimes.com/section/6/article/119704/

IL: Just 1 percent of Cook County foster children get special advocates
Chicago Reporter – October 17, 2016
Hundreds of abused and neglected Cook County children go without much-needed adult support each year because of lack of funding for the county’s volunteer advocate program.
http://chicagoreporter.com/less-than-1-percent-of-cook-county-foster-children-get-special-advocates/

LA: 17 Louisiana legislators back Jeff Landry blocking LGBT workplace protections
Times Picayune / NOLA.com – October 17, 2016
Through an executive order, Governor Edwards has mandated that all state contracts include language protecting LGBT workers from firing and harassment on the job. Landry has refused to let about 40 legal contracts with private law firms move forward because they include this anti-discrimination language. Landry has said Edwards is going beyond what the law allows. In his letter to Johnson, the governor also reiterated that he has provided an exception for state contractors with strongly held religious beliefs. This allows Catholic Charities and other religious groups — many of which work on foster care and adoption issues — to continue to contract with the state, without complying with the LGBT anti-discrimination provisions.
http://www.nola.com/politics/index.ssf/2016/10/lgbt_discrimination_legislatur.html

MA: Sitting in: A new look at social work
Wicked Local Manchester – October 17, 2016
Despite the seemingly continual media focus on the painful and tragic stories related to child protective services and domestic violence, the social work profession I know attracts champions, each of whom works to address society’s most challenging problems.
http://manchester.wickedlocal.com/news/20161017/sitting-in-new-look-at-social-work

MD: Advocates Seek Immunity for Youth Victims of Sex Trafficking
Southern Maryland Online – October 15, 2016
Juvenile victims of human trafficking will not be prosecuted for sex crimes in Maryland if a recommendation from a state workgroup becomes law, despite pushback from law enforcement.
http://www.somd.com/news/headlines/2016/21424.php

MS: & AL: Growing need for foster parents (Includes video)
WTOK – October 17, 2016
Over the years the number of children in foster care in the United States has swelled to almost a half million. Currently, 6,000 of those are in Mississippi, and 5,000 are in Alabama. However, experts say that number could significantly change locally, if another problem was resolved.
http://www.wtok.com/content/news/Growing-need-for-foster-parents-397334331.html

ND: Spirit Lake Nation battles youth suicide
Forum News Service – October 15, 2016
Last week, a Spirit Lake suicide prevention program received a federal grant for more than $195,500 in funding. If the program goes as hoped and the money continues to be available through the Legislature, that sum could grow to more than $977,000 over the next five years.
http://bismarcktribune.com/news/state-and-regional/spirit-lake-nation-battles-youth-suicide/article_9ed13c4e-3eef-5fab-b703-35c0a16adb25.html

NM: 4 Our Kids: 1 in 10 chance CYFD kids were confirmed neglected before (Includes video)
KOB 4 – October 17, 2016
There’s a one in 10 chance children under CYFD investigation have been through the system before. According to New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee report cards from 2010 to 2016, approximately 10 percent of children were confirmed to be victims of maltreatment within six months of a prior CYFD determination of substantiated maltreatment.
http://www.kob.com/investigative-news/4-our-kids-cyfd-children-youth-families-department-new-mexico-state-child-abuse-angelica-santiago/4293923/?cat=500

OK: Group helps meet needs of foster children
Muskogee Phoenix – October 15, 2016
In March, Annie Czaruk and Kristi Hoos launched Fostering Hope of Muskogee to provide for the needs of children who are placed in emergency foster care.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/group-helps-meet-needs-of-foster-children/article_88d96113-8adf-54a5-b355-ce1d9f450199.html

OR: The Department of Human Services provides furnishing projects for foster children at its new building
Oregon News-Review – October 15, 2016
When DHS moves from its current location on 1937 W. Harvard Ave. near Stewart Parkway to its larger facility, it will provide 11 visitation rooms. In these rooms, the 442 Douglas County children and young adults in foster care can visit with their parents and siblings to maintain a healthy relationship while they prepare to reunite. These rooms will need new furniture.
http://www.nrtoday.com/news/the-department-of-human-services-provides-furnishing-projects-for-foster/article_c85e6303-0313-5a7a-8184-45b9c14f300f.html

PA: Former Penn State counsel said he advised reporting ’01 shower incident, but did not see it as a legal duty
Penn Live – October 17, 2016
A former attorney for Penn State testified Monday that during a preliminary briefing on the 2001 shower room assault Mike McQueary reported to Joe Paterno, he advised then-university senior vice president Gary Schultz to forward the incident to the child welfare officials. But Wendell Courtney also noted, under cross-examination, he never reached a conclusion – based on the information Schultz had shared with him over the phone -that there was a “legal duty” to report.
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2016/10/former_psu_attorney_said_he_ad.html

PA: How institutions and society fail Pittsburgh’s Black girls
Pittsburgh Courier – October 17, 2016
In Allegheny County, Black teenage girls are disproportionately channeled to the child welfare system, they’re more likely to be removed from their homes, and they face other disparities like greatly increased referrals to juvenile court, compared to White girls. Report: http://publicsource.org/investigations/how-institutions-and-society-fail-pittsburghs-black-girls#fisareport
http://newpittsburghcourieronline.com/2016/10/17/how-institutions-and-society-fail-pittsburghs-black-girls/

TX: CPS needs emergency money to hire more workers – and pay enough to keep them (Opinion)
Dallas Morning News – October 17, 2016
If ever there was a problem that needed emergency funding from the Legislature, the beleaguered Texas Child Protective Services agency is it.
http://www.dallasnews.com/opinion/editorials/2016/10/17/cps-needs-emergency-money-hire-workers-pay-enough-keep

TX: Lt. Gov. Patrick unveils faith-based initiative on foster care children
KHOU – October 17, 2016
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called on the state’s faith-based communities to help identify homes for children in need of foster care, in conjunction with National Adoption Month in November. Patrick called on faith-based leaders “to reach out to their congregations and communities to open their hearts and homes to the foster children of Texas.” Faith leaders will also gather at the Texas Capitol on Nov. 2 to discuss the importance of the faith-based community in child protection.
http://www.khou.com/mb/news/local/texas/10172016-patrick-foster-care-initiative/337129925

TX: EDITORIAL: If young lives are sacred, CPS reforms must be a top 2017 state legislative priority
Waco Tribune – October 16, 2016
If as a population we are “pro-life” in principle, we must demand that protecting the lives of innocent children continue after they’re brought into this world. Certainly, state leaders should demonstrate as much commitment and passion in overhauling Texas Child Protective Services as they did in passing a statewide anti-abortion law in 2013. Young lives hang in the balance – lives no less important because they are beyond the womb.
http://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/editorials/editorial-if-young-lives-are-sacred-cps-reforms-must-be/article_e8dd9a3f-1d7e-5015-b78b-fe1aa54cfc1e.html

US: Family First’s Opponents Will Have Much to Answer For (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 17, 2016
Let’s take a look at the results so far in the recent efforts in Congress to pass the Family First Prevention Services Act (FFA) approved by the House in July, but now pending in the Senate. And let’s make sure we know who’s accountable for those results.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/accountability-for-results-for-kids-who-count/22064

US: Foster Youth Need Academic Support to Succeed (Opinion)
Youth Today – October 17, 2016
For years, the child welfare system in America has focused on the most urgent needs of the children it served, making sure they’re safe, with enough food to eat and clean clothes to wear, while striving to achieve permanent placement. Although those are crucial first steps, they are not enough and never have been.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/foster-youth-need-academic-support-to-succeed/

US: Sen. Hatch seeking more resources to help relatives raising kin’s children
Deseret News – October 17, 2016
They still call her “Grammy,” but Cindi Rogers has a bigger role than that in the lives of three of her grandchildren. As she puts it, she’s their “mother replacement.” Rogers is among a growing segment of grandparents who have been pressed into parenting their grandchildren after the children’s own parents are unable to adequately care for them.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865665032/Sen-Hatch-seeking-more-resources-to-help-relatives-raising-kins-children.html?pg=all

INTERNATIONAL

China: Sino-Finnish Centre for Child Protection Research to open in Shanghai {Press release)
University of Eastern Finland – October 18, 2016
Fudan University and the University of Eastern Finland will open a joint Sino-Finnish Centre for Child Protection Research, SFCPR, in Shanghai. The founding agreement was signed in China on Tuesday, 18 October. The research centre will operate at Fudan University with a mission to promote interdisciplinary research and education in the fields of child welfare and child protection.
http://news.cision.com/university-of-eastern-finland/r/sino-finnish-centre-for-child-protection-research-to-open-in-shanghai,c2103011

Ghana: High Court to give clearance before child adoption – Minister
CITI – October 16, 2016
Persons seeking to adopt children in Ghana will soon be required resort to the High Courts for clearance. This is because the Children’s Amendment Bill currently before Parliament makes the clearance mandatory.
http://citifmonline.com/2016/10/16/high-court-to-give-clearance-before-child-adoption-minister/

AR: Panel’s bid to subpoena judge on foster care raises fuss
Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette – October 15, 2016
Judges and a law school dean have expressed concern about a legislative committee’s wish to subpoena a judge to ask her how she handles foster care cases. The subpoena went nowhere after House and Senate leaders refused to sign off on the subpoena after they received information questioning the legality of the move.
http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2016/oct/15/panel-s-bid-to-subpoena-judge-on-foster/

CT: Don’t let a bad case damage an improving system (Opinion)
Journal Inquirer – October 14, 2016
Child welfare agencies have to address both “systems issues” – such as having enough foster homes and effective services to help children and families – and also “case-specific issues” – such as making a good decision when leaving a specific child in a specific home or, if the child must be removed, placing the child in the right home and family setting.
http://www.journalinquirer.com/opinion/other_commentary/don-t-let-a-bad-case-damage-an-improving-system/article_0c4e7b4a-91fc-11e6-81c5-8f3cec32681f.html

HI: ‘No Room in Paradise’ shows depth of homelessness
Honolulu Star-Advertiser – October 16, 2016
A 90-minute documentary that takes a comprehensive look at Honolulu’s homeless problem – and offers possible solutions – will begin airing on television this week with the message that “these are human beings, we can’t turn our backs on them,” according to one of the producers.
http://www.staradvertiser.com/2016/10/16/hawaii-news/no-room-in-paradise-shows-depth-of-homelessness/

MN: Policies, stonewalling by MNPrairie leaders puts children in danger (Correction)
KPVI – October 13, 2016
Dan McIntosh doesn’t want Steele County “to be the next place where a child dies under circumstances that could have been avoided.” In a strongly worded letter to Steele County commissioners, McIntosh, the county’s attorney, urged the board to require its three-county Human Services collaborative to rebuild “a spirit of trust, collaboration and common purpose that has been lost.”
http://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/policies-stonewalling-by-mnprairie-leaders-puts-children-in-danger/article_feaadc40-5d8a-5d3f-814e-4dbdbb08976a.html

MS: New pilot program aimed at helping parents break drug addiction cycle
Mississippi News Now – October 14, 2016
Thousands of Mississippi’s children are caught in the middle of their parent’s cycle of drug addiction. An increasing number of them are being put in foster care because of it.
http://www.msnewsnow.com/story/33396071/new-pilot-program-aimed-at-helping-parents-break-drug-addiction-cycle

MS: Why you should care about what’s happening to Mississippi school children
Hechinger Report – October 14, 2016
Children in Mississippi face some of the toughest obstacles in life and education from the time they are born: high child poverty rates, schools that lack funding and supplies, and a revolving door of teachers in the classrooms that need teachers the most. Yet none of these issues are exclusive to Mississippi. The Magnolia state is instead a microcosm of America’s toughest problems in education, and solutions that work in Mississippi can provide lessons for the rest of the country.
http://hechingerreport.org/care-whats-happening-mississippi-schoolchildren/

NE: HHS to try new ways to ease caseload woes
World-Herald News Service – October 14, 2016
A top official with the State Department of Health and Human Services said he hopes to solve the problem by finding efficiencies and expanding efforts to prevent child abuse and neglect.
http://lexch.com/news/statewide/nebraska-hhs-to-try-new-ways-to-ease-caseload-woes/article_bfa61388-9210-11e6-8914-5fa592720c2d.html

NH: A case of neglect Hassan ignores DCYF crisis (Opinion)
Union Leader – October 16, 2016
A new report prompted by lawsuits against the New Hampshire Division of Children, Youth and Families finds that state officials failed to respond to a massive increase in child abuse and neglect cases over the past four years.
http://www.unionleader.com/editorial/A-case-of-neglect-Hassan-ignores-DCYF-crisis-10172016&source=RSS

NY: How Big Data can help save endangered kids (Opinion)
New York Post – October 16, 2016
According to Richard Gelles, dean of the School of Social Policy and Practice at the University of Pennsylvania, “Even the state-of-the-art assessment tools being used in New York are no better at predicting risk for a child than if you flipped a coin.” Gelles says social workers using “clinical judgment” and their own “expertise” to determine which children should be removed from their homes is “simply inadequate.”
http://nypost.com/2016/10/16/how-big-data-can-help-save-endangered-kids/

NY: The Homeless Student Population Is Exploding. Will New Focus on Performance Save Them?
The Seventy Four – October 16, 2016
Darius has spent nearly his entire high school career living in a homeless shelter, just one young man among more than a million homeless students in the U.S., a population that’s been largely invisible in American education policy talks. But in acknowledgment of a deep vulnerability – from chronic absenteeism to staggering high school dropout rates – lawmakers are now placing a fresh emphasis on tracking and improving the outcomes of displaced students through the new federal education law, the Every Student Succeeds Act.
https://www.the74million.org/article/americas-student-homeless-population-is-exploding-will-new-focus-on-performance-save-them

OK: Kevin Morrison: Stop and understand the life of a foster child
Tulsa World – October 17, 2016
They end up on the deprived child docket in the Tulsa County Juvenile Court. They then face the possibility of being removed from their natural home. They just want and need to tell their story, and that responsibility falls to Kevin Morrison, Tulsa County assistant public defender.
http://www.tulsaworld.com/business/tulsabusiness/kevin-morrison-stop-and-understand-the-life-of-a-foster/article_4e841644-5e11-572b-9b83-d47db53e0fda.html

PA: Private high school focuses on Philly kids in foster care
Philadelphia Inquirer – October 17, 2016
The 62 other students at C.B. have stories like Paladino’s, according to Roberta Trombetta, who founded the private school in 2015 when Arise Academy, the nation’s first charter school for students in foster care, closed in West Oak Lane. Trombetta, who had been the CEO of Arise, staff, and board members were so convinced their students needed and deserved their own school, they rounded up money from donors and converted to a private school.
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/20161017_A_private_h_s__for_kids_in_foster_care_arises_from_closed_charter.html

PA: Despite improvements, 9,000 calls to Pennsylvania child abuse hotline went unanswered
Lancaster Online – October 14, 2016
Sweeping changes instituted since May have improved service at Pennsylvania’s child abuse hotline, but more needs to be done, a new audit says.
http://lancasteronline.com/news/local/despite-improvements-calls-to-pennsylvania-child-abuse-hotline-went-unanswered/article_b18ecb3e-9173-11e6-848b-5b9dd56cfd50.html

TX: Kids deserve better from state leaders (Opinion)
Daily Texan – October 17, 2016
There’s no doubt there are structural and cultural problems with DFPS’ Child Protective Services system, but the bottom line is that these problems cannot be fixed without adequate funding, and that can only come from the Texas legislature.
http://www.dailytexanonline.com/2016/10/17/texas-kids-deserve-better-from-state-leaders

TX: Agencies seek more help for kids in CPS care
Amarillo Globe-News – October 14, 2016
Gov. Greg Abbott, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, and Texas Secretary of State Carlos Cascos gave Whitman until the end of next week to report back with a plan of action regarding the agency’s hiring and training of more special investigators, growing the number of caseworkers, inspiring a new culture of support across the agency, and increasing efforts within DFPS’ faith-based programs. Also: Roar of the Crowd: Texas Gov. Abbott wins praise for CPS censure (Opinion): http://www.wacotrib.com/opinion/facebook/roar-of-the-crowd-texas-gov-abbott-wins-praise-for/article_2b0c077f-177c-5a2d-b95b-fad2de137ad4.html
http://amarillo.com/news/latest-news/2016-10-14/agencies-seek-more-help-kids-cps-care#

TX: To fix CPS, advocates say, Texas must do the one thing it hasn’t been willing to do: pay workers more (Opinion)
Dallas Morning News – October 14, 2016
“This is infuriating,” said Rep. Armando Walle, a Houston Democrat who has filed a flurry of bills over the past five years to try to force the agency to ask for what it needs – higher pay, more bodies – to lower workers’ staggering caseloads. “I’m just angry at this whole situation.” Also: Get real about child welfare (Opinion): http://www.sanmarcosrecord.com/opinion/get-real-about-child-welfare Also: Leaders aren’t leading on child welfare (Opinion): http://www.particlenews.com/n/04nJvUVj?s=home
http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2016/10/14/fix-cps-advocates-say-texas-must-one-thing-willing-pay-workers

WY: Without Staff, Wyoming Mother-Child Prison Unit Remains Vacant (Includes audio)
Wyoming Public Media – October 14, 2016
Lampert said the plan is to have it be more like a daycare-style of residence, where inmates and their children would reside in a separate facility from the rest of the prison. The reason for the interest the program, Lampert said is the bonding that happens between mother and child during the earliest stages of life can be a strong motivation against reoffending after the women leave prison. It can also keep children of inmates from ending up behind bars themselves.
http://wyomingpublicmedia.org/post/without-staff-wyoming-mother-child-prison-unit-remains-vacant

US: Foster care children at much greater risk of physical, mental health problems
Medical Press – October 17, 2016
Children who have been in the U.S. foster care system are at a significantly higher risk of mental and physical health problems – ranging from learning disabilities, developmental delays and depression to behavioral issues, asthma and obesity – than children who haven’t been in foster care, according to a University of California, Irvine sociologist. Related: Children in foster care have poorer physical and mental health: http://www.2minutemedicine.com/children-in-foster-care-have-poorer-physical-and-mental-health/
http://medicalxpress.com/news/2016-10-foster-children-greater-physical-mental.html

US: A Hidden Crisis: The Pipeline from Foster Care to Homelessness for LGBTQ Youth (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 14, 2016
Research shows that children placed in foster care are more likely to develop Post-traumatic Stress Disorder than veterans of war. In some states, youth are just as likely to be abused in foster care as they are in the home from which they were removed. Foster care has also become a gateway into homelessness. Nearly half of the youth experiencing homelessness today have had at least one placement in a foster home, or group home.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/hidden-crisis-pipeline-foster-care-homelessness-lgbtq-youth/21950

US: Obama signs new law for Native American children
Grand Fork Harolds – October 14, 2016
The bill creates a Commission on Native Children that will study programs available for Native American children and identify solutions to address obstacles facing the youth such as lower high school graduation rates and increased risks of suicide.
http://www.grandforksherald.com/news/4136939-obama-signs-new-law-native-american-children

US: As Child Welfare Agencies Turn to Data Analytics ‘We Have to Be Really Careful’ (Opinion)
Route Fifty – September 28, 2016
“It’s just a tremendous amount of volume, so you can imagine how quickly those decisions have to be made,” said Erin Dalton, deputy director for the Department of Human Service’s Office of Data Analysis, Research and Evaluation.
http://www.routefifty.com/2016/09/child-welfare-predictive-analytics/131897/

INTERNATIONAL

Africa: Child Migrants, Refugees Especially Vulnerable to Violence during Humanitarian Crises, Speakers Tell Third Committee, as Debate on Children Concludes
Africa Newswire – October 14, 2016
While several delegates shared progress their Governments had made in improving legislative and social mechanisms to prevent violence against children, many were concerned by the growing threat posed by humanitarian emergencies, and in particular, the migrant and refugee crisis.
http://africanewswire.za.com/child-migrants-refugees-especially-vulnerable-to-violence-during-humanitarian-crises-speakers-tell-third-committee-as-debate-on-children-concludes/

Belgium: On the offensive against forced marriages (Includes video)
Euronews – October 14, 2016
Chimène, from Togo, and Rokia, from Guinea, met in a Belgian refugee centre. They fled their countries to escape forced marriages. Obtaining asylum in Europe, they say, is a matter of life or death.
http://www.euronews.com/2016/10/14/belgium-goes-on-the-offensive-against-forced-marriages

Malaysia: Muslim doctors against female circumcision
Free Malaysia Today – October 17, 2016
“There is not a single verse in the Quran or anything from the collections of hadiths (sayings of Prophet Muhammad) that makes female circumcision a requirement,” said Farouk Musa, a cardiothoracic surgeon and senior medical lecturer at Monash University in Petaling Jaya.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2016/10/17/muslim-doctors-against-female-circumcision/

United Kingdom: Royal Borough and NSPCC launch campaign to raise awareness of child neglect
Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea – October 14, 2016
For the next six months the children’s charity, with support from the Local Children’s Safeguarding Board, will work with the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster City council and Hammersmith & Fulham council.
https://www.rbkc.gov.uk/pressrelease/pressreleasePage.aspx?id=7121

AZ: Academic achievement gap plaguing Arizona’s foster children
Mesa Independent – October 13, 2016
Arizona students in the foster care system are consistently underperforming academically according to a 2012-13 report on Arizona’s Invisible Achievement Gap by WestEd.
http://mesaindependent.com/education/academic-achievement-gap-plaguing-arizonas-foster-children/

AZ: CASA Council is providing scholarships to help kids
The News-Herald – October 13, 2016
The Mohave CASA Council’s mission is to improve the lives and self-esteem of foster children through difficult times, said Ron Stephan, CASA Council executive director.
http://www.havasunews.com/news/casa-council-is-providing-scholarships-to-help-kids/article_8f0d8c8e-91ba-11e6-87b4-735f3c56aac3.html

AZ: Foster care offers resources while children are in the system
Mesa Independent – October 13, 2016
Children in the Arizona foster care system have many government resources, but when they exit the system or age out, there are much fewer resources made available to them. Arizona Friends of Foster Children Foundation pays for, according to Ms. Jacober, “items and activities for kids in foster care that are not funded in any other way.”
http://mesaindependent.com/east-valley-state/foster-care-offers-resources-while-children-are-in-the-system/

CA: What happened when L.A. foster youth made a short film? They got to go to the White House (Includes video)
Los Angeles Times – October 13, 2016
Davis is 18 now, a veteran of the stage and screen. Last week, he and two fellow Los Angeles County foster youths were honored at the White House’s inaugural South by South Lawn festival for a short film they starred in, wrote and directed. “Foster youth, you know, they don’t always have a place to share their voice,” he said. “It’s like, wow, I can’t go back. I just have to continue to do better, continue to go forward.”
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-foster-youth-white-house-film-20161012-snap-story.html

FL: Specialized Foster Care Agency Expanding to Serve Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto Counties
Bradenton Patch – October 13, 2016
National Youth Advocate Program (NYAP), a non-profit organization that already provides specialized foster care services in over 90 foster homes on the east coast of Florida, is expanding to serve Sarasota, Manatee and DeSoto Counties through a contract with the Sarasota YMCA.
http://patch.com/florida/bradenton/specialized-foster-care-agency-expanding-serve-sarasota-manatee-desoto-counties

ID: Policies, stonewalling by MNPrairie leaders puts children in danger
KPVI – October 13, 2016
Dan McIntosh doesn’t want Steele County “to be the next place where a child dies under circumstances that could have been avoided.” In a strongly worded letter to Steele County commissioners, McIntosh, the county’s attorney, urged the board to require its three-county Human Services collaborative to rebuild “a spirit of trust, collaboration and common purpose that has been lost.”
http://www.kpvi.com/news/national_news/policies-stonewalling-by-mnprairie-leaders-puts-children-in-danger/article_feaadc40-5d8a-5d3f-814e-4dbdbb08976a.html

MS: New program aims to help parents break the cycle of addiction (Includes video)
WLOX – October 13, 2016
This Friday, First Lady Deborah Bryant, with the help of Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Dawn Beam, will kick off a pilot project aimed at reducing and preventing child abuse and neglect by helping parents break the cycle of drug addiction. Rescue 100 is a fast track program that helps people become certified foster care parents. That program started on the coast and has now spread throughout the state.
http://www.wlox.com/story/33384651/new-program-aims-to-help-parents-break-the-cycle-of-addiction

NE: Legisilative committee explores child welfare workforce problems
Lincoln Journal Star – October 13, 2016
Inspector General for Child Welfare Julie Rogers once again brought the workforce concerns to the Legislature in her recent annual report. She illustrated the burden on Nebraska’s child welfare workers, putting kids at higher risk of abuse or neglect, with the story of a 4-year-old. Also: Nebraska needs more foster care caseworkers, report says (Includes video): http://www.ketv.com/news/nebraska-needs-more-foster-care-caseworkers-report-says/42095292 Also: Report: Caseloads are too high for nearly 4 out of every 10 child welfare workers in Nebraska: http://www.omaha.com/news/legislature/report-caseloads-are-too-high-for-nearly-out-of-every/article_c30c6041-bc11-540f-9aa0-59cf3955ecdf.html
http://journalstar.com/legislature/legisilative-committee-explores-child-welfare-workforce-problems/article_79ed8117-9010-5a86-86ec-da8f8f07019d.html

NV: Gambling on Data-Driven Foster Parent Recruitment in Las Vegas
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 13, 2016
As jurisdictions across the nation struggle to meet the demand for licensed foster homes, many agencies have been driven to seek out new methods of recruitment. In Nevada and elsewhere, this means turning to data-driven approaches to better identify and recruit families who can make up for the shortage of foster homes. One strategy that has been used by a few jurisdictions to boost the number of licensed caregivers brings the slick precision of Madison Avenue to foster-parent recruitment.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/gambling-data-driven-foster-parent-recruitment-las-vegas/21984

NY: New York City Public Schools: Small Steps in the Biggest District (Press release)
The Century Foundation – October 14, 2016
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio and Chancellor Fariña have promoted a modest set of innovations developed by school and community leaders to support desegregation efforts, including allowing schools to pilot enrollment practices and lottery systems that reserve a specific percentage of seats for incoming students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, are classified as English language learners, or are in the child welfare system.
https://tcf.org/content/report/new-york-city-public-schools/

OH: Number of children in foster care in Athens County expected to continue to rise this year
The Post – October 13, 2016
In 2015, Athens County Children Services had 146 children in their custody – a 7 percent increase from 2014. 2015 Annual Report: http://www.athenschildrenservices.com/upload/2016/2015_annual_report.pdf
http://www.thepostathens.com/article/2016/10/foster-children-rise-athens-county

OK: Child Abuse Registry Under Review (Includes audio)
Public Radio Tulsa – October 14, 2016
A child abuse registry created in 2010 to help child care providers screen out potential employees with findings of abuse or neglect has glaring gaps that could leave many Oklahoma children at risk. That’s according to Senator A.J. Griffin. who requested an interim study to look at the issue.
http://publicradiotulsa.org/post/child-abuse-registry-under-review#stream/0

TX: Betting on lawman to fix growing child welfare crisis
Associated Press – October 13, 2016
When two of the most troubled child welfare systems in the U.S. plunged into crisis, Republican governors in Texas and Arizona turned to law enforcement veterans who promised tough investigations, then saw the safety net for vulnerable kids worsen. Also: Evidently Greg Abbott Cares About Foster Kids Now (Opinion): http://www.sacurrent.com/the-daily/archives/2016/10/13/evidently-greg-abbott-cares-about-foster-kids-now# Also: Texas Leaders Demand Change to Curb Backlog of Child Abuse and Neglect Cases (Includes video): http://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/kamc-news/texas-leaders-demand-change-to-curb-backlog-of-child-abuse-and-neglect-cases
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap/article-3837218/Texas-betting-lawman-fix-growing-child-welfare-crisis.html

TX: Continuing our efforts in Central Texas foster care (Opinion)
Michael & Susan Dell Foundation – October 13, 2016
This is part of a blog series that focuses on the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation’s investment in organizations working to improve the experience of children in foster care in Central Texas. In this series, we will highlight how our partners are working to put an end to the cycle of abuse and neglect. You can find the whole series here: https://www.msdf.org/blog/tag/foster-care-series/
https://www.msdf.org/blog/2016/10/efforts-central-texas-foster-care/

UT: My view: The right way forward for Utah’s families and foster youths (Opinion)
Deseret News – October 14, 2016
As a pediatrician who works in the emergency department, I see children who are often in a heightened state of suffering and in need of immediate, urgent care. One aspect of my job that weighs on my mind the most is when children who come in are no longer safe in their homes and have to be placed in foster care.
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865664767/My-view-The-right-way-forward-for-Utah7s-families-and-foster-youths.html?pg=all

WV: Around WV: Oct. 13, 2016
Charleston Gazette-Mail – October 13, 2016
The Mercer County child advocacy center marked 15 years in the community in August. Child Protect of Mercer County saw 324 children in the 2016 fiscal year, according to the Princeton Times.
http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-around-wv/20161013/around-wv-oct-13-2016

US: Families and Open Adoption (Audio)
KUER – October 13, 2016
Today, 95% of infants in the U.S. are placed in “open adoptions” where the birth mother and the family have some sort of contact. Thursday, we’re talking about how adoption has changed over time, and what it means for children and families. Information Gateway resource: Open Adoption and Contact With Birth Family: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/adoptive/before-adoption/openness/
http://radiowest.kuer.org/post/families-and-open-adoption

US: Parental Leave: Great for Bigger Firms, But Tougher for Small Businesses (Opinion)
WBUR – October 13, 2016
As corporate American beings to assimilate the idea that a life-work balance is as important as job satisfaction and pay rate, is your company on the list of big names that have rolled out plush parental leave policies?
http://www.nbcnews.com/business/careers/parental-leave-great-bigger-firms-tougher-small-businesses-n664611

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Furore after child abuse bill stalls in WA
Australian Associated Press – October 14, 2016
A West Australian MP’s bill to remove the six-year limit for survivors of child sexual abuse to take civil action has stalled in parliament.
http://www.news.com.au/national/breaking-news/furore-after-child-abuse-bill-stalls-in-wa/news-story/5c377209a283f9edb148ed380a5741e6

Indonesia: Sex offenders in Indonesia to be castrated or executed under new laws prompted by the shocking gang rape and murder of a 14-year-old girl
Daily Mail – October 13, 2016
The harsher penalties were prompted by the shocking rape and murder of 14-year-old girl Yuyun in Sumatra by a gang of 12 men and boys in May.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3837473/Sex-offenders-executed-castrated-Indonesia.html

Mayanmar: Living in peace: Community engagement for child protection in Rakhine State
UNICEF – October 13, 2016
Rakhine State in western Myanmar has seen years of ethnic tensions, causing death, displacement and loss of livelihoods. UNICEF and the NGO Community and Family Services International (CFSI) are working together to make sure that children and adolescents are shielded from the effects of inter-communal conflict, discrimination and poverty.
http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/myanmar_92908.html

United Kingdom: People with bipolar disorder more than twice as likely to have suffered childhood adversity
Medical News Today – October 13, 2016
A University of Manchester study which looked at more than thirty years of research into bipolar, found that people with the disorder are 2.63 times more likely to have suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse as children than the general population.
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/313459.php

CA: Foster youths are vulnerable to bullying and need our help (Opinion: Kelly Sanders, vice president, CASA Board of Directors)
The Tribune – October 12, 2016
During this, National Bullying Prevention Month, we at CASA of San Luis Obispo County are reminded of how vulnerable foster youths are to bullying, and how our volunteer CASAs, or Court Appointed Special Advocates, help support and protect foster youths.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article107885342.html

FL: Challenging communities to seriously consider adopting or mentoring siblings
Weekly Challenger – October 13, 2016
This is an urgent and important question that must be raised time and time again, but each time there is a different child or children. One Church One Child of Florida is reaching out to families and individuals in local communities across the state in efforts to help share the truth that the children pictured here and others like them are waiting for a permanent home and/or mentor.
http://theweeklychallenger.com/challenging-communities-to-seriously-consider-adopting-or-mentoring-siblings/

IN: Thousands of Hoosier kids in need of foster home (Includes video)
ABC 57 – October 12, 2016
It is estimated there are about 20,000 Hoosier children who are in the foster care system. The need has grown by several thousand since 2011. Villages of Indiana claims to be the largest private therapeutic foster care provider in the state. They help potential foster parents with initial thoughts of adoption and throughout the steps it takes to adopt.
http://www.abc57.com/story/33371299/thousands-of-hoosier-kids-in-need-of-foster-home

MD: University of Maryland School of Social Work Awarded $2.5M Grant to Address Human Trafficking (Press release)
CityBizList – October 12, 2016
The University of Maryland School of Social Work (SSW) has been awarded a three-year, $2.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Office for Victims of Crime to improve statewide coordination and multi-disciplinary collaboration in responding to human trafficking involving children and youth.
http://citybizlist.com/article/380975/university-of-maryland-school-of-social-work-awarded-25m-grant-to-address-human-trafficking

MI: Bankole: Southwest Solutions there for abandoned kids
The Detroit News – October 12, 2016
Southwest Solutions, an organization in southwest Detroit, provides a broad range of services to needed and disfranchised families and abandoned children including counseling and mentoring services.
http://www.detroitnews.com/story/opinion/columnists/bankole-thompson/2016/10/12/abandoned-children-southwest-solutions/91976112/

NC: General Assembly Helps Eckerd Kids Welcome Angels Watch Program into 42 Counties (Press release)
PRLog – October 12, 2016
Eckerd Kids held a ribbon cutting ceremony on October 11, 2016 in Cary North Carolina to officially kick off expansion of the Angels Watch program. Eckerd Kids recognized North Carolina General Assembly Members Senator Tommy Tucker, Representative Chris Malone, Representative Marilyn Avila, and Representative Nelson Dollar during a ribbon cutting ceremony for funding the expansion through an appropriation.
https://www.prlog.org/12593762-north-carolina-general-assembly-helps-eckerd-kids-welcome-angels-watch-program-into-42-counties.html

NE: Cops, others tout programs connecting police with kids
Lincoln Journal Star – October 12, 2016
Three Nebraska police officers and a Salvation Army worker on Wednesday promoted athletic and social club programs designed to engage police and children in hopes of building relationships and saving them from future lives of crime.
http://journalstar.com/news/local/911/cops-others-tout-programs-connecting-police-with-kids/article_2deea4d7-47bc-561d-a0c8-f96fd9319007.html

NH: Center for Support of Families recommends increase of NH DCYF Child Protection staffing (Includes video)
NH 1 – October 12, 2016
The Center for Support of Families (CFS) is evaluating DCYF Child Protection Program’s policies and procedures. In the interim report that was presented to the NH Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS), CFS recommended that 120 authorized positions be established by DCYF in order to effectively assess and respond to reports of child abuse or neglect. Also: Report recommends DCYF add 35 child protection workers: http://www.concordmonitor.com/New-report-shows-DCYF-has-too-little-staff-and-backlog-5344090 Report: http://www.dhhs.nh.gov/dcyf/documents/interim-staffing-rpt.pdf
http://www.nh1.com/news/center-for-support-of-families-recommends-increase-of-nh-dcyf-child-protection-staffing/

NY: 4 child welfare officials suspended in Harlem boy’s death
Associated Press – October 12, 2016
Four officials at New York City’s Administration of Children’s Services have been suspended in connection with the death of a 6-year-old boy whose family had been investigated for child abuse.
http://www.oleantimesherald.com/news/state/child-welfare-officials-suspended-in-harlem-boy-s-death/article_af213982-1514-5106-8e68-0bb8a13a235b.html

OH: State leads first-of-Its-kind regional task force against raging foe: The opioid epidemic
Akron Legal News – October 13, 2016
Navigating the fog is a mashup of organizations and professions: Doctors, dentists, drug companies, pharmacies, drug importers and dealers, police, prosecutors, parole officers, judges, parents and children, along with federal, state, and local branches of government. The nine-state cooperative seeks ways to improve treatment for “the individuals suffering from this disorder” and to help “their families and our communities,” as Chief Justice O’Connor put it.
http://www.akronlegalnews.com/editorial/16507

OK: Group Helps Human Trafficking Victims Recover (Includes video)
KWTV – October 12, 2016
Havig has worked with child and sexual abuse cases in Oklahoma for more than a decade. She says sex traffickers target vulnerable girls – typically with a history of poverty, child abuse, or addiction. “Research I’ve seen says up to 70 percent of kids who are trafficked on the streets have been in the child welfare system at one point,” said Havig.
http://www.news9.com/story/33379091/oklahoma-group-helps-human-trafficking-victims-recover

OR: Oregon DHS Workers Are Stressed Out, But Proud Of Their Work
OPB – October 12, 2016
Working for Oregon’s Department of Human Services is stressful. That’s one of the findings of an agency-wide survey released Wednesday by the Oregon Secretary of State’s office.
http://www.opb.org/news/article/oregon-dhs-workers-survey/

PA: Auditor General releases final audit for child abuse hotline (Includes video)
WPMT – October 12, 2016
Pennsylvania Auditor General Eugene DePasquale released his final audit of the Department of Human Services’ child abuse hotline. In his audit he said the hotline, also known as ChildLine, has made some changes after her released his interim audit in May. But it still needs to make improvements. Also: Department of Human Services Responds to ChildLine Audit (Press release): http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-department-of-human-services-responds-to-childline-audit-300343569.html
http://fox43.com/2016/10/12/pa-auditor-general-releases-final-audit-for-child-abuse-hotline/

TX: State leaders order Child Protective Services overhaul
The Texas Tribune – October 12, 2016
Gov. Greg Abbott and other state leaders ordered the Department of Family and Protective Services Wednesday to ramp up efforts to protect endangered foster children and curb the backlog of ones waiting for homes. Also: Texas governor calls child welfare backlog ‘unacceptable’: http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/texas/article/Texas-governor-calls-child-welfare-backlog-9966816.php
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/12/governors-office-gives-foster-care-officials-one-w/

UT: Media Advisory: Hatch to Tout Efforts to Fight for Utah Children at Event with Children’s Service Society and Utah families (Press release)
Office of U.S. Senator for Utah Orrin Hatch – October 12, 2016
As Utah faces off against a growing opioid epidemic, a chronic homelessness crisis, and a range of other issues threatening families, protecting the welfare of children in the state’s child care network has never been more important. Efforts to respond to the needs of Utah families most recently include fighting for the Family First Act, legislation to keep children safely in their homes and reduce over-reliance on group foster care homes, as well as long-term efforts to champion kinship placements as the best outcome for children.
http://www.hatch.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/releases?ID=C75E7085-5AE8-4D1D-8EED-2B96E07B239A

US: DNA’s new ‘miracle’: How adoptees are using online registries to find their blood relatives (Includes video)
The Washington Post – October 12, 2016
Most people who register with DNA databases are looking for information about their ethnic origins or exploring distant branches of the family tree. But the rapidly expanding databases have also had an unintended consequence: They are helping people find biological parents whose identities had long been mysteries. Information Gateway resource: Search & Reunion: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/adoption/search/
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/social-issues/dnas-new-miracle-how-adoptees-are-using-online-registries-to-find-their-blood-relatives/2016/10/12/10433fec-8c48-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html

US: IBM offers technology grants (Press release)
The Free Library – October 11, 2016
Called IBM SafetyNet, the software can help not-for-profits — such as those that provide services related to behavioral health, child welfare, after school recreation, job training and senior citizen needs — evaluate and document the success of their programs more effectively.
https://www.thefreelibrary.com/IBM+offers+technology+grants.-a0466192784

INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Youth detention royal commission: Child protection in NT ‘focuses on judging parents, taking away children’
ABC News Australia – October 12, 2016
The child protection system in the Northern Territory is focused on judging parents and taking their children away rather than working with them, the royal commission into youth detention has been told.
http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-10-13/child-protection-in-nt-focuses-on-judging-parents/7928690

Ghana: New Children’s Amendment Bill to streamline adoption process
Joy Online – October 12, 2016
Sound financial background and ability to raise a child will be paramount before anyone can secure approval to adopt a child under the new Children’s Amendment Bill currently before parliament.
http://www.myjoyonline.com/news/2016/October-12th/new-childrens-amendment-bill-to-streamlines-adoption-process.php

United Kingdom: NSPCC’s child abuse helpline ‘referrals on the rise’
BBC News – October 13, 2016
The NSPCC in Scotland said operators referred 1,722 calls to the police and social services in 2015-2016. Referred calls have risen by 58% in the past three years, up from 1,091 in 2012-2013.
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-37632412

United Kingdom: Vulnerable young people ‘failed’ by child protection services
ITV – October 12, 2016
Vulnerable children are being failed by “unsatisfactory and inconsistent” protection services across England, according to a new report. The chair of an influential House of Commons committee said it was “horrifying” that more than 75% of local authority child protection services were found to be inadequate or requiring improvement.
http://www.itv.com/news/2016-10-12/vulnerable-young-people-failed-by-child-protection-services/

AR: Foster care surge due to ‘questionable removals’ of kids, DHS consultant finds
Arkansas Times – October 11, 2016
Twenty-two percent of Arkansas children who were placed in foster care in 2015 and early 2016 should have potentially been left with their families, representing a nearly 30 percent increase – amounting to at least 300 additional children – in “questionable removals” by the state’s child protection authorities, according to a consultant of the Arkansas Department of Human Services. Also: Study: Impetus is to take away kids: http://www.nwaonline.com/news/2016/oct/12/study-impetus-is-to-take-away-kids-2016/
http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2016/10/11/arkansass-foster-care-surge-due-to-questionable-removals-of-kids-dhs-consultant-finds

CA: Round-up of California Foster Care Legislation for 2016
Witness LA – September 28, 2016
The newly signed SB 1174 by Sen. Mike McGuire (D-Healdsburg) will trigger regular reports on physicians and their prescribing patterns of psychotropic medications, making it easier for the Medical Board of California to confidentially identify, conduct investigations of, and hold accountable doctors who over-prescribe psychotropic drugs to foster children.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news-2/california-foster-care-round-up/21937

CT: Boys & Girls Village to Receive $2 Million in Funding Approved by State Bond Commission
Milford Patch – October 11, 2016
The money will allow BGV to expand its Charles F. Hayden therapeutic day school, a state approved current special education school, to include an 11th and 12th grade. The school has more than doubled its student population over the last three years, serving students from more than 30 Connecticut communities.
http://patch.com/connecticut/milford/boys-girls-village-receive-2-million-funding-approved-state-bond-commission-0

GA: Improved therapy for sexually exploited youth (Press release)
Georgia State University – October 11, 2016
A team of child welfare experts from the School of Public Health at Georgia State University and the Georgia Center for Child Advocacy has won a five-year, $2 million federal grant to provide higher quality mental health services to child victims of commercial sex trafficking.
https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-10/gsu-itf101116.php

LA: Children and family services talk foster care (Includes video)
KPLC – October 11, 2016
Secretary Marketa Garner Walters said the department suffered large staff cuts during the Jindal Administration. Now it’s reaching out to communities to recruit and develop support systems for foster parents.
http://www.kplctv.com/story/33367811/children-and-family-services-talk-foster-care

WI: Project brings comfort to thousands of children whose parents are arrested (Includes video)
WAOW – October 11, 2016
Marshfield-area child protective services social worker Gina Mattheisen has been working on her project, Sweet Dreams, for nearly eight years, and it has helped thousands of children who have to leave their homes when their parents are arrested.
http://www.waow.com/story/33368762/2016/10/11/project-brings-comfort-to-thousands-of-children-whose-parents-are-arrested

WV: Caring for the opioid epidemic’s youngest victims
Stateline – October 11, 2016
Since it opened, 135 infants have spent from two to six weeks at Lily’s Place. And the center has become a model for communities in the rest of the country that are experiencing the same kind of growth in drug exposed newborns as Huntington. Information Gateway Resource: Heroin/Other Opioids and Child Welfare: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/bhw/casework/families-sud/drug/heroin/
http://www.adn.com/nation-world/2016/10/11/caring-for-the-opioid-epidemics-youngest-victims/

US: Changes in Federal, State, and Local Child Welfare Policy and Practice Correspond with Recommendations of the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (Press release)
PRWeb – October 11, 2016
Within Our Reach, an office established at the Alliance for Strong Families and Communities to advance recommendations from the Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF), reported today the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is taking steps to advance 60 percent of the recommendations to that department in the Commission’s report, released six months ago. At the state and local level, nearly 30 jurisdictions are currently implementing or considering implementation of strategies consistent with CECANF recommendations. HHS response report: https://aspe.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/pdf/208766/ResponseReport.pdf
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2016/10/prweb13756005.htm

US: Changing the Culture in Child Welfare
Chronicle of Social Change – October 11, 2016
The culture of child welfare and safety has historically shied away from engaging families, often viewing them as the source of the problem rather than part of the solution.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/changing-culture-child-welfare/21966

INTERNATIONAL

Kenya: Child marriage and FGM are a threat to girls’ rights, health
The Star (Kenya) – October 12, 2016
Child marriages and female genital mutilation are some of the problems Kenya is grappling with to ensure girls’ rights are not violated. Report: https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/pelastakaalapset/main/2016/10/10200527/Every-Last-Girl-online-version.pdf
http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/2016/10/12/child-marriage-and-fgm-are-a-threat-to-girls-rights-health_c1436237

United Kingdom: The NAO’s analysis of child protection misses the bigger picture (Opinion)
Community Care – October 12, 2016
The report tells about the tremendous increase in children’s social services and child protection workloads, pointing to a 94% increase in the number of children starting on child protection plans over the past decade.
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/2016/10/12/naos-analysis-child-protection-misses-bigger-picture/

CA: County opts for legal aid to manage state probe into Children and Family Services agency
Victorville Daily Press – October 10, 2016
In the wake of an ongoing probe into its child welfare agency by the state Attorney General’s office, the county has retained an outside legal firm with connections to the Enron prosecution to conduct its own assessment of the scrutinized department.
http://www.vvdailypress.com/news/20161010/county-opts-for-legal-aid-to-manage-state-probe-into-children-and-family-services-agency?rssfeed=true

CA: Esplanade House receives $225,000 grant to fund services for homeless families
ChicoER – October 10, 2016
Tom Tenorio, Community Action Agency of Butte County executive director, said the dollars will go toward case management, counseling, parenting classes, financial education and children’s programs.
http://www.chicoer.com/general-news/20161010/esplanade-house-receives-225000-grant-to-fund-services-for-homeless-families

CA: ‘Baby Justice’ Child Welfare records released
Daily Democrat – October 08, 2016
As Justice died while his parents were being investigated by Child Welfare, some criticism has fallen on the agency. Calls for greater transparency have been made and Justice’s death, along with passionate pleas for reform by Yolo County Supervisor Matt Rexroad, have initiated an in-depth analysis of the department by Yolo Supervisors in the form of educational workshops.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/general-news/20161008/baby-justice-child-welfare-records-released

CT: Desperate Choices: Connecticut parents giving up custody for care (Includes video)
Register Citizen – October 08, 2016
Lisa Vincent, a Torrington lawyer, is among two dozen parents and children’s advocates across the state who have formed a grass-roots network that is challenging DCF’s handling of cases involving children with complex trauma-related disorders, many of them adopted. They cite case after case of parents being forced into a situation they call “trading custody for care” – coerced into letting DCF deem their children “uncared for” or neglected and to take over custody, in order to get them into intensive mental health treatment programs.
http://www.registercitizen.com/lifestyle/20161008/desperate-choices-connecticut-parents-giving-up-custody-for-care

CT: Furious at DCF: Legislators call failures ‘unacceptable’
Newington Town Crier – October 08, 2016
Bristol’s state legislators responded with shock and anger to a report into repeated failures at the state Department of Children and Families to protect a young foster child who suffered from severe neglect and abuse.
http://www.centralctcommunications.com/bristolpress/article_ac871c10-8dbb-11e6-b111-4f2b3a70216c.html

DC: Head of D.C. child welfare agency departs as problems investigating neglect persist
Washington Post – October 08, 2016
Child and Family Services Agency Director Raymond Davidson, who had led the agency since Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) took office, told staff members he was leaving to pursue other opportunities. He declined to elaborate, and D.C. officials would not say whether he was asked to step down.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/dc-politics/head-of-dc-child-welfare-agency-departs-as-problems-investigating-neglect-persist/2016/10/08/b0fb14e0-8ca3-11e6-bf8a-3d26847eeed4_story.html

FL: Orthodox Needs Addressed At Florida’s Largest Child Welfare Event
Jewish Press – October 10, 2016
Jewish Community Watch is a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating child abuse, specifically child molestation, within the Jewish community. Founded in 2011, it has quickly established itself as the leading organization dealing with this issue, having had much success educating the public about the prevalence of child abuse and how to prevent it. It has also acted as a support system for victims throughout the healing process, including working with law enforcement and investigators to report abuse.
http://www.jewishpress.com/sections/community/south-florida/orthodox-needs-addressed-at-floridas-largest-child-welfare-event/2016/10/10/

FL: Tenzer Member Laura Reich Appointed To Florida’s Children First Board Of Directors
CityBizList – October 10, 2016
Laura Reich, a member at Miami-based Tenzer PLLC who heads the firm’s litigation group, has been appointed to the Florida’s Children First (FCF) Board of Directors. FCF is a statewide nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing the rights of at-risk children and youth.
http://southflorida.citybizlist.com/article/380457/tenzer-member-laura-reich-appointed-to-floridas-children-first-board-of-directors

GA: DFCS pushes to add foster families before Christmas to raise awareness
Calhoun Times – October 10, 2016
The All I Want for Christmas is a Family campaign is an effort to raise awareness of the need for foster and adoptive families. Schools, youth groups, churches and others will be provided material to help educate people about the foster care crisis. Each group will make a small Christmas tree, or trees, designed to help recruit foster families.
http://www.northwestgeorgianews.com/rome/news/local/dfcs-pushes-to-add-foster-families-before-christmas-to-raise/article_f2aba50c-8eac-11e6-9af8-8371ccf9a30c.html

HI: Report: Thousands of Hawaii runaways in danger of being trafficked (Includes video)
Hawaii News Now – October 10, 2016
A national group that tracks runaways says nearly 2,500 children in Hawaii are in danger of being exploited at any given time. Experts say many of them fled sex abuse at home, and are desperate to survive on the streets.
http://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/story/33360144/report-thousands-of-hawaii-runaways-in-danger-of-being-trafficked

MA: Substance abuse cited as No. 1 reason for DCF cases
Boston Herald – October 11, 2016
Substance abuse is the No. 1 factor in child abuse and neglect cases in Massachusetts, according to groundbreaking data that reveals for the first time how the state’s drug scourge is driving its daunting child welfare caseload.
http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/10/substance_abuse_cited_as_no_1_reason_for_dcf_cases

MS: Adoption: Older children in Mississippi hold out hope
Clarion-Ledger – October 09, 2016
Jaquisha is one of 5,557 children in custody of the Mississippi Department of Child Protection Services, and one of 468 available for adoption statewide, according to Kristi Plotner, deputy commissioner of administration with CPS.
http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/2016/10/09/older-children-foster-care-need-for-adoption/91738964/

NE: Editorial: Child welfare professionals must meet high standards
Omaha World-Herald – October 11, 2016
It’s crucial, then, that the programs to protect vulnerable children and teenagers in Douglas and Sarpy Counties be operated at the highest levels of professionalism and stability possible.
http://www.omaha.com/opinion/editorial-child-welfare-professionals-must-meet-high-standards/article_09d4b3d5-a919-5804-b8c7-0067fab7c124.html

NY: The ‘Unacceptable’ Death of Six-Year-Old Zymere Perkins (Opinion)
Daily Beast – October 10, 2016
Much can be said about the overwhelming backlog of cases, but the fact is that contracted outside agencies, like Safe Horizons, have too much power to close cases without appropriate oversight. New York City officials also admit that training and supervision are all too often inadequate. Since the story of Zymere’s death broke last week, five child welfare workers, who handled previous investigations, have been reassigned to desk duty.
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/10/the-unacceptable-death-of-six-year-old-zymere-perkins.html

OH: Mercer County Children’s Services asks for levy to help with expenses including recruiting and training foster parents (Audio)
WCSM – October 08, 2016
Mercer County Children’s Services is asking voters to approve a .4 mill levy for 10 years. This is to cover expenses, including the recruiting and training of foster parents.
http://www.wcsmradio.com/index.php/news/20881/117/Mercer-County-Children-s-Services-asks-for-levy-to-help-with-expenses-including-recruiting-and-training-foster-parents

SD: Protect the Children, Preserve the Tribe (Opinion)
American Civil Liberties Union – October 06, 2015
This kind of nightmare scenario is the unfortunate reality for Native Americans in South Dakota. Social workers and the courts place their children into non-Native American foster homes – sometimes through hearings that last less than 60 seconds – resulting in thousands of fragmented families and a widespread diaspora of Native American children disconnected from their cultures.
https://www.aclu.org/blog/speak-freely/protect-children-preserve-tribe

TX: CPS Working Overtime To Make Contact With Vulnerable Children
KKTX – October 10, 2016
Child Protective Services is paying its workers overtime to make initial contact with vulnerable children, particularly in Harris County. The CPS is pleading with its workers statewide to come to Houston,
http://1360kktx.iheart.com/articles/247-houston-news-494091/cps-working-overtime-to-make-contact-15186070/

TX: Edinburg region leads the state in child sex abuse cases
The Monitor – October 08, 2016
“Any number of children being sexually abused is too high, it should not be occurring at all,” said Tara O’Connell, Child Protective Services’ new regional director, who was not aware of the data Wednesday. “I am not OK with it happening at a higher rate in this region. I’m not sure why that would be; however, if it is happening at a higher rate, I think it is a good thing that we become aware of it so we can intervene.”
http://www.themonitor.com/news/local/edinburg-region-leads-the-state-in-child-sex-abuse-cases/article_bdd18cea-8dd3-11e6-930a-6bd0f9839006.html

TX: Placement agencies vital to children
San Angelo Standard-Times – October 08, 2016
The Concho Valley is served by six agencies that license foster homes – High Sky Children’s Ranch, New Horizons, A World for Children, Children’s Hope, Arrow Child and Family Services and Pathways Youth and Family Services. Only High Sky and Children’s Hope have office sites in San Angelo. New Horizons; Arrow, which merged with Hope for Tomorrow last year; and A World for Children have closed their local offices – some as recently as this year.
http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/local/a-child-placeing-agenys-role-in-foster-care–3e4b2086-bae6-2a1e-e053-0100007f1797-396427361.html

US: Some foster kids are turning to ‘survival sex’ to make ends meet
Circa – October 11, 2016
Survival sex is defined as “trading sex for food, a place to sleep and other basic needs,” and one in three homeless kids and teens have done it, according to a survey by the National Alliance to End Homelessness.
http://circa.com/world/the-big-story/for-girls-exiting-the-foster-care-system-its-a-race-against-survival-sex

US: Better Integrating Behavioral Health, Juvenile Justice Systems Will Rescue More Kids
Youth Today – October 10, 2016
It is now well-known that youth who come into contact with the juvenile justice system have high rates of mental health and substance abuse conditions – rates that far exceed those of the general youth population.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/better-integrating-behavioral-health-juvenile-justice-systems-will-rescue-more-kids/

US: Drug-Addiction Epidemic Creates Crisis in Foster Care
Stateline – October 10, 2016
The nation’s drug-addiction epidemic is driving a dramatic increase in the number of children entering foster care, forcing many states to take urgent steps to care for neglected children. Also: States Scramble As Opioid Epidemic Strains Already-Burdened Foster Care Systems: http://khn.org/morning-breakout/states-scramble-as-opioid-epidemic-strains-already-burdened-foster-care-systems/
http://www.educationviews.org/drug-addiction-epidemic-creates-crisis-foster-care/

US: Homelessness: issues by the numbers and how you can help
Oxford University Press Blog – October 10, 2016
One promising intervention is the “housing first” model, which is a housing and service approach that places homeless tenants directly into affordable housing without requiring “housing readiness” prior to entry (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2005). Information Gateway Resource: Services for Youth: Homeless and Runaway: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/youth/interventions/homeless-runaway/
http://blog.oup.com/2016/10/world-homeless-day-issues-help/

US: Millennial’s foster care calling shatters 30-something stereotype
Baptist News – October 10, 2016
Being a single foster parent isn’t without its challenges, so Haston said she leans on her Dallas community, family, church small group and Buckner for physical and emotional support.
https://baptistnews.com/article/millennials-foster-care-calling-shatters-30-something-stereotype/#.V_zmScnMbFk

US: Proposed Tax Credit Would Reward Employers Who Hire Former Foster Youth
Youth Today – October 10, 2016
Under the bipartisan Improving Employment Outcomes for Foster Youth Act (HR 5947, S 3409), employers could receive an annual tax credit for hiring former foster youth between ages 18 and 27.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/proposed-tax-credit-would-reward-employers-who-hire-former-foster-youth/

US: This Yom Kippur, Don’t Donate to Unsafe Synagogues and Schools (Opinion)
The Algemeiner – October 10, 2016
The statement condemns cover-ups protecting Orthodox child molesters; ignoring, shaming or punishing of victims who cry out for help; and the rabbinic demands that victims not report their abuser to the police. It calls for Orthodox institutions to implement child-safety procedures; allow victims to pursue justice; and demands that members of Orthodox communities be informed when a child sex predator moves in.
https://www.algemeiner.com/2016/10/10/this-yom-kippur-dont-donate-to-unsafe-synagogues-and-schools/

US: For Love or Money: Increasing the Number of Foster Homes (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – October 08, 2016
Foster children are entering the foster care system in moderately increasing numbers. At the same time, we have fewer foster families who can meet their needs. Due to major changes in family life over the past generation, the situation is not likely to get better. Blogger Co-opTo avoid a disaster, we need to change the way we recruit and treat foster parents.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/for-love-or-money/21536

INTERNATIONAL

Haiti: Traffickers Likely To Prey On Kids In Haiti After Hurricane Matthew: Report
Huffington Post – October 10, 2016
At least 2,000 children have been separated from their parents or evacuated from orphanages.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/child-trafficking-haiti-hurricane-matthew_us_57fbb66ce4b0e655eab6358b

Indonesia: Launching a campaign to end female genital mutilation (FGM) practices
Albawaba – October 08, 2016
A United Nations report released this year revealed that Indonesia, Egypt and Ethiopia are home to half of the estimated 200 million women and girls around the world who have experienced female genital mutilation.
http://www.albawaba.com/news/indonesia-launches-campaign-end-female-genital-mutilation-fgm-practices-890562

Nigeria: Girl-Child: NGO wants FG to open register for sex offenders
The Eagle – October 10, 2016
An NGO, Sexual Offences Awareness and Victims Rehabilitation Initiative, on Monday urged the Federal Government to open a register for sex offenders. Chinyere Eyoh, the Executive Director of the organisation, made the plea in an interview with newsmen in Abuja. Eyoh spoke ahead of the International Day of the Girl-Child scheduled for October 11.
http://theeagleonline.com.ng/girl-child-ngo-wants-fg-to-open-register-for-sex-offenders/

Romania: Save the Children Romania trains 550 specialists to reduce domestic violence on children
Romania-Insider – October 10, 2016
Save the Children Romania implemented in the past year a project aimed at preventing and combating domestic violence on children, through a training program financed by Norway.
http://www.romania-insider.com/save-children-romania-trains-550-specialists-reduce-domestic-violence-children/

United Kingdom: Workforce reform is vital to ensure change in children’s services
The Guardian – October 10, 2016
Assessment of child protection services reform has become a key focus of our work at the European Social Network, which promotes the exchange of knowledge among local public social services to contribute to effective policy development.
https://www.theguardian.com/social-care-network/2016/oct/10/workforce-reform-childrens-services

CA: Before Baby Justice’s death, CPS report had red flags (Includes video)
KCRA – October 07, 2016
Justice Rees was only 20 days old when his body was found in a cold, remote slough in February 2015 near Knights Landing, but there may have been red flags before his death, according the Yolo County CPS investigation released Thursday.
http://www.kcra.com/news/local-news/news-sacramento/before-baby-justices-death-cps-report-had-red-flags/42005770

CT: DCF caseworker remained unchanged for months after toddler nearly starved to death
The Day – October 07, 2016
A report by the Office of the Child Advocate investigating the care of the child, whom the report refers to as “Baby Dylan,” found that the boy’s near death from starvation and abuse could occur only as a result of “the utter collapse of all safeguards.” Report: http://www.ct.gov/oca/lib/oca/OCA_Investigative_Report_Dylan_C..pdf
http://www.theday.com/local/20161007/dcf-caseworker-remained-unchanged-for-months-after-toddler-nearly-starved-to-death

CT: Our View: Despite failures, DCF is making progress
The Bulletin – October 07, 2016
Pending legislative approval, the Connecticut Department of Children and Families has a new path to emerge, in large part, from the federal oversight it’s been under for more than two decades, the result of a class-action lawsuit citing state failures to provide adequate child protective services and keep families together when reasonable.
http://www.norwichbulletin.com/opinion/20161007/our-view-despite-failures-dcf-is-making-progress?rssfeed=true

CT: State waiting for Ackert to propose group home before taking position
Journal Inquirer – October 07, 2016
The state Department of Children and Families and Community Health Resources are not taking a position at this time on a legislator’s plan to draft a bill that would shut down state-licensed group homes if they don’t meet expected supervision guidelines.
http://www.journalinquirer.com/towns/coventry/state-waiting-for-ackert-to-propose-group-home-before-taking/article_8e890e34-8cae-11e6-9576-af0ca1815e9e.html

IL: Editorial: Foster parents of kids with RAD don’t belong on registry
Pantagraph – October 09, 2016
As reported by The Pantagraph last week, there is one aspect of the foster care system that needs to be remedied quickly in favor of parents. It involves foster parents whose children become dangerously violent after they are adopted – to the point that, in some cases, parents can no longer properly care for them. These children suffer from from reactive attachment disorder or RAD, a condition that affects children neglected in early childhood and who failed to form a parental bond.
http://www.pantagraph.com/news/opinion/editorial/editorial-foster-parents-of-kids-with-rad-don-t-belong/article_ee34e98d-bb1b-523b-bd18-72dc93679392.html

KS: New national report questions privatized government services like those in Kansas
Lawrence Journal-World – October 10, 2016
At a time when the state of Kansas’ privatized child welfare programs are coming under heightened scrutiny, a new national report says privatization generally leads to lower quality services, especially for the poor and people of color. Report: How Privatization Increases Inequality: https://www.inthepublicinterest.org/wp-content/uploads/InthePublicInterest_InequalityReport_Sept2016.pdf
http://www2.ljworld.com/news/2016/oct/10/new-national-report-questions-privatized-governmen/

NY: Services Held For 6-Year-Old Zymere Perkins, Allegedly Killed By Mother’s Boyfriend (Includes video)
CBS New York – October 07, 2016
A funeral was to be held Friday for Zymere Perkins, 6, whose death in Harlem sparked outrage across the city when news broke that calls to help him had fallen through the cracks.
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2016/10/07/zymere-perkins-funeral/

PA: Here’s what PennLive’s editorial missed in the Statute of Limitations debate: Cathleen Palm
Penn Live – October 07, 2016
Refusing to support a retroactive statute of limitations provision reflects the imbalance of power between powerful lobbyists in Harrisburg and the individual sexually assaulted as a child.
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2016/10/heres_what_pennlives_editorial.html

TX: Our opinion: Why the Reporter-News is focusing on our children’s safety
Abilene Reporter-News – October 09, 2016
The local CPS office was investigated and three supervisors were accused of tampering with evidence. None now are with CPS. The numbers Crum studied were shocking. The Abilene region consistently topped or was near the top in the number of cases confirmed.
http://www.reporternews.com/opinion/editorials/our-opinion-why-the-reporter-news-is-focusing-on-our-childrens-safety-3e489ce9-8a43-04ed-e053-010000-396348451.html

TX: Child Protective Services looks to churches to meet needs in East Texas
Tyler Morning Telegraph – October 07, 2016
Child Protective Services is providing the opportunity for churches to take part in the Care Portal in East Texas. The online system is a division of The Global Orphan Project nonprofit and provides a way for Child Protective Services to connect the needs of local children and families with people at local churches who can meet those needs.
http://www.tylerpaper.com/TP-News+Local/252145/child-protective-services-looks-to-churches-to-meet-needs-in-east-texas

TX: Safe Haven Law could have prevented the search for parents of an abandoned infant (Includes video)
Fox 34 – October 07, 2016
The Safe Haven Law, or ‘Baby Moses Law,’ went into effect in 1999, signed by Gov. Bush. “It was the first of its kind in the United States,” FOX 34 legal analyst Curtis Parrish said. “No other state had passed a law like this and the reasoning behind the law was we saw a lot of babies who were being born who were thrown in dumpsters or just thrown away babies.”
http://www.fox34.com/story/33344796/safe-haven-law-could-have-prevented-the-search-for-parents-of-an-abandoned-infant

TX: Safety concerns arise as more Texas foster kids sleep in state offices
Austin American-Statesman – October 07, 2016
Two foster kids stole a car. Another one threatened to hurt herself. Another broke a girl’s nose and gave a Child Protective Services worker a concussion. At least a half-dozen such incidents have occurred over the last five months while foster children were housed in hotels, CPS offices or emergency shelters across the state. Also: Armed guards monitor foster kids sleeping in Texas state offices: http://www.statesman.com/news/news/armed-guards-monitor-foster-kids-sleeping-in-texas/nsm6c/ Also: CPS forced to call in workers on OT to check on endangered kids this weekend: http://www.dallasnews.com/news/texas-legislature/2016/10/07/texas-cps-forced-call-workers-overtime-check-endangered-children-weekend
http://www.statesman.com/news/news/safety-concerns-arise-as-more-texas-foster-kids-sl/nsm9Z/

TX: The Brief: Texas’ Endangered Children Remain Unseen by CPS
Highbeam Research – October 05, 2016
Nearly 1,000 of Texas’ highest-priority endangered children – considered to be at immediate risk of physical or sexual abuse – regularly went unchecked for weeks and months, a new release of Child Protective Services data revealed Tuesday. Also: CPS admits 20 percent of kids at high risk of abuse aren’t seen by caseworkers in timely manner (Includes video): http://www.fox26houston.com/news/210363702-story
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/05/the-brief/

WA: Catholic Charities is in the middle of an ambitious building blitz designed to end chronic homelessness in the region
Spokesman-Review – October 07, 2016
“We have been living and breathing the world of construction,” said Rob McCann, executive director of Catholic Charities. “It’s an aggressive goal. It is a stretch goal. But it’s one we think is worthwhile.”
http://www.spokesman.com/stories/2016/oct/07/catholic-charities-is-in-the-middle-of-an-ambitiou/

US: Federal Judge Bans ICE Detainers on Immigrants (Includes audio)
Public News Service – October 10, 2016
A federal judge has ordered U.S. immigration officials to stop requesting that local law enforcement detain certain people without a warrant in order to determine their immigration status.
http://www.publicnewsservice.org/2016-10-10/social-justice/federal-judge-bans-ice-detainers-on-immigrants/a54395-1

US: Millennial’s foster care calling shatters 30-something stereotype
Baptist News Global – October 10, 2016
She has answered a call to care for children who need temporary homes. It means opening her house to well-adjusted children and troubled ones, too. That is not the attitude or behavior often associated with a single 30-something.
https://baptistnews.com/article/millennials-foster-care-calling-shatters-30-something-stereotype/#.V_uK6cnMbFk

US: Drug-Addiction Epidemic Creates Crisis in Foster Care
Pew Charitable Trust: Stateline – October 07, 2016
Several states, such as New Hampshire and Vermont, have either changed laws to make it possible to pull children out of homes where parents are addicted, or have made room in the budget to hire more social workers to deal with the emerging crisis. Also: These states are struggling with a drug addiction-fueled crisis in foster care: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/rundown/states-struggling-drug-addiction-fueled-crisis-foster-care/
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/10/07/drug-addiction-epidemic-creates-crisis-in-foster-care

US: The child-trafficking case against a top ad site CEO has been a tug-of-war
Business Insider – October 07, 2016
An ongoing child trafficking investigation against the classified ad website Backpage moved forward Thursday. According to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, up to 71 percent of suspected child trafficking reports involved Backpage, giving it a central role in efforts to curb trafficking. But the company claims First Amendment protection for the ads it publishes. Also: Backpage CEO arrested in child trafficking probe: Why the controversy?: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Justice/2016/1007/Backpage-CEO-arrested-in-child-trafficking-probe-Why-the-controversy Also: Backpage CEO arrested, charged with pimping: https://www.consumeraffairs.com/news/backpage-ceo-arrested-charged-with-pimping-100716.html
http://www.businessinsider.com/the-child-trafficking-case-against-a-top-ad-site-ceo-has-been-a-tug-of-war-2016-10

INTERNATIONAL

Afghanistan: UNICEF urges more investment in meeting the basic needs of Afghanistan’s children
Unicef – October 07, 2016
“Together with the rest of the international community, UNICEF will play a full part in building a safer, more stable Afghanistan for its people and especially its children,” said Jean Gough, UNICEF Regional Director for South Asia. “Investing in children’s education and other services will help address poverty and other issues that are driving so many families – including children — to leave the country.”
http://www.unicef.org/media/media_92885.html

Europe: Children stranded in Calais ‘Jungle’ camp thanks to British bureaucracy – Red Cross
Sign of the Times – October 10, 2016
The UK has been refusing to take in unaccompanied refugee minors stranded in France’s Calais ‘Jungle’ camp, preventing them from being reunited with families there, according to the British Red Cross. The camp is weeks away from demolition by French authorities. Report by British Red Cross: No Place for Children: http://www.redcross.org.uk/~/media/BritishRedCross/Documents/What%20we%20do/Refugee%20support/No%20place%20for%20children.pdf
https://www.sott.net/article/330638-hildren-stranded-in-Calais-Jungle-camp-thanks-to-British-bureaucracy-Red-Cross

International: Please stop saying my adopted daughter is ‘lucky’ (Opinion)
Washington Post – October 07, 2016
In India, birth families voluntarily surrender children. After they give the child to a government-certified home, they have 60 days to rethink their decision and are allowed reclaim the child, no questions asked. I felt that we were working through a procedure that, although imperfect, was doing its best to do right by birth families and children.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/parenting/wp/2016/10/07/please-stop-saying-my-adopted-daughter-is-lucky/

Sudan: Khartoum starts to hand over Darfur child soldiers to their families
Relief Web – October 08, 2016
Sudanese government has embarked on actual moves to hand over 21 child soldiers to their families after completing the legal procedures, said children official. Last month, President Omer al-Bashir announced the release of twenty one children allegedly detained during the Gouz Dango battle with the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) in April 2014.
http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/khartoum-starts-hand-over-darfur-child-soldiers-their-families

Tanzania: A new start for Tanzania’s hunted albino children
Metro – October 10, 2016
‘In some tribes, albino children may be killed at birth, abandoned or offered for ritual sacrifice.
http://metro.co.uk/2016/10/10/a-new-start-for-tanzanias-hunted-children-6170066/

CA: LA nonprofit looks to help former foster kids with housing, support (Includes video)
KABC – October 06, 2016
It’s a well-known problem for foster children – they age out of the system, but have nowhere to go. Nearly 40 percent end up homeless when they get too old for foster care.
http://abc7.com/news/la-nonprofit-looks-to-help-former-foster-kids-with-housing-support/1543274/

CA: O’Donnell’s bill to boost school attendance signed by governor (Press release)
Office of California Assemblymember Patrick O’Donnell – October 06, 2016
AB 2815 updates the responsibilities of attendance supervisors, allowing them to utilize early intervention tactics such as counseling referrals, holding conferences with parents or guardians and engaging with local child welfare services.
http://www.signaltribunenewspaper.com/?p=32006

CA: Yolo County CPS Releases Baby Justice Documents (Includes video)
KTXL – October 06, 2016
Howard is senior counsel for the Children’s Advocacy Group. He was instrumental in passing the California law that required Yolo County’s Child Protective Services to release its records in the Justice Rees case.
http://fox40.com/2016/10/06/yolo-county-cps-releases-baby-justice-documents/

CT: DCF is facing criticism over child’s neglect
KITV – October 06, 2016
After a report was recently released, the Department of Children and Families is receiving criticism over a child’s neglect. While DCF recognizes their mistakes, a report released by a child advocate agency shows some eye-opening findings of the department.
http://www.kitv.com/story/33332934/dcf-is-facing-criticism-over-childs-neglect

KS: Netsmart Resource Portal Provides Real-Time Information to Foster Families (Press release)
Marketwired – October 06, 2016
The placement of a child into foster care often happens quickly, but the transmission of vital information to caseworkers and foster families does not. Today Netsmart, healthcare’s largest human services and integrated technology provider, announced the launch of the Resource Family Portal.
http://finance.minyanville.com/minyanville/news/read?GUID=32991586

KY: Kentucky Baptist exec: Cooperative Program is essential, irreplaceable (Opinion)
Florida Baptist Witness – October 06, 2016
Fueled by the Cooperative Program, Sunrise ministers to more than 1,000 hurting kids in Kentucky. With more than 8,000 kids in our state’s care, Kentucky Baptists feel we are only scratching the surface even though we are the state’s largest private provider.
http://gofbw.com/blog?id=1212

MA: Hutchins Funds $10 Million to Study Inequality Among Boston’s Black Residents
The Harvard Crimson – October 07, 2016
Hutchins’s latest donation to the Center will support a new study on housing, labor, criminal justice, and child welfare in poverty stricken areas in Boston with the ultimate aim of influencing public policy. Hutchins said in an interview that he hopes the grant will allow the University and African and African American Studies scholars to continue “building an organization that could serve generations.”
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/10/7/hutchins-center-project-donation/

MD: Advocates seek immunity for youth victims of sex trafficking
Associated Press – October 06, 2016
Juvenile victims of human trafficking will not be prosecuted for sex crimes in Maryland if a recommendation from a state workgroup becomes law, despite pushback from law enforcement.
http://www.sfchronicle.com/news/crime/article/Advocates-seek-immunity-for-youth-victims-of-sex-9882941.php

MN: Buffalo County seeks child protective services aid; meth, drug use responsible for caseload increases
Winona Daily News – October 05, 2016
Buffalo County is advocating for increased state funding of county aid allocations used to provide assistance services to families and children.
http://www.winonadailynews.com/news/local/buffalo-county-seeks-child-protective-services-aid-meth-drug-use/article_d7f4f7d6-49c2-56e9-bece-e575b517a73f.html

MO: Search for foster parents takes on unique approach (Includes video)
KY3 – October 06, 2016
Lutheran Family and Children Services is taking a new approach to recruiting new foster families; they’re setting up in local businesses like Travelers House Coffee and Tea. As customers sip coffee and relax, Ashley Grant of Lutheran Family and Children’s Services hopes to strike up some conversation.
http://www.ky3.com/content/news/Search-for-foster-parents-takes-unique-approach-396226061.html

NM: Legislature sends budget fix to governor
Associated Press – October 06, 2016
The Legislature’s budget plan included spending cuts of 5.5 at most executive agencies, with no cuts planned at departments overseeing public safety and child welfare services. Funding for the Judiciary and legislative offices both would decrease by about 3 percent.
http://www.dothaneagle.com/news/ap/state/new-mexico-legislature-sends-budget-fix-to-governor/article_bd8198db-1b5c-5d2a-a1db-a95dea68117f.html

NY: #AsktheMayor: Child Protective Services, Rent Exemptions and JCOPE Subpoenas (Audio)
WNYC – October 06, 2016
The Brian Lehrer Show: Bill de Blasio, mayor of New York City, takes calls from listeners and discusses this week in NYC, including investigations into child protection services in the case of Zymere Perkins’s death, new efforts to increase awareness for New Yorkers that may qualify for rent exemptions, and the recent subpoenas issued to Campaign for One New York by the New York State Joint Commission on Public Ethics. Also: Mayor Continues Not Providing Details About Death of 6-Year-Old Boy in Harlem: http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/10/6/mayor-continuing-not-to-provide-details-about-death-of-6-year-old-boy-in-harlem.html
http://www.wnyc.org/story/askthemayor-10616/

PA: 11 Investigates: CYF officials respond to backlash over recent child abuse cases (Includes video)
WPXI – October 06, 2016
After a week that saw four children removed from deplorable conditions in McKeesport following their parents’ overdose deaths and an emergency order filed to remove two children from their parents’ custody in Port Vue, many are demanding answers from officials within Allegheny County’s Department of Children, Youth and Family Services.
http://www.wpxi.com/news/investigates/11-investigates-cyf-officials-respond-to-backlash-over-recent-child-abuse-cases/454256680

TX: State Admits Failures in Child Welfare Oversight (Video)
The Texas Tribune – October 07, 2016
New data from the state’s child welfare agency shows investigators are struggling to protect the most vulnerable.
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/07/child-welfare-oversight-trumps-women-woes-video/

TX: Program Working to Connect Churches with Local Children in Foster Care (Includes video)
KRGV – October 06, 2016
A new program in the Rio Grande Valley is hoping to help extend services to children in the foster care system.
http://www.krgv.com/story/33337217/program-working-to-connect-churches-with-local-children-in-foster-care

US: It’s Time to Really Pay Foster Parents (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 06, 2016
Our current foster care structure is based on an outdated model: families with one breadwinner and a stay-at-home mom. This traditional family had sufficient income and personal resources to take in foster children. Not for money, but for love.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/pay-foster-parents/21534

US: Lessons for Child Welfare From the Tales of Wells Fargo (Opinion)
Youth Today – October 06, 2016
Financial incentives matter. They matter in child welfare, too. Information Gateway resource: COA Standards: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/management/workforce/compendium/aboutcomp/coa/
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/lessons-for-child-welfare-from-the-tales-of-wells-fargo/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Quebec moves toward more open adoptions
Montreal Gazette – October 06, 2016
Quebec’s proposal to modernize its adoption laws, to allow adopted children and their birth parents to learn about their identity and medical history, is good news for thousands across the province, said Caroline Fortin of Mouvement Retrouvailles, a not-for-profit organization defending the rights of adoptees and biological parents. Also: New rules for adoptions in Quebec to end ‘total secrecy’ of old regime: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/adoption-bill-113-1.3794145
http://montrealgazette.com/news/quebec/quebec-moves-toward-more-open-adoptions

International: 42 million children under five in East Asia and Pacific are at risk of not reaching developmental potential
UNICEF – October 06, 2016
Nearly 42 million children under five in the East Asia and the Pacific region are at an increased risk of poor development due to extreme poverty and stunting, according to findings from The Lancet’s new Series, Advancing Early Childhood Development: from Science to Scale.
http://www.unicef.org/eapro/media_25807.html

Nigeria: Activist accuses Delta govt officials of human trafficking
The Nation – October 06, 2016
A child’s rights activist, Ighorhiohwumu Aghogho, has accused some officials of the Delta State Government of violating the state’s Child Right Law and involvement in human trafficking.
http://thenationonlineng.net/activist-accuses-delta-govt-officials-human-trafficking/

AZ: Court to hear arguments in appeal by fired state workers
Associated Press – October 06, 2016
Appellate judges will hear arguments Oct. 20 in an appeal by five former state child welfare employees who contend they were wrongly fired in 2014 amid an agency scandal.
http://www.seattlepi.com/news/crime/article/Court-to-hear-arguments-in-appeal-by-fired-state-9861109.php

AZ: My Turn: The lifeboats for Arizona’s abused, neglected kids (Opinion)
azcentral.com – October 04, 2016
Kinship foster families are lifesavers for thousands of Arizona kids, but many of these families are being overwhelmed.
http://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2016/10/04/kinship-foster-care-arizona/90722824/

CA: A Bridge to Child Care for Foster Kids in California (Opinion)
Youth Today – October 05, 2016
There’s a crisis in California’s foster care system that few know about: child care. When children are removed from their parents’ homes due to abuse and neglect, they urgently need a safe, loving family environment. But for the youngest of these children, one of the top barriers to providing a family placement is the lack of access to child care.
https://youthtoday.org/2016/10/a-bridge-to-child-care-for-foster-kids-in-california/

CA: Permanency in the News (Opinion)
The Chronicle of Social Change – October 05, 2016
Permanency in the News is a weekly email roundup of media stories on permanency in child welfare curated and distributed by Dr. Greg Manning. Below you will find this week’s edition.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/news-2/permanency-in-the-news-week-of-10032016/21138

CO: Douglas County Human Services recognized for outstanding performance
The Denver Post – October 05, 2016
In total, the county was cited for timeliness in 14 different areas, as well as for percentage of both current child support collected and cases with an arrears payment, food assistance error rate, accuracy of CCCAP child-care reimbursement, and the safety and well-being of children discharged to permanency.
http://yourhub.denverpost.com/blog/2016/10/douglas-county-human-services-recognized-for-outstanding-performance/160985/

CT: After Details Revealed In Baby’s Near-Fatal Starvation, DCF Pledges Reforms, Defends Discipline Of 3 Workers (Includes video)
Hartford Courant – October 05, 2016
The day after the release of a searing study of the near-fatal starvation of a baby placed by the state with a relative, a pressing question has emerged: Are problems revealed by the abuse of a child under the noses of Connecticut’s child-protection agency fixable? Also: Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler: http://www.azfamily.com/story/33324638/report-finds-fault-with-dcf-for-near-starvation-of-toddler
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-dallas-katz-dcf-follow-20161005-story.html

IL: Adoption Can Be Challenging For Multi-Racial Families (Includes video)
WBBM – October 05, 2016
Adoption, like parenting, can be rewarding and challenging. But there are special concerns for parents adopting African-American babies, especially in this day, age and climate.
http://chicago.cbslocal.com/2016/10/05/adoption-can-be-challenging-for-multi-racial-families/

IL: Victim says Dennis Hastert is ‘a monster’ protected by child abuse law (Includes video)
Associated Press – October 04, 2016
The comments from 54-year-old Scott Cross came as lawmakers are considering joining 37 other states that don’t have a statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. Information Gateway resource: State Laws on Reporting and Responding to Child Abuse and Neglect: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/laws-policies/can/reporting/
http://www.nwherald.com/2016/10/04/victim-says-dennis-hastert-is-a-monster-protected-by-child-abuse-law/a992hkh/

IN: Another $400K Awarded to Cass County Courts
South Bend Tribune – October 05, 2016
The three-year grant from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention will be used to supplement the Cass County Family Treatment Court, which is operated by the Cass County Probate/Family Court. Cass County is one of six entities in the country to receive the grant.
http://www.southbendtribune.com/news/local/another-k-awarded-to-cass-county-courts/article_ad15f317-a457-5e05-89fb-1e36cc047d88.html

KS: Foster care numbers on the rise in Lyon County
Emporia Gazette – October 05, 2016
More than 100 children in Lyon County have been placed in foster care since Jan. 1. In 2015, less than 100 children entered care throughout the entire year.
http://www.emporiagazette.com/latest_news_and_features/article_76f1b552-a2d4-536b-80fe-fef2e4c5c609.html

KY: Keene to serve on child abuse task force
Community Press – October 05, 2016
Kentucky 67th House District Rep. Dennis Keene, D-Wilder, was appointed by Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo to the House Task Force on Child Abuse and Exploitation Prevention. The bipartisan task force will examine and propose omnibus legislation designed to protect children, according to a news release from Keene.
http://www.cincinnati.com/story/news/local/campbellcounty/2016/10/05/keene-serves-onstatechildabuse-taskforce/91614230/

MI: Innocence Clinic gets grant to tackle child abuse cases
Michigan Radio/NPR – October 05, 2016
Some parents and caretakers in prison for child abuse may get their cases reopened if the University of Michigan Innocence Clinic believes they were wrongfully convicted for inducing “shaken baby syndrome.” Now, the Department of Justice is giving the Innocence Clinic a two-year, $250,000 grant to support the defense of such cases.
http://michiganradio.org/post/innocence-clinic-gets-grant-tackle-child-abuse-cases#stream/0

MT: Prosecutors question tactics in interview of girl who claimed abuse
Billings Gazette – October 05, 2016
A state Child Welfare Specialist who recorded a young girl’s report of sexual abuse was not using best practices during the interview, a state expert testified Wednesday.
http://billingsgazette.com/news/crime/prosecutors-question-tactics-in-interview-of-girl-who-claimed-abuse/article_0a732b7d-f443-5fc3-9eac-3e2d473a0324.html

NC: Durham Commissioners Back $15 Minimum Wage and Paid Parental Leave
INDY Week – October 05, 2016
The Durham County Board of Commissioners wholeheartedly agreed that not only should the county be offering a $15 minimum wage, but should also offer twelve weeks paid parental leave for employees with new children.
http://www.indyweek.com/news/archives/2016/10/05/durham-commissioners-back-15-minimum-wage-and-paid-parental-leave

NE: State seeks bids from child welfare providers on 5-year contract
Omaha World Herald – October 05, 2016
Doug Weinberg, children and family services director for the Department of Health and Human Services, said the contract is being rebid because it is best practice to do so every five years with major contracts. He said HHS is committed to continuing with a privatized approach to child welfare in Douglas and Sarpy Counties, even though a study commissioned by the Legislature concluded last year that privatization had not produced “any measurable benefit” for the state.
http://www.omaha.com/news/nebraska/nebraska-seeks-bids-from-child-welfare-providers-on–year/article_7a96695b-2040-5026-a3ed-669bbb87c3d3.html

NM: State moves closer to slashing state agency funding
Associated Press – October 06, 2016
A plan to slash New Mexico state agency spending by nearly 3 percent with the exception of public safety and child welfare programs was approved Wednesday by the state House of Representatives.
http://www.chron.com/news/crime/article/Death-penalty-expected-to-go-before-full-New-9725717.php

NY: Chobani announces six weeks, 100 percent paid parental leave policy
KMVT/KSVT – October 05, 2016
Greek yogurt company Chobani announced Wednesday its new parental policy that will give full-time employee six weeks of 100 percent paid leave for a birth, adoption or foster child placement.
http://www.kmvt.com/content/news/Chobani-announces-six-weeks-100-percent-paid-parental-leave-policy-396087621.html

NY: De Blasio lays out ACS reforms in wake of abused boy’s death
New York Daily News – October 05, 2016
With child welfare Commissioner Gladys Carrion sitting next to him, Mayor de Blasio declared Wednesday at a City Hall presser that the mission of her agency is “to save every child. Period.” Also: Bill’s grave mission: De Blasio child safety reforms show how severely the system failed Zymere Perkins: http://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/bill-grave-mission-fix-system-failed-zymere-perkins-article-1.2818968
http://nypost.com/2016/10/05/de-blasio-lays-out-acs-reforms-in-wake-of-abused-boys-death/

OH: Mercer County Children’s Services asking voters to approve a levy (Audio)
WCSM – October 06, 2016
This November, Mercer County Children’s Services is asking voters to approve a .4 mill levy for 10 years to assist child protective services. Mercer County Children Services Director Jason Cupp comments.
http://www.wcsmradio.com/index.php/news/20869/117/Mercer-County-Children-s-Services-asking-voters-to-approve-a-levy

RI: NBC 10 I-Team: Residents fed up with Department of Human Services (Includes video)
WJAR – October 05, 2016
At the core of the long lines and confusion is the DHS’s new eligibility system. The plan was to integrate health care, SNAP, cash assistance and child care benefits eligibility. It was also launched to provide a faster approval process that is convenient and secure, according to the DHS.
http://turnto10.com/i-team/nbc-10-i-team-residents-fed-up-with-delays-confusion-at-department-of-human-services

TX: CPS workers not making visits within time requirements (Includes video)
KVUE – October 05, 2016
New data from the Department of Family and Protective Services shows that in more than 40 percent of child abuse cases from September in Travis County, CPS workers didn’t visit within the critical time period of the first few hours.
http://www.kvue.com/mb/news/local/cps-workers-not-making-visits-within-time-requirements/329351090

WI: New Partnership For Child Abuse Protection
WSAU – October 06, 2016
As part of Domestic Abuse Awareness Month, The Women’s Community and the Marathon County Department of Social Services have signed a new Memo of Understanding that will coordinate the efforts of the two groups around child protection.
http://wsau.com/news/articles/2016/oct/06/new-partnership-for-child-abuse-protection/

WI: ASHA Family Services, Organization for Domestic Abuse Victims, Closed
WDJT – October 05, 2016
ASHA Family Services has been there for nearly three decades but the place many African American depend on is now gone. The State Department of Child Welfare says it decided to stop funding ASHA Family Services after financial issues.
http://www.cbs58.com/story/33328375/asha-family-services-organization-for-domestic-abuse-victims-closed

WV: The Tiniest Victims of the Heroin Crisis: A Baby With Opioid Withdrawal Is Born Every 25 Minutes
Stateline – October 05, 2016
Before hospitals in the rest of the country started seeing a surge in the number of infants born with severe drug withdrawal symptoms, this town of 50,000 was already facing a crisis.
http://www.thefiscaltimes.com/2016/10/05/Tiniest-Victims-Heroin-Crisis-Baby-Opioid-Withdrawal-Born-Every-25-Minutes

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: First Nations advocates call foster care sex abuse report ‘tragic’
CBC News – October 05, 2016
First Nations advocates are calling for provincial action after B.C.’s representative of children and youth report found hundreds of B.C. children in foster care were victims of sexualized violence.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/reaction-to-sexualized-violence-report-1.3792232

Netherlands: Rotterdam calls for ‘incompetent mothers’ to take compulsory contraception
Independent – October 05, 2016
Rotterdam city council has called for mothers, judged to be incapable to raise children, to be given compulsory contraception by court order. The Dutch council has launched a voluntary contraception drive for 160 women believed to be at risk due to learning difficulties, psychological issues or addiction, nrc.nl reports.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/compulsory-contraception-rotterdam-city-council-incompetent-mothers-netherlands-a7346621.html

New Zealand: Child abuse sentence ‘disgraceful’: Sensible Sentencing Trust (Opinion)
Stuff – October 06, 2016
Home detention is a disgraceful sentence for years of child abuse, the Sensible Sentencing Trust says. A Hamilton couple who hit, kicked and used a skipping rope and belt on their kids were each sentenced to seven months of home detention in the Hamilton District Court on Wednesday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/crime/85021126/child-abuse-sentence-disgraceful-sensible-sentencing-trust

CT: Report finds fault with DCF for near-starvation of toddler
Associated Press – October 04, 2016
The state’s child advocate on Tuesday blamed “the utter collapse of all safeguards” for the abuse and near-starvation of a toddler who was under the care of the Department of Children and Families. Also: State watchdog: Infant’s neglect suggests systemic failure at DCF: http://ctmirror.org/2016/10/04/state-watchdog-infants-injury-suggests-a-systemic-failure-at-dcf/ Report: http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/upload/2016/10/OCA-Investigative-Report-Dylan-C-100416.pdf
http://www.sfgate.com/news/crime/article/Report-finds-fault-with-DCF-for-near-starvation-9681780.php

IL: Bill to change statute of limitations in child sex cases (Includes video)
WSIL 3 – October 04, 2016
Children who become victims of a sex crime may soon have longer to press charges in Illinois. Attorney General Lisa Madigan has pitched lawmakers four separate bills to eliminate the statute of limitations in child sex crimes. Information Gateway resource: Transition to Adulthood and Independent Living Programs: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/outofhome/independent/programs/
http://www.wsiltv.com/story/33317325/bill-to-change-statute-of-limitations-in-child-sex-cases

MA: AG’s Office and the Boston Casa Program to Launch Pilot Program to Support Youth Aging out of Foster Care (Press release)
Office of the Attorney General of Massachusetts – October 04, 2016
The pilot program, made possible by a $40,000 grant from the AG’s Office, will support the special advocates serving youth over the age of 16 who are transitioning from foster care to adulthood, and specially train advocates to empower foster youth to advocate for themselves.
http://www.mass.gov/ago/news-and-updates/press-releases/2016/ags-office-and-the-boston-casa-program-to-launch-pilot-program-to-support-youth-aging-out-of-foster-care.html

MS: Hancock County foster care has improved (Opinion)
Sun Herald – October 05, 2016
As a result of all the foregoing improvements, the number of Hancock County children placed in protective custody has finally stopped climbing and has fallen from 460 to 336. There is still much room for improvement, but Hancock County is moving rapidly in the right direction.
http://www.sunherald.com/opinion/other-voices/article105953737.html

NY: De Blasio Administration Adding Child Welfare Protections in Wake of Beating Death of 6-Year-Old Boy (Includes video)
NY1 News – October 05, 2016
The mayor will announce Wednesday that Administration for Children’s Services staffers will be given a refresher course on proper assessment protocols.
http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/news/2016/10/5/de-blasio-administration-adding-child-welfare-protections-in-wake-of-beating-death-of-6-year-old-boy.html

NY: Number of Kids in Foster Care Cut in Half Amid City Policy Change: Data
DNAinfo – October 05, 2016
The number of children placed in foster care in New York City has been cut nearly in half in recent years, statistics show.
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161005/central-harlem/zymere-smith-foster-children-statistics-administration-for-childrens-services

NY: Press Release: New York City Council Announces Oversight Hearing To Examine How The City Responds To Child Abuse And Neglect (Press release)
New York Nonprofit Media – October 04, 2016
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and General Welfare Committee Chair Steve Levin announced today that on October 31st the City Council will conduct an oversight hearing examining how the City responds to allegations of child abuse and neglect.
http://nynmedia.com/news/press-release-new-york-city-council-announces-oversight-hearing-to-examine-how-the-city-responds-to-child-abuse-and-neglect

PA: Department of Human Services Corrects Child Abuse History Clearance Errors (Press release)
Pennsylvania Department of Human Services – October 04, 2016
“Protecting Pennsylvania’s children is our priority. When the Department became aware that it had issued inaccurate clearances for several individuals, we immediately took action to fix the problem.”
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pennsylvania-department-of-human-services-corrects-child-abuse-history-clearance-errors-300339013.html

SC: Circuit court judge approves foster care settlement between DSS, child care group
WIS-TV 10 – October 04, 2016
U.S. District Court Judge Richard Gergel has approved a settlement between the South Carolina Department of Social Services and a group looking to spearhead changes in the department.
http://www.wistv.com/story/33314201/circuit-court-judge-approves-foster-care-settlement-between-dss-child-care-group

TX: CPS workers miss key deadline in 14,000 child abuse cases
American-Statesman – October 04, 2016
Despite efforts to overhaul Child Protective Services through new leadership and increased scrutiny, state investigators are still failing to quickly check on potentially abused and neglected children. Also: Agency: Texas not checking on thousands of children at risk for abuse: http://www.texarkanagazette.com/news/texas/story/2016/oct/05/agency-texas-not-checking-thousands-children-risk-abuse/643344/
http://www.mystatesman.com/news/news/texas-cps-workers-miss-key-deadline-in-14000-child/nskch/

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth echoes calls to end the practice of detaining children in detention facilities or separating them from their detained parents (Press release)
Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth – October 04, 2016
Ontario’s Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth is urging the federal government to cease the detainment – and separation – of children from their detained parents, after a new report found that an average of 242 children were detained annually in Canada between 2010 and 2014.
http://finance.minyanville.com/minyanville/news/read?GUID=32971991

United Kingdom: Rudd ‘determined’ Government will be first to successfully prosecute for FGM
Jersey Evening Post – October 04, 2016
Home Secretary Amber Rudd has declared that she is determined to see the first successful prosecution for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) in the country.
http://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/uk-news/2016/10/04/amber-rudd-determined-to-see-first-fgm-prosecution-in-britain/

AZ: Child safety director rejects much of auditor general’s critique
Capitol Media Services – October 03, 2016
Inadequate reports and failure to attend some hearings by the Department of Child Safety may be delaying some Arizona children getting permanent placement according to a new report on the agency.
http://azcapitoltimes.com/news/2016/10/03/auditors-suggest-steps-to-improve-child-placement-process/

CA: Independent Living Program Youth Center Celebrates One Year of Life-Changing Programs [Press release]
Briefing Wire – October 03, 2016
In September 2015, Aspiranet and Stanislaus County Community Services Agency (CSA) collaborated to open the Independent Living Program (ILP) Youth Center in Stanislaus County with the vision of providing transitional aged youth with the vital skills and training necessary to successfully make the transition from foster care to independent living. One year later, the program has served over 1,300 youth through life skills classes and other self-sufficiency programs and activities.
http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/independent-living-program-youth-center-celebrates-one-year-of-life-changing-programs

CA: San Bernardino County brings back Enron prosecutor for CFS investigation
The Sun – October 03, 2016
San Bernardino County has brought back Enron prosecutor John C. Hueston to help defend it against an investigation by the state Attorney General’s Office into alleged illegal practices at the Department of Children and Family Services.
http://www.dailybulletin.com/government-and-politics/20161003/san-bernardino-county-brings-back-enron-prosecutor-for-cfs-investigation

CA: SLO County gets more than $100,000 to fight child abuse
San Luis Obispo Tribune – October 03, 2016
San Luis Obispo County’s Center for Family Strengthening has received grants of $70,000 and $35,000 from California’s Office of Child Abuse Prevention for the development of child-abuse prevention networking and professional development training.
http://www.sanluisobispo.com/news/local/article105743221.html

CT: New DCF system may predict families at high risk of fatalities
Greenwich Time – October 03, 2016
The Eckerd Rapid Safety Feedback uses information from DCF’s internal data system to identify children who are at the greatest risk for a poor outcome. The identification of these children will help staff in prioritizing these families for potential heightened supports and assistance.
http://www.greenwichtime.com/local/article/New-DCF-system-may-predict-families-at-high-risk-9609361.php

IA: Nondisclosure allows Iowa sex offender to avoid prison (Includes video)
Des Moines Register – October 02, 2016
A court won’t be asked to review what some believe is an illegal sentence a teacher received in July that allows him to avoid prison after being convicted of a sex crime against a child, a county attorney in northwest Iowa says.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/investigations/2016/10/02/nondisclosure-allows-iowa-sex-offender-avoid-prison/90788192/

IL: After Hastert, Illinois Pushes for Change to Child Abuse Law
Associated Press – October 03, 2016
The attorney general for Illinois is calling on state lawmakers to pass legislation removing statutes of limitations for child sex abuse crimes in response to the case against former U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert.
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/hastert-illinois-pushes-change-child-abuse-law-42542710

IL: Sex crime, violent crime fail to be crime enough to stop adoption (Opinion) (Includes video)
Belleville News-Democrat – October 03, 2016
So how exactly in a state where you cannot serve as a day care worker or temporary foster parent if you have a sex crime on your record, and where national criminal record checks are required, do you get to be a state-paid babysitter and then get to adopt two little girls?
http://www.bnd.com/opinion/editorials/article105707261.html

IL: State to receive federal funding to support runaway and homeless youth
Herald-News – October 03, 2016
Aunt Martha’s Youth Service Center is among agencies in Illinois receiving more than $1.8 million in federal funding to provide housing support, case management and treatment services for runaway and homeless youth in Illinois. Also: Durbin Announces $1.1 Million to Support Runaway and Homeless Youth in Illinois: https://www.riverbender.com/articles/details/durbin-announces-11-million-to-support-runaway-and-homeless-youth-in-illinois-15629.cfm
http://www.theherald-news.com/2016/10/03/illinois-to-receive-federal-funding-to-support-runaway-and-homeless-youth/atsieon/

LA: WATCHDOG: Children sent out of state for psychiatric care (Includes video)
Shreveport Times – October 01, 2016
“We don’t want to send children out of state. But if it’s in the best interest of the child, we will make that choice,” DCFS Secretary Marketa Walters said. “When we send a child out of state, it’s because we haven’t found a facility in the state.” Also: Mental health care transition eight months underway: http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2016/10/01/mental-health-care-transition-eight-months-underway/91226998/
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/story/news/2016/10/01/watchdog-louisiana-children-sent-out-state-psychiatric-care/85994498/

MI: Court: Mom’s drug use during pregnancy not an abuse crime
Associated Press – September 30, 2016
The court threw out the conviction of a woman who used methamphetamine during her pregnancy. Melissa Jones’ son weighed less than 4 pounds despite being delivered at full term in Sturgis in St. Joseph County.
http://www.dailypress.net/page/content.detail/id/1420856/Court–Mom-s-drug-use-during-pregnancy-not-an-abuse-crime.html?isap=1&nav=5046

MO: Children’s Services Fund wants to increase sales tax by 1/8 cent to help troubled teens get mental health counseling (Includes video)
Fox4 KC – October 03, 2016
Thousands of kids in the metro are struggling with mental illness, homelessness and drug abuse, and they are not getting the help they need, but a sales tax proposal would change that.
http://fox4kc.com/2016/10/03/childrens-services-fund-wants-to-increase-sales-tax-by-18-cent-to-help-troubled-teens-get-mental-health-counseling/

MS: Foster care fix? Hancock County considers new youth court system
Sun Herald – October 04, 2016
In Hancock and most other counties, the youth court operates under the umbrella of chancery court and uses “referees” who are trained attorneys who act as judges. A county court system would instead administer the youth court with a full-time elected judge.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/article105787041.html

NY: Children’s Center-Bound Teens to Be Placed Directly Into Foster Homes: City
DNA Info – October 03, 2016
The Administration for Children’s Services has begun placing some older teens directly in foster homes rather than in its troubled reception shelter in Kips Bay as part of a push to keep older children out of that facility, an agency spokesman said.
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20161003/kips-bay/acs-childrens-center-foster-homes

NY: Children’s Services to explain how they failed this little boy
New York Post – October 03, 2016
The head of the city’s embattled child-welfare department will finally field questions Wednesday about the fatal beating of little Zymere Perkins – nine days after the 6-year-old’s death created a firestorm over the agency’s apparent lack of oversight. Also: NY: EXCLUSIVE: Zymere Perkins’ abuse caseworker was subject of phony-reports probe – but still got promoted (Includes video): http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/zymere-perkins-caseworker-target-phony-reports-probe-article-1.2814090 Also: Gov. Cuomo announces state probe into death of battered Harlem boy Zymere Perkins, chides NYC child services: http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/cuomo-launches-state-probe-death-abused-harlem-6-year-old-article-1.2811614
http://nypost.com/2016/10/03/childrens-services-to-explain-how-they-failed-this-little-boy/

NY: State eases school concerns over abuse probes
The Journal News – October 03, 2016
A federal court decision led some New York schools to block child-abuse investigators from interviewing students at school without their parents’ consent, according to the state Office of Children and Family Services.
http://www.lohud.com/story/news/politics/politics-on-the-hudson/2016/10/03/ny-school-abuse/91472058/

OH: The Need For Foster Care For The Invisible Victims Of The Heroin Crisis
WVXU – October 04, 2016
In our region, there are currently around 1,000 children in need of homes as the heroin crisis continues, with a dramatic rise in overdoses in just these past few weeks. Funding is falling short, and local counties have been overwhelmed with a need for more foster and adoptive homes.
http://wvxu.org/post/need-foster-care-invisible-victims-heroin-crisis#stream/0

OH: What happens to an addict’s kids?
Sandusky Register – October 04, 2016
The number of children in county care has steadily increased in the last five years and it is straining the resources of the local Job and Family Services.
http://www.sanduskyregister.com/Government/2016/10/04/No-kids-here.html?ci=stream&lp=6&p=1

OK: Child abuse prevention starts at early age
Muskogee Phoenix – October 02, 2016
Stout has instructed 2,700 school children since the program began in March 2015. She said that HB1684, known as Erin’s Law, requires that every child in kindergarten through fifth grade be taught child abuse prevention.
http://www.muskogeephoenix.com/news/child-abuse-prevention-starts-at-early-age/article_74cd439c-67c4-5a09-859c-4e113fdf894b.html

PA: Victims of child sexual abuse waiting for justice, too: Editorial
Penn Live – October 03, 2016
“Libre’s Law,” introduced by Alloway as Senate Bill 1372, would increase some penalties for animal abuse and add a third-degree felony category for offenders who intentionally cause death or serious physical injury to an animal. But that’s why we can’t help but compare the outcry in Libre’s case to the stalled legislation that would give the victims of child abuse a better chance of confronting their abusers and winning some measure of redress in the civil court system.
http://www.pennlive.com/opinion/2016/10/statute_of_limitations_animal.html

RI: Public weighs in about R.I.’s next DCYF director
Providence Journal – October 03, 2016
The gathering in Newport Public Library was the first of two “listening sessions,” opportunities for the public to weigh in on what credentials and values they would like to see in the next person who will fill the top post of the troubled DCYF.
http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20161003/public-weighs-in-about-ris-next-dcyf-director

RI: Parents want to protect group homes as an option for their kids
Newport Daily News – October 01, 2016
About three years ago, the state signed a consent decree with the federal Department of Justice in which the state agreed to move away from center-based programs like the Bristol Day Care Center and the Maher Garden Center in Middletown to community-based programs.
http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/news/local_state/parents-want-to-protect-group-homes-as-an-option-for/article_065e2241-1559-517e-a155-47d8d2729b82.html

TX: East Texas Children Lose Therapy Services in Budget Cut Fallout
Texas Tribune – October 04, 2016
Nearly 300 East Texas children with disabilities who are part of the state’s Early Childhood Intervention program have no one to provide them with medically necessary therapies after the region’s lone provider closed its doors this week in response to hefty budget cuts ordered by state lawmakers.
https://www.texastribune.org/2016/10/04/east-texas-children-lose-therapy-services-medicaid/

VA: State has a human-trafficking problem (Opinion)
Richmond Times-Dispatch – October 01, 2016
Although labor trafficking is also taking place in Virginia, there have been fewer successes in the courts on these cases. What is clear is that Virginia has a problem – the National Human Trafficking Resource Center notes that since 2007 Virginia has had over 706 reports of human trafficking. Information Gateway resource: Human Trafficking: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/trafficking/
http://www.richmond.com/opinion/their-opinion/guest-columnists/article_f796e42b-c483-51b4-bc44-269933c5c6c7.html

WA: Districts train teachers to lookout for child abuse signs (Includes video)
KEPR 19 – October 03, 2016
“Whether it be the physical signs- types of bruising, burns, lacerations or looking for sexual abuse- also if children are being neglected where they don’t have proper clothing or doesn’t look like they’re being fed- those types of things,” said Brown.
http://keprtv.com/news/local/districts-train-teachers-to-lookout-for-child-abuse-signs

WV: Report: Increase in victims served at WV Child Advocacy Centers
Metro News – October 03, 2016
Child Advocacy Centers in West Virginia have served more than 3,500 children in the last year, a 50-percent increase in the last five years, according to a report released by the West Virginia Child Advocacy Network.
http://wvmetronews.com/2016/10/03/report-shows-increase-in-child-victims-served-at-wv-child-advocacy-centers/

US: Congress Leaves Without Final Action on Several Youth Services Priorities
Youth Today – October 03, 2016
Congress will not be back in session until after the election, leaving the fate of several proposals geared toward youth and families up in the air.
http://youthtoday.org/2016/10/congress-leaves-without-final-action-on-several-youth-services-priorities/

US: Bill to save foster kids and families faces uphill battle: Guest commentary
Press-Telegram – October 01, 2016
The bill also ensures children are placed in congregate care or group homes only if it’s absolutely necessary to meet their needs. When children need the services only available in a facility (and not in a family foster home), Family First will ensure the facility is accredited and has important safeguards and oversight in place.
http://www.presstelegram.com/opinion/20161001/bill-to-save-foster-kids-and-families-faces-uphill-battle-guest-commentary

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Liberal budget didn’t comply with First Nations child welfare ruling, advocate says
Canadian Press – October 03, 2016
Federal funding for First Nations child welfare was determined well before the government was ordered to increase it, new documents filed with the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal show.
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/10/03/liberal-budget-didnt-comply-with-first-nations-child-welfare-ruling-advocate-says.html

United Kingdom: Call for national ‘tracking’ system for children
Children & Young People Now – October 03, 2016
Speaking at a fringe meeting at the Conservative Party conference in Birmingham, the chief executive of Birmingham Council, Mark Rodgers, and the chair of the education select committee, Neil Carmichael, both said it is time to establish a way of monitoring the movement of children more effectively.
http://www.cypnow.co.uk/cyp/news/2002527/call-for-national-tracking-system-for-children

United Kingdom: FGM is child abuse and schools need to talk about it (Opinion)
Schools Week – October 02, 2016
What adults fear, children are not afraid of. You always see this from what they produce during a workshop. In one hour, they understand everything and you can see not only what they feel, but how they want to set about tackling FGM.
http://schoolsweek.co.uk/fgm-is-child-abuse-and-schools-need-to-talk-about-it/

AR: Partners with DHS in crucial need for foster care beds (Includes video)
KAIT 8 – September 30, 2016
As more children make their way into foster care in Region 8, partners with DHS said they are in crucial need of beds for foster homes. Nicole Potts with Christian 4 Kids said there are more children in the system now than ever.
http://www.kait8.com/story/33292047/partners-with-dhs-in-crucial-need-for-foster-care-beds

CA: Grief, Healing and Meditation for Los Angeles Foster Youth
Chronicle of Social Change – October 02, 2016
Pinkney made the necklace as part of the Gift of Compassion fellowship, a program that she and five other former foster youth and leaders participated in to learn about meditation as a way to move through grief and find “a way back to your true self” – the group’s working definition of therapy.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-trauma-2/grief-healing-and-meditation-for-los-angeles-foster-youth/21742

CA: Foster youth score below peers in standardized tests
Chronicle of Social Change – September 30, 2016
According to newly available data released last week, California’s foster youth are lagging far behind other public school students when it comes to test scores. Information Gateway resource: Meeting Educational Needs of Children & Youth in Out-of-Home Care: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/service-array/education-services/meeting-needs/
http://www.sbsun.com/social-affairs/20160930/foster-youth-score-below-peers-in-standardized-tests

CA: I am My Brother’s Keeper: Looking Beyond Grandparents for Kinship Care (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – September 30, 2016
Extended family, or kinship care, in Los Angeles continues to be an important resource for maintaining family ties for youth in foster care. As some Millennials (ages 18-35) move into the caregiving realm for their younger siblings, the child welfare system has failed to embrace this family configuration, keeping the focus instead almost exclusively on Baby Boomers (ages 52-70) who make up the vast majority of traditional caregiving relatives.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/i-am-my-brothers-keeper-looking-beyond-grandparents-for-kinship-care/21504

CA: Santa Barbara County receives grant to combat human trafficking (Includes video)
KSBY 6 – September 30, 2016
“These are our children that are being victimized. This is the most vulnerable population in our county, people who are being forced under duress and under dire circumstances under the profit of somebody else,” said Detective Fenske. According to the District Attorney’s Office, 80 minors in the county have been identified as likely being commercially sexually exploited.
http://www.ksby.com/story/33292111/a-large-grant-to-combat-human-trafficking-awarded-to-santa-barbara-county

CA: The Ubering of Foster Care has Begun (Opinion)
Chronicle of Social Change – September 30, 2016
Los Angeles County is considering using ridesharing services like Uber to improve “family visitation.” The problem in L.A. and across the country is that it is hard to transport children and their parents to court-ordered visits.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/child-welfare-2/ubering-foster-care/21670

CT: Child Advocates and State Officials Agree to Streamlined Child Welfare Reform Plan, Putting Connecticut DCF on Path to Exit Court Oversight (Press release)
Children’s Rights – September 29, 2016
Child advocates and state officials presented a streamlined child welfare reform plan before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill today, which, if approved by the Court and the Connecticut legislature, creates a pathway for Connecticut to exit court oversight in the lawsuit known as Juan F. v. Malloy. This strategy reduces the number of outcome goals from 22 to 10 and, most importantly, guarantees the resources to support the last stage of the longstanding reform effort. Exit Plan: http://www.childrensrights.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/2016-09-28-Proposed-Revised-Exit-Plan-2.pdf
http://www.childrensrights.org/press-release/child-advocates-and-state-officials-agree-to-streamlined-child-welfare-reform-plan-putting-connecticut-dcf-on-path-to-exit-court-oversight/

GM: Harvest House helps families wanting to adopt (Includes video)
KUAM – October 03, 2016
There are over 200 children who are in need of finding a home each year. The Harvest House Resource Center is a non-profit organization that provides services to families who are interested in adopting children. Director Bethany Taylor said, “We have a resource room in the back, this has our clothing and our shoes and our toilet trees. Anything that we can do to help a child on their new adventure in life. They’re going to be placed into a new home. Many of these kids that I have taken in have had no bed, have had no clothing and have had no shoes and have had no shoes.
http://www.kuam.com/story/33299858/2016/10/03/harvest-house-helps-families-wanting-to-adopt

IL: Physical restraint use on Allendale youths concerns experts
Daily Herald – October 02, 2016
A Daily Herald review of three years of police reports involving Allendale shows dozens of instances when children were physically restrained by staff members in what’s termed “restrictive intervention.”
http://www.dailyherald.com/article/20161002/news/161009831/

KS: Kansas leaders approve settlement in boy’s 2013 death
Associated Press – September 30, 2016
Kansas officials on Friday approved the state’s share of a settlement in a federal lawsuit over the death of a 4-year-old northeast Kansas boy that contributed to scrutiny of the state’s foster care agency. The State Finance Council agreed to pay $100,000 to Naomi Boone, the mother of the late Mekhi Boone.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/crime/article/Kansas-agency-approves-settlement-in-boy-s-2013-9516886.php

MI: Fewer kids in Kalamazoo-area foster homes – but fewer foster homes, too
MLive – October 03, 2016
Since 2014, the number of licensed foster homes in Kalamazoo County has dropped from 269 in 2014 and 267 in 2015 to 229 as of June 30, 2016.
http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2016/10/hold_kids_in_kalamazoo-area_fo.html

MN: Human service caseloads push up Stearns County spending
St. Cloud Times – October 02, 2016
Stearns County property owners could pay slightly more in county property taxes next year as the need for more human services staff pushes up expenses.
http://www.sctimes.com/story/news/local/2016/10/02/human-service-caseloads-push-up-stearns-county-spending/91239192/

MS: Youth Court primary issue for Hancock County supervisors
Sun Herald – October 03, 2016
In early 2015, Rep. David Baria spearheaded the formation of the Hancock County Youth Court Task Force in response to the foster care crisis. At that time, Hancock County had the highest per-capita rate of children in the custody of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, a rate 10 times higher than any other county in the state.
http://www.sunherald.com/news/local/counties/hancock-county/article105584221.html

ND: Approaches to childhood trauma improved, but many youth still need help
Fargo Forum – October 02, 2016
Many institutions have made strides on this front, but experts say more can be done for traumatized kids, especially Native American youth like Brandi who, according to a 2014 Justice Department report, suffer post-traumatic stress at three times the national rate. Second in a two-part special report. Part one: http://www.inforum.com/news/4126816-treating-traumas-steep-toll-native-youth-remains-challenge-courts
http://www.inforum.com/news/4127421-approaches-childhood-trauma-improved-many-youth-still-need-help

NM: Lawmakers open debate on budget crisis, crime
Associated Press – September 30, 2016
Martinez is seeking to reinstate the death penalty in response to the killings of two police officers in separate shootings in August and September by wanted fugitives. The proposed legislation also responds to last month’s horrific sexual assault, killing and dismemberment of 10-year-old Victoria Martens in Albuquerque. “I am here today as her voice for justice,” said Rep. Monica Youngblood, R-Albuquerque, a sponsor of the death penalty proposal.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/House-Democrats-foresee-minor-cuts-to-state-9517052.php

NY: ACS boss is MIA: From Myls Dobson to Zymere Perkins, child abuse caseloads continue to rise under her watch
New York Daily News – October 02, 2016
During her nearly three years running ACS, Carrion has appeared next to the mayor only three times to make statements as head of an agency with the fourth biggest budget in the city. It will spend an estimated $2.9 billion this fiscal year, more than the Fire Department.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/myls-dobson-zymere-perkins-acs-abuse-caseloads-rise-article-1.2815017

NY: Death of 6-Year-Old Boy in Harlem Not the First Time City’s Child Welfare Agency on Hot Seat in de Blasio’s Tenure
NY 1 – September 30, 2016
Five people at the city’s Administration for Children’s Services have been put on desk duty after the death of a 6-year-old boy in Harlem this week. This is not the first time the city’s child welfare agency has been on the hot seat during de Blasio’s tenure. NY1’s Courtney Gross filed the following report. Also: Scott Stringer to investigate ACS in wake of 6-year-old’s death: http://nypost.com/2016/09/30/scott-stringer-to-investigate-acs-in-wake-of-6-year-olds-death/
http://www.ny1.com/nyc/all-boroughs/politics/2016/09/30/death-of-6-year-old-boy-in-harlem-not-the-first-time-city-s-child-welfare-agency-on-hot-seat-in-de-blasio-s-tenure.html

NY: DA Vance Announces Investments to prevent crime and reform the justice system (Press release)
New York County District Attorney’s Office – September 29, 2016
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., today announced three significant investments aimed at preventing crime and reforming the justice system, including new funding opportunities for: early diversion programs for low-level misdemeanor offenders; social enterprises for young people and formerly incarcerated individuals; and innovative transition programs for youth who are transitioning out of foster care.
http://www.manhattanda.org/press-release/da-vance-announces-investments-prevent-crime-and-reform-justice-system

OR: Foster care shortage in Jackson County (Includes video) (Correction)
KOBi5 – September 29, 2016
Jackson County kids in need of emergency housing are starting to sleep in offices. Beds were recently added at the Department of Human Services to make up for a lack of foster parents.
https://kobi5.com/news/foster-care-shortage-in-jackson-county-37116/

OR: Oregon agency sued over temporary foster child housing
Associated Press – September 29, 2016
Attorneys for two children in Oregon’s foster care system are suing the Department of Human Services, saying it violates state and federal law by housing some children in hotels and offices.
http://katu.com/news/local/oregon-agency-sued-over-temporary-foster-child-housing

TN: Child neglect charge dismissed; law requires child to be injured
Times News – September 30, 2016
A Hawkins County man who was charged with child neglect Tuesday after the 5-year-old autistic nephew in his custody was reportedly found wandering on Highway 11-W for the second time in eight days had his charge dismissed because the child wasn’t injured.
http://www.timesnews.net/Local/2016/09/30/Child-neglect-charge-dismissed-because-law-requires-child-to-be-injured.html?ci=stream&lp=1&p=1

UT: Ogden-Weber Tech’s YouthBuild program receives $1.1 million federal grant
Standard Examiner – October 02, 2016
People ages 16-24 who are homeless, have a disability, a criminal record or low income are recruited into YouthBuild along with migrant farm workers and youth in foster care.
http://www.standard.net/Education/2016/10/02/Ogden-Weber-Tech-College-s-YouthBuild-program-receives-1-1-million-federal-grant.html

WA: Tiny Victims: Heroin a heartbreaking birthright in Washington
NWCN – September 30, 2016
“People tend to imagine pregnancy with this kind of perfect purity, as though it’s unaffected by other problems in life. But of course, that’s not true,” said Dr. Jim Walsh, medical director of the addiction recovery program at Swedish Hospital.
http://www.nwcn.com/news/local/tiny-victims-heroin-a-heartbreaking-birthright-in-washington-1/328059095

US: Doctors Said They Shook Their Baby to Death. They Didn’t.
Daily Beast – October 03, 2016
Over the past decade, both the science behind Shaken Baby Syndrome and the process by which doctors make the diagnosis have been challenged. Between 2001 and 2015, with the help of Innocence Projects around the country, 16 criminal convictions in the United States based on Shaken Baby Syndrome were overturned and prisoners freed, sometimes after a decade or more behind bars. More than 200 cases ended when charges were dropped or dismissed, defendants were found not guilty, or convictions were overturned, according to a study by The Washington Post and Northwestern University’s Medill Justice Project.
http://http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/10/03/doctors-said-they-shook-their-baby-to-death-they-didn-t.html

US: Congress Loses Long-Time Foster Youth Supporter
Chronicle of Social Change – September 30, 2016
Overlooked amidst the recent debate in the child welfare advocacy community regarding the Family First Prevention Services Act is the fact that foster youth advocates are about to lose a key long-time supporter in Congress. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) is retiring at the close of this session.
https://chronicleofsocialchange.org/blogger-co-op/congress-loses-long-time-foster-youth-supporter/21663

US: Is U.S. Opioid Crisis Straining State Child Welfare Systems?
Youth Today – September 30, 2016
Time is running out for the U.S. Senate to pass a bipartisan bill that could spare children the trauma of being removed from their homes because of parental substance abuse. Information Gateway resource: Working With Parents & Caregivers: Substance Use Disorders: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/systemwide/bhw/casework/families-sud/parents-sud/
http://youthtoday.org/2016/09/is-u-s-opioid-crisis-straining-state-child-welfare-systems/

US: Senate adjourns without passing child welfare bill; ABA had warned of funds cut
ABA Journal – September 30, 2016
The U.S. Senate adjourned on Thursday without passing a child welfare bill that had the backing of the ABA.
http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/senate_adjourns_without_passing_child_welfare_bill_aba_had_warned_of_funds

INTERNATIONAL

Bangladesh: Ending Child Marriage: Building the evidence base (Opinion)
Bangladesh Daily Star – September 30, 2016
For literally millions of girls like Rekha, child marriage violates their human rights. It threatens their lives and health, as well as their future prospects, exposing them to early pregnancy, and increasing their vulnerability to exploitation and abuse. Child marriage, quite simply, robs them of their future.
http://www.thedailystar.net/op-ed/ending-child-marriage-building-the-evidence-base-1292440

Indonesia: Seeking End to Female Genital Mutilation
Human Rights Watch – September 26, 2016
The campaign, led by Yohana Yembise, the country’s minister for women’s empowerment and child protection, will deploy “scientific evidence” to dissuade religious and women’s groups who support FGM. Between 2010 to 2015, 49 percent of girls from birth to 14 years of age in Indonesia had undergone FGM.
https://www.hrw.org/news/2016/09/26/indonesia-seeks-end-female-genital-mutilation

CA: Drugging Our Kids: Governor signs bills to curb psych drugs prescribed to California foster youth (Opinion)
The Mercury News – September 29, 2016
Capping years of efforts to stop California’s foster care system from overmedicating the state’s most vulnerable children, Gov. Jerry Brown on Thursday signed a controversial bill that for the first time puts doctors who recklessly prescribe psychiatric drugs at risk of losing their medical license.
http://www.mercurynews.com/2016/09/29/drugging-our-kids-governor-signs-bills-to-curb-psych-drugs-prescribed-to-california-foster-youth/

CA: Why some wonder if there will be enough Inland foster homes
The Press-Enterprise – September 29, 2016
Aiming to improve the experience for tens of thousands of uprooted children, California is rolling out a sweeping foster care reform campaign that is phasing out traditional group homes. And while many support that goal, some worry the effort will overwhelm Inland Southern California’s child welfare system and create a shortage of foster homes.
http://www.pe.com/articles/foster-814507-children-homes.html

CA: Yolo Supervisors continue digging up dirt on Child Welfare (Opinion)
Daily Democrat – September 29, 2016
Yolo County’s Child Welfare Services system is in the midst of a major overhaul as supervisors take an in-depth look into its often veiled operations. Frustration with the agency, which falls under Yolo County’s Health and Human Services Department, reached a breaking point earlier this year after Supervisor Matt Rexroad made an impassioned speech to his colleagues pointing out its defects. Many of the issues discussed are not unique to Yolo County.
http://www.dailydemocrat.com/article/NI/20160929/NEWS/160929807

CO: Foster care shortage in Jackson County (Includes video)
KOBi5 – September 29, 2016
Jackson County kids in need of emergency housing are starting to sleep in offices. Beds were recently added at the Department of Human Services to make up for a lack of foster parents.
https://kobi5.com/news/foster-care-shortage-in-jackson-county-37116/

CT: Schools can’t make up for generations of unloved kids (Opinion)
Journal Inquirer – September 29, 2016
I am a retired professional social worker with a master’s degree in social work administration and planning. I was educated to think in terms of systems and I could not agree with Powell more about the perverse incentives we have in Connecticut that produce such unwanted outcomes in society.
http://www.journalinquirer.com/opinion/other_commentary/schools-can-t-make-up-for-generations-of-unloved-kids/article_aa163768-862c-11e6-a2ac-ffb0eb7a2bee.html

CT: State, Advocates Broker Child Welfare Agreement (Includes video)
CBS Connecticut – September 29, 2016
The state and child advocates appear closer to a plan to streamline the system and remove the Department of Children and Families from court oversight. The new plan, before a U.S. District Court judge, reduces the remaining goals from 22 to 10.
http://connecticut.cbslocal.com/2016/09/29/state-advocates-broker-child-welfare-agreement/

GA: DFCS Director: Georgia is in a ‘foster care crisis’ (Includes video)
WMAZ – September 29, 2016
Nearly 700 children in the Central Georgia area need foster homes, but there are only a little more than 120 homes available. That’s according to the Department of Family and Children Services. Claire Davis spent the day with DFACS director Bobby Cagle who says the state is in a foster care crisis.
http://www.13wmaz.com/news/local/dfcs-director-georgia-is-in-a-foster-care-crisis/327779999

IL: Judge orders DCFS to send him Laquan McDonald’s juvenile records
Chicago Sun-Times – September 29, 2016
The judge presiding over the murder trial of Chicago Police Officer Jason Van Dyke asked the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services on Thursday to send him over 8,200 pages of Laquan McDonald’s juvenile court records. However, Judge Vincent Gaughan hasn’t decided whether Van Dyke’s defense team will see the files when he receives them. He said he will first analyze them himself to see if they are relevant for the officer’s pending trial.
http://chicago.suntimes.com/chicago/judge-orders-dcfs-to-send-him-laquan-mcdonalds-juvenile-records/

KY: Gagging Kentucky’s social workers won’t save its children (Opinion)
Lexington Herald Leader – September 29, 2016
Stress and low pay have long taken a toll on child-protection ranks, but the turnover has worsened. In Louisville, one-third of workers have resigned or retired this year. Statewide a record-high almost 8,000 children are in foster care in Kentucky.
http://www.kentucky.com/opinion/editorials/article104998836.html

KY: Residential child-care facilities to get rate increase
WTVQ – September 29, 2016
Residential child-caring facilities in Kentucky that care for foster children with elevated needs are getting a rate increase to better support those children.
http://www.wtvq.com/2016/09/29/residential-child-care-facilities-get-rate-increase/

KY: Stumbo Appoints House Task Force to Combat Child Abuse
WKMS – September 29, 2016
Kentucky House Speaker Greg Stumbo has appointed a group of legislators to combat child abuse. The House Task Force on Child Abuse and Exploitation Prevention will examine and propose legislation designed to protect children.
http://wkms.org/post/stumbo-appoints-house-task-force-combat-child-abuse

KY: State report on child abuse, neglect is out
WHAS – September 28, 2016
A new report by state child welfare officials is giving a closer look at child abuse and neglect In Kentucky. At least 9 Kentucky children died from child abuse or neglect over the past year and another 41 suffered life-threatening injuries at the hands of adults. Report: http://chfs.ky.gov/NR/rdonlyres/D2C43321-C1D1-407E-89ED-905CB59ADAE5/0/2016ChildFatalityorNearFatalityAnnualReport.pdf
http://www.whas11.com/news/local/state-report-on-child-abuse-neglect-is-out/327414324

NH: 44 percent of NH’s DCYF cases involved substance abuse in 2015 (Includes video)
NH1 – September 29, 2016
The number of child protection investigations involving substance misuse is on the rise, according to the Department of Children and Youth Services (DCYF). Manchester police reports show 32 calls from Jan. 1 through Sept. 26 where a child was present for an overdose.
http://www.nh1.com/news/44-percent-of-nh-s-dcyf-cases-involved-substance-abuse-in-2015/

NY: Union, lawmakers urge governor to sign Child Protective Services Safety Act
Mid-Hudson News – September 29, 2016
Legislation that would limit the caseload of county child protective services workers to no more than 15 cleared the state legislature in June. Three months after passage, the measure has yet to make it go Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s desk.
http://www.midhudsonnews.com/News/2016/September/29/ChildProtective-29Sep16.htm

NY: New York City’s history of failure to prevent fatal child abuse (Opinion)
New York Daily News – September 28, 2016
It’s been a series of broken promises between the city and many of its abused kids.
http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/new-york-city-history-failure-prevent-fatal-child-abuse-article-1.2810934

TX: Area lawmakers at Lubbock forum: Education a priority in ’17
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal – September 29, 2016
Legislators also discussed Child Protective Services and mental health, which are believed to be key issues coming up in the next session and are topics being looked at by the County Affairs Committee in the Texas House, which held public hearings across the state this year.
http://lubbockonline.com/filed-online/2016-09-29/texas-area-lawmakers-lubbock-forum-education-priority-17

VA: Grand jury selected to investigate Rockbridge social services
Martinsville Bulletin – September 29, 2016
Nine Rockbridge County citizens were selected Wednesday to serve on a special grand jury that will investigate whether their social services department shirked its duty to protect neglected and abused children.
http://www.martinsvillebulletin.com/news/region_and_state/grand-jury-selected-to-investigate-rockbridge-social-services/article_4870050d-5bc4-5333-9fae-65d86587f835.html

VT: Gathering explores keys to child abuse prevention
VT Digger – September 29, 2016
Gov. Peter Shumlin identified opiate addiction as the greatest challenge to the prevention of child abuse and maltreatment in Vermont during a conference in Montpelier on Thursday.
https://vtdigger.org/2016/09/29/gathering-explores-keys-child-abuse-prevention/

WA: State looking for foster parents: ‘It feeds your soul’ (Video)
King5 – September 29, 2016
Since 2010, the number of foster parent applicants in Washington has decreased. Despite an uptick in 2016, a Department of Social and Health Services spokesperson said the state remains in a shortage. Also: Yakima is in need of foster parents: http://www.nbcrightnow.com/story/33284189/yakima-is-in-need-of-foster-parents
http://www.king5.com/news/local/state-looking-for-foster-parents-it-feeds-your-soul/327873958

US: Involving Dads in the Lives of Children Born out of Wedlock
Stateline – September 29, 2016
States are starting to more closely examine custody arrangements for children born out of marriage, which have traditionally favored mothers, either by law or default, to give fathers a greater role in raising their children. Studies indicate that consistent paternal involvement can result in more child-support payments, and better mental health and academic results for the children. Information Gateway resource: Engaging Fathers and Paternal Family Members: https://www.childwelfare.gov/topics/famcentered/engaging/fathers/
http://www.pewtrusts.org/en/research-and-analysis/blogs/stateline/2016/09/29/involving-dads-in-the-lives-of-children-born-out-of-wedlock

US: The Newborn Illness That Is Costing Our Health Care System Billions — And It’s Not Zika (Opinion)
Forbes – September 29, 2016
The medical expenditures for a Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS) baby are about $66,700 with an average hospitalization of nearly 17 days, compared to $3,500 and a two-day hospital stay for the average healthy baby. Taxpayer-funded state Medicaid agencies are struggling to keep up, having to shoulder approximately 80% of the costs. NAS also carries heavy societal costs, requiring increased expenditures on social services, special education, and sadly, the criminal justice system. These children are born at a social, mental, and physical disadvantage as a result of a condition that is 100% preventable.
http://www.forbes.com/forbes/welcome/?toURL=http://www.forbes.com/sites/billfrist/2016/09/29/the-newborn-illness-that-is-costing-our-health-care-system-billions-and-its-not-zika/&refURL=&referrer=

INTERNATIONAL

Canada: ‘Her hurt is what hurts us’: Foster parents lose emergency motion to keep Metis toddler
CTV News – September 29, 2016
The Vancouver Island couple has lost multiple court battles to adopt the nearly three-year-old girl. On Thursday, they suffered a devastating blow when the Supreme Court of Canada dismissed their emergency motion to keep the toddler until they learn whether their appeal will be heard.
http://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/her-hurt-is-what-hurts-us-foster-parents-lose-emergency-motion-to-keep-metis-toddler-1.3095284

Canada: Ministry-funded CAS report urges overhaul to keep black kids out of care
The Toronto Star – September 29, 2016
A system that “undermines the stability of African Canadian families and can, in fact, destroy them” needs sweeping reforms, says a hard-hitting report on reducing the number of black kids in the care of children’s aid. The two-volume report, obtained by the Star ahead of its release, is called “One Vision One Voice: Changing the child welfare system to better serve African Canadians.” It demands that every aspect of child protection in Ontario be transformed by “anti-black racism” structures and practices. Also: Why are so many black children in foster and group homes?: https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2014/12/11/why_are_so_many_black_children_in_foster_and_group_homes.html
https://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2016/09/29/ministry-funded-cas-report-urges-overhaul-to-keep-black-kids-out-of-care.html

Philippines: RSCWC-NIR partner agencies urged to be pro-active vs child abuse (Press release)
The Philippine Information Agency (PIA) – September 29, 2016
The Regional Sub-Committee Council for the Welfare of Children in Negros Island Region (RSCWC-NIR) is urging its partner-agencies to be pro-active in the fight against child abuse.
http://news.pia.gov.ph/article/view/1971475111334/rscwc-nir-partner-agencies-urged-to-be-pro-active-vs-child-abuse

United Kingdom: Rise in English foster care for refugee children prompts call for govt action
Thomson Reuters Foundation – September 29, 2016
“Given the unprecedented number of children facing crisis around the world, and the rise in the number of unaccompanied children being taken into care, the UK could and should be doing more,” said Sol Oyuela, director of Public Affairs at UNICEF UK. She said the government must reunite lone refugee children who have become stranded in Europe with their families in Britain, and ensure local authorities are equipped to care for unaccompanied child asylum-seekers.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3813869/Rise-English-foster-care-refugee-children-prompts-call-govt-action.html

United Kingdom: Bullying Can Leave Children With Mental Health Scars For Life – We Need To Take It Seriously (Opinion)
The Huffington Post – September 28, 2016
We also know that bullying has a toxic triple effect: feeling unsafe both at home and at school, substantial physical health consequences, and long term mental health difficulties that can go on well into adulthood. Report: Children who are bullied suffer worse long-term mental health problems than those who are maltreated: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/children_who_are/
http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/natasha-phillips/bullying-children-mental-health_b_12229038.html

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October Sad Stories Part II

Author: Mike Tikkanen