November 2016 Sad Stories Part I

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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.

We are at work resolving formatting problems on these pages.

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.

– See more at: /posts/october-sad-stories-part-i#sthash.SeHaiHTr.dpufAR: Officials announce plan to revamp state foster system (Includes video)

News Channel 3 – November 14, 2016

Arkansas state leaders announced they would budget $26.7 million to hire more than 200 new employees at the Dept. of Human Services Monday. They said the funding would help alleviate a crisis in the state’s foster system.

Also: Foster Families Needed as Numbers of Kids Grow in Arkansas (Includes video): Foster families needed as numbers of kids grow in arkansas (fox16.com)

Also: DHS Works to Fix Foster Care Crisis in Arkansas (Includes video): Foster care crisis in arkansas (arkansasmatters.com)

Also: Arkansas foster care officials hope to hire 228 new workers: Arkansas foster care officials hope to hire 228 new workers (arkansasnews.com)

Also: State reports on steps to ‘stabilize’ foster care system: State reports on steps to stabilize foster care system (arktimes.com)

Report: Moving Beyond Crisis: MovingBeyondCrisisDCFSReport (dhs-staging.ark.org)

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CA: Thousand of Children Awaiting Adoptive Parents in CA

KSTE – November 14, 2016

November is National Adoption Month, and right now there are about 100,000 children and teens in foster care nationally and 14,000 in California who are waiting for a permanent home.

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CT: New London parents file request on son’s behalf to sue DCF for $20 million

The Day – November 14, 2016

The parents of a toddler who suffered broken bones and starved in a Groton foster home sent notice to the state Thursday that they plan to sue the Department of Children and Families on their son’s behalf for up to $20 million.

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FL: Foster needs rising in Northwest Florida

Pensacola News Journal – November 12, 2016

Out-of-home care represents the children removed from their parents and either living with a relative or in the foster system. Those in out-of-home care can also face the trauma of living in a group of unfamiliar people.

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IA: Hiding in Plain Sight: A Story of Human Trafficking in Iowa (Includes video)

WHO TV – November 14, 2016

Believe it or not, human trafficking touches nearly every town in Iowa; big and small. It’s often hard for people to believe it’s happening in their own communities. Studies show victims in Iowa are typically young girls between 16 and 19 years old.

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ME: A Day In The Life Of An RA

The Free Press – November 12, 2016

Lapointe described student confidentiality as one of the most important parts of his job. However, there are some instances where confidentiality would hurt the student more than not. In addition to their other duties, RAs are also “mandatory reporters.”

Also: Understanding Title IX and Mandatory Reporting: Understanding title ix and mandatory reporting (usmfreepress.org)

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MI: Detroit Tragedy: Two Social Workers Charged Over Death Of Toddler After They Failing To Follow Up On Child, Mother

Parent Herald – November 15, 2016

Two social workers in Detroit were charged in the death of a toddler after prosecutors believed that they failed to protect a three-year-old boy. They failed to follow up on the child after they found him in his home with not enough food earlier this year. The two people charged are 24-year-old Elaina Brown and 47-year-old Kelly M. Williams. The two were charged with involuntary manslaughter and second-degree child abuse. Both of which are felonies.

Also: 2 social workers charged with manslaughter in Detroit toddler’s death: freep.com

Also: Social worker, boss charged in death of Detroit 3-year-old: Social worker supervisor charged in death of (newstimes.com)

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ND: Population increase, drugs lead to jump in ND foster children

The Dickinson Press – November 14, 2016

While the number of foster families has also increased, the number of children in foster care continues to be higher, said Dean Sturn, North Dakota Department of Human Services foster care administrator.

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NJ: Court: NJ can’t consider mom ‘abusive’ just because of eviction from filthy apartment

NJ 101.5 – November 12, 2016

An Essex County mother cannot be considered abusive or neglectful just because she and her four children were kicked out of their apartment, a state court ruled.

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OH: Report Maps Infant Mortality Risks in Ohio (Includes audio)

Public News Service – November 15, 2016

A new report breaks down some of the risk factors of one of the state’s biggest public health challenges. Ohio has one of the worst infant mortality rates in the nation, with hundreds of babies dying each year. To better understand the problem, The Center for Community Solutions researched key birth outcomes for women in all 88 counties.

Report: Birth Outcomes in Ohio, 2010-2014: ccs.memberclicks.net

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OK: Making Progress in Recruiting, Retaining Great Foster Parents (Press release)

Office of Oklahoma Governor – November 14, 2016

Oklahoma Fosters is a statewide initiative uniting state, tribal and local governments, businesses, nonprofits and the faith-based community to end the foster care crisis in Oklahoma. Since the launch of the Oklahoma Fosters initiative last November, we have seen wonderful spikes in both the inquiries into becoming a foster family as well as direct applicants to foster.

Information Gateway resource: Recruiting and Retaining Resource Families: Recruiting (childwelfare.gov)

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PA: York CYF downgraded license expires Tuesday; fate uncertain

York Dispatch – November 15, 2016

York County’s Office of Children, Youth and Families is awaiting word of its future as its fourth – and supposedly final – downgraded license is set to expire Tuesday. The office was issued its fourth consecutive provisional license in June, when the state Department of Human Services noted 21 infractions, mostly consisting of clerical errors.

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TX: Fix Child Protective Services by making it a place where social workers want to work (Opinion)

Dallas Morning News – November 14, 2016

As our state grapples with workforce issues in CPS, it’s time to address the workplace environment that has discouraged social workers from applying and working there.

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TX: Lawmaker: Raise salaries, lower caseloads to help child welfare agency

Star-Telegram – November 14, 2016

State Rep. Jonathan Stickland said he wants to be part of the solution when it comes to protecting children in Texas.

Also: Rep. Stickland Releases His Report on the CPS Foster Care System (Press release): Rep stickland releases his report on the cps foster care system (jonathanstickland.com)

Also: Gov. Abbott says work still needed on child welfare system: kcentv.com

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VT: Despite Improvement, Expanded Access To Opiate Addiction Treatment In Vt. Still Needed (Includes audio)

Vermont Public Radio – November 14, 2016

Cimaglio says her department is using a triage process to get treatment to people who need it most. Right now, she says that in some instances means prioritizing parents with young children.

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INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Now to the issue of alleged abuse and neglect in residential care homes for foster kids (Video)

MSN News – November 15, 2016

Problems in the sector were revealed on last night’s Four Corners program.Here’s part of that investigation.

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Kenya: Residents advised to follow legal adoption process

Kenya News Agency – November 14, 2016

Members of the public intending to adopt children from vulnerable backgrounds must strictly follow the prescribed legal process, a children officer has said. Kiambu County Children Coordinator (CCC), Mwambi Mong’are told KNA that child adoption eased burden experienced by orphanages and other people charged with care of the affected children.

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Serbia and Kyrgyzstan: Child protection treaties come into force

Marilyn Stowe LLP – November 14, 2016

This month, the 1996 Child Protection Convention became binding in Serbia. Meanwhile, the rules of the 1993 Intercountry Adoption Convention were officially enacted in the Central Asian nation of Kyrgyzstan.

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AR: Program Teaches Parents Safe Sleep for Infants (Includes audio)

Public News Service – November 14, 2016

Public health officials in Arkansas are making sure parents and caretakers know how to safely put infants to sleep so they wake up healthy and alive. The Arkansas Children’s Hospital and the state Department of Health have launched a statewide campaign to educate families about the ABCs of Safe Sleep for Babies.

Safe Sleep Booklet: Safe Sleep Booklet (safesleepkansas.org)

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AR: Foster Families Needed, as Numbers of Kids Grow in Arkansas (Includes video)

Fox 16 – November 13, 2016

In the Natural State alone there are more than five thousand kids in foster care, and only 1600 foster families. The numbers don’t compare, and one family hopes their story will inspire others to help.

Also: DHS to Discuss Plans for Foster Care System: Dhs to discuss plans for foster care system (nwahomepage.com)

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CA: Marin Seeks Foster Parents for Local Kids

Larkspur-Corte Madera Patch – November 11, 2016

November is National Adoption Month, and the Marin County Recruitment Collaborative is raising awareness about the needs of youths in foster care who are waiting for a “forever family.”

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CA: SF makes slow progress against human trafficking

San Francisco Chronicle – November 11, 2016

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has made combatting human trafficking a priority for his administration. The latest report from his Task Force on Anti-Human Trafficking offers a compelling reason for this choice: There were almost 500 cases of human trafficking reported in San Francisco last year. Of the victims, 122 were minors.

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CO: Courts Celebrate National Adoption Day Throughout November

Legal Connection – November 11, 2016

Each November, National Adoption Day is celebrated to recognize and raise awareness of the over 100,000 children in foster care awaiting permanent families. Since its inception, National Adoption Day has made the dreams of thousands of children come true through the cooperative work of courts, judges, attorneys, adoption professionals, child welfare agencies and advocates to finalize adoptions and find permanent, loving homes for children in foster care. In Colorado, the adoptions of 132 children will be finalized this month. Currently, 283 Colorado children await permanent families.

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FL: Wendy’s Celebrates National Adoption Night in South Florida (Press release)

PRNewswire – November 11, 2016

Created by Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, who was adopted, The Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption is a national nonprofit public charity dedicated exclusively to finding permanent homes for the more than 130,000 children waiting in North America’s foster care systems. Each year, more children enter the system than are adopted. In Florida, there are currently over 5,550 children in the foster system waiting to be adopted.

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GU: Retired priest: Catholic church knew of Guam sex abuses for decades (Includes video)

Pacific Guam Daily News – November 11, 2016

Guam’s Catholic church leadership has known for decades about clergy sex abuses that happened as early as the 1950s, a retired priest said in a signed statement released Nov. 1. The statement was released in connection with civil lawsuits filed by several former altar boys, who allege sexual abuse at the hands of Guam priests decades ago.

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IA: “Desperate” need for foster families: Need spurred by economic pressures, retirement of current foster families

KWQC – November 11, 2016

The foster care program in Iowa is urgently seeking families willing to open their homes to kids whose parents are unable to care for them. Last year, 2,560 children in Iowa were referred to foster care.

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MA: DCF data: Child deaths decline

Boston Herald – November 12, 2016

At least 10 children died from abuse or neglect in Massachusetts in 2015, including seven of whom who had been previously involved or connected with state child welfare workers, newly released data shows.

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MI: Bringing homelessness out of the ‘shadows’

News-Review – November 11, 2016

A handful of the homeless population identified were unaccompanied youth. While the data showed individual households experiencing homelessness more frequently than family households, the area’s total homeless count included nearly 20 preschool-age childen, nearly 30 of school age, nearly 20 young adults and nearly 75 who were a parent/partner.

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MN: Hennepin County child protection services overwhelmed with reports of mistreatment

City Pages – November 11, 2016

A year-long inventory of Hennepin County Child Protection Services found overworked social workers and an intense upsurge in abused and neglected children. Mounting expenses are expected to total $26 million over the next three years – not even counting mental or physical healthcare – if the agency continues to get the number of calls it does now.

Also: Hennepin County leaders seek state aid for new child protection plan: startribune.com

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MT: Understaffed, overloaded justice system (Opinion)

Billings Gazette – November 14, 2016

Many of those offenders on probation and parole are parents involved with the child protection system, which is overwhelmed with huge increases in reports of child abuse and neglect. Drug addiction is a major factor in the child welfare crisis.

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PA: Commentary: Many foster-care youth unprepared for independent living

Philly.com – November 14, 2016

Philadelphia is working to end youth homelessness in the next 100 days, as part of its four-pronged approach to the city’s Street Homelessness Challenge. In fact, this is the second iteration of the 100-day challenge, the first of which started in the summer. Austin, Cleveland, and Los Angeles are also engaged in 100-day challenges.

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TX: Foster youth struggle to get college degrees

Texas Tribune – November 14, 2016

About 3,200 students used the waivers in the 2015 budget year at a cost to colleges of about $8.3 million, according to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. That was a decrease from the 3,700 students who used tuition waivers two years earlier. Officials at the Department of Family and Protective Services said they do not know how many youths are eligible, but estimated in 2014 that roughly 11,000 youth qualified for the waiver.

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TX: A strong plan to protect Texas’ kids (Opinion)

My San Antonio – November 11, 2016

Child Protective Services is in a perpetual state of emergency, and state lawmakers are finally responding with a credible plan. It’s one that honors the lives and inherent dignity of the most vulnerable young Texans, and hopefully begins to fix a broken and damaged system. The plan that has emerged out of the Texas Senate is overdue and finally addresses the driving issue at CPS: pay.

Also: Senate panel proposes $75.3 million to start fixing Child Protective Services: Senate recommends 676 million emergency funds chil (texastribune.org)

Also: Texas has options for improving its foster care system – and Texas must (Opinion): star-telegram.com

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TX: Austin churches help with Texas CPS crisis

CBS Austin – November 11, 2016

“We’ve had a lot of families that have fostered and adopted already and we have more now that are going through that path or have just finished that and are giving their first placement and are learning all about the system and working with the kids,” said Audra Leal, a ministry leader at Active Grace.

Also: State, churches partner through CarePortal to meet needs for Texas children: State churches partner through careportal to meet needs for texas children (tylerpaper.com)

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US: Adoption system needs more transparency: Sharon Broussard (Opinion)

Cleveland Plain Dealer – November 11, 2016

Sometimes birth mothers aren’t told all of their options before they give up their parental rights, she told a rapt but small audience of advocates, adoptive parents and adopted children. Some adoptions can be fraught because agencies don’t give people all the information they need to nurture the child.

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US: How ‘vicarious trauma’ is passed down from parent to child in military families

Health Medicine Network – November 11, 2016

When retired soldier Jacqueline Buckley sees her four-year-old grandson get angry, she can’t help but think of her own capacity to explode with rage. She also thinks of the fury that can be unleashed by his mother, her daughter.

Information Gateway Resource: Working With Military Families: Military (childwelfare.gov)

Also: Meaningful, doable ways to support veterans, members of the military and their families: Article 587c061e edc5 5d7f bff4 f5ee77035a47 (crescent-news.com)

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INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Caring on the brink: Australia’s struggling foster care system (Includes video)

SBS (Australia) – November 14, 2016

With increasing amounts of kids going into care in Australia there has never been more of a need for foster carers, but with a lack of funding and more alarming stories of abuse and neglect, how do we keep these children safe? There are 9000 kids in foster care in Queensland, alone. Growing up, Terry moved between 15 foster homes – which meant new schools, friends and families.

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Australia: Four Corners exposes critical need for Government child protection services

Medianet – November 14, 2016

The ABC’s Four Corners ‘Broken Homes’ investigation has tragically reinforced what the Public Service Association (PSA) has been red flagging for years: the critical need for Government operated child protection services rather than for-profit care. “What does it say about a Government – and a society – when the care and protection of desperate vulnerable children is used to make a dollar?” said PSA Assistant General Secretary, Troy Wright.

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Canada: Ontario needs more oversight of children’s aid societies: Editorial

The Star (Ontario) – November 14, 2016

It’s hard to believe anyone involved in overseeing the care of vulnerable kids in foster care or group homes would dream of wasting even a penny of the $1.5 billion allotted to children’s aid societies in Ontario. But sadly, that appears to be the case at the Sudbury children’s aid society. An audit there revealed senior managers charged more than $171,000 of “unreasonable” or otherwise questionable expenses between April 2013 and March 2015.

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Canada: After foster care, what next? Montreal organization looks to fill gap in system

CBC News – November 13, 2016

Keller’s Montreal-based non-profit group, C.A.R.E Jeunesse, estimates that about 1,200 youth age out foster care in Quebec each year. At 18 and no longer eligible for many social services, Keller says there is a lack of support for youth during this transition. “A lot of kids that turn 18 in the system don’t have their high school diploma,” she said.

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India: Malappuram sees spurt in child sexual abuse cases

Times of India – November 13, 2016

The increasing number of incidents of sexual crimes against children and low rate of conviction are raising serious concern over the safety of children in the district.

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International: Episode 1: Dark side of adoption

Fusion.net – November 13, 2016

The West’s desire to adopt internationally is driving traffickers’ demand for the world’s most vulnerable children. Nelufar Hedayat sees firsthand how genuine acts of kindness are corrupted by fraud, theft, and deceit-ultimately leading to child trafficking.

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Ireland: New beginnings: 200 child refugees from Calais camp will come to Ireland

The Journal – November 10, 2016

Ireland will be accepting up to 200 unaccompanied child refugees who had been previously living in the French Calais refugee camp, it was agreed in the Dáil today. An all-party Government motion was passed in the Dáil today to accept refugees, with priority placed on caring for unaccompanied children affected by the refugee and migrant crisis in France.

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Malasia: INSIGHT-How Malaysia allows child abuse to go unpunished

Reuters – November 13, 2016

According to classified data Malaysian police compiled and shared with Reuters, 12,987 cases of child sexual abuse were reported to police between January 2012 and July of this year. Charges were filed in 2,189 cases, resulting in just 140 convictions.

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Nepal: Children leave home for streets due to neglect, says report

Himalayan Times – November 13, 2016

Hundreds of children abandon their homes feeling neglected and opt for the streets of the capital every year, said a report of the Central Child Welfare Centre, Bhrikutimandap, Kathmandu. “Our centre records data of missing children between the ages of 12 and 15. We have learned that most missing children ran away from their homes feeling neglected,” he said.

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Philippines: Trafficking, child abuse raps vs US couple dropped

Philippine Daily Inquirer – November 12, 2016

The Dwinells couple, who founded the Street Kids Philippine Missions, were arrested by NBI agents in a raid on a two-story house in Barangay Bool here on Oct. 22 for supposedly operating an orphanage without proper documents

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Spain: Shrinking Ávila village offers residents ?300 to have or adopt a child

Think Spain – November 14, 2016

A tiny village in the Castilla y León province of Ávila is offering its residents a one-off ‘baby cheque’ of ?300 to have a child or adopt one. With just 250 inhabitants, Aldeaseca – whose name, interestingly, translates as ‘dry hamlet’ – is suffering serious population decline and fears it will be wiped out altogether in a generation.

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United Kingdom: Refugee children arrive in Scotland following demolition of ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais

Glasgow Live – November 13, 2016

A group of migrant children has arrived safely in Scotland following the demolition of the Calais camp known as the Jungle. The Home Office confirmed a group of females aged between 15-17 who left a reception centre in France arrived safely at Edinburgh Airport yesterday.

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CA: Yolo County supervisors prioritize child welfare

Daily Democrat – November 11, 2016

Yolo County is in the midst of revamping its child welfare system to protect its most vulnerable citizens.

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CA: Finding Foster Care Beds Continues to Challenge L.A. County

The Chronicle of Social Change – November 10, 2016

Los Angeles County’s Department of Children and Family Services recently released its biennial report, which shows that the number of children in out-of-home foster care actually decreased from 2014 to 2015, despite concerns that the number would rise in the wake of the death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez in 2013.

Report: 2015 2016BiennialReport r2 (dcfs.lacounty.gov)

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CA: Shedding the “Foster Child” Costume (Opinion)

San Fernando Valley Sun – November 09, 2016

It’s Halloween and that got me thinking about a costume that’s hard to take off, and brings almost nothing but tricks to those forced to wear it: being a foster child. Los Angeles has a massive challenge caring for the 30,000 foster youth in the system, helping children forced into a role they’re unused to and which can be terrifying, unstable and which leads to many tragic outcomes.

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CO: State budget shell game is a necessary evil (Opinion)

The Denver Post – November 10, 2016

Hickenlooper’s budget will spend an additional $243.5 million for K-12 education; $46.9 million for raises to state employees; $20.5 million for higher education; $79 million for transportation infrastructure; and $34 million for the Department of Human Services, including additional staff for juvenile corrections facilities and resources for child welfare workers.

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FL: Challenging communities to seriously consider adopting or mentoring siblings

The Weekly Challenger – November 10, 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.

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FL: Veterans answer the call to help children in need (Opinion)

Orlando Sentinel – November 10, 2016

Thankfully here in Central Florida, some veterans came home and turned those qualities toward abused, neglected and abandoned children in need of fierce advocates in and out the court room. Yes, sometimes the toughest “battlefields” are here at home, where defense of the defenseless is a noble way to serve the local community.

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IA: Q&A: Adoption Month: With U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (Press release)

Office of U.S. Senator for Iowa Chuck Grassley – November 10, 2016

Q&A: How are you working to observe National Adoption Month this year? What other initiatives do you have in store for foster youth?

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IL: State DCFS issues public service announcements urging public to become adoptive parents (Includes video)

Riverbender.com – November 10, 2016

Illinois DCFS today released two audio public service announcements (PSAs) told from the standpoint of a child urging individuals to become adoptive parents during Adoption Awareness Month.

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LA: Kids in Crisis: Budget cuts leave DCFS scrambling to protect the most vulnerable (Includes video)

WVUE – November 10, 2016

What if a child had to be taken away from a bad situation but couldn’t get out when needed? These are real life experiences happening to foster children in the state’s care. In a FOX investigation, “Kids in Crisis,” we uncover that years of budget cuts and overwhelming case loads leave Louisiana’s most vulnerable population at risk.

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MI: Family & Children Services to cut ribbon on new Kalamazoo facilities

mLive – November 10, 2016

Family & Children Services will show off the largest building project in the agency’s 113-year history today. A ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Family & Children Service campus at 1608 Lake St. in Kalamazoo is scheduled for this afternoon, Nov. 10.

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MN: Hennepin Co. seeks to improve child protection service

KMSP – November 10, 2016

Hennepin County wants to fundamentally transform the way it protects at-risk youth with a new initiative that follows several high-profile cases of maltreatment and deaths across the state.

Also: Hennepin Co. unveils $26M child protection reform plan: kare11.com

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NJ: Advocates needed for foster youth in Union County

NJ.com – November 10, 2016

CASA of Union County is seeking community volunteers to step up and be the voice for one of the nearly 600 Union County youth, ages 0-21, currently in foster care through no fault of their own – and the organization is now offering two new and more flexible ways to do that! CASAs are court-empowered to speak to foster parents, teachers, doctors, lawyers, therapists and more. They visit the youth regularly and incorporate findings into a report for the judge.

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NJ: Judge ended supervision 2 months before Newark boy was beaten to death in home

NJ.com – November 10, 2016

Less than two months before a 7-year-old boy died in Newark and his mother and her live-in boyfriend were charged in connection with his death, a judge denied a request by child welfare investigators to extend state supervision of the family, according to the state’s top child welfare official.

Also: State knew of abuse allegations before Newark boy’s death, sources say: State looked into abuse allegations before newark (nj.com)

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NY: New York Foundling leading the way in child adoption

New York Amsterdam News – November 11, 2016

The New York Foundling is the city’s second-largest foster care provider. It offers a variety of human services children and families and operates the Mott Haven Academy Charter School in the South Bronx developed for youth in the child welfare system.

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OH: ‘We all need a family’

LoveLand Magazine – November 11, 2016

November is National Adoption Month, and for those who work on the adoption team at CPS, it’s a time to celebrate the children who have been adopted, while working tirelessly on behalf of those who are still waiting for their “forever families.” Clermont County currently has 19 children awaiting adoption; their stories can be found on the www.clermontforkids.org website. Later this month, the county will celebrate the adoptions of 43 children in 2016, who have found permanent homes with 26 families.

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OK: Two families unite through their children

Mvskoke Media – November 10, 2016

The Muscogee (Creek) Nation Children and Family Services Foster Care and Adoption and the Certification and Placement Program focuses on finding placement for children. They hope and try to keep siblings together, whether they are in foster care or adoptive homes.

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OR: Editorial: Foster care is an urgent issue for Legislature

The Daily Astorian – November 10, 2016

Troubling state and federal studies of Oregon’s system, as recently reported by The Oregonian and others, show the basic cause of the crisis is capacity for children in need of foster care. Statewide, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, 11,000 children spend at least one day a year in foster care. Some deeply disturbing reports show that across Oregon, on average, six children who need foster care per week end up spending the night at a human services office or a hotel.

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PA: Department of Human Services Awards Nearly $900,000 in Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Grants (Press release)

PRNewswire-USNewswire (Pennsylvania Department of Human Services) – November 10, 2016

Department of Human Services Secretary Ted Dallas today announced that $899,694 in state grants were awarded to six Pennsylvania organizations to enhance child abuse and neglect prevention programs and outreach efforts in the commonwealth.

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TX: State lawmakers call on reforming Texas Child Protective Service

The Daily Texan (University of Texas at Austin) – November 11, 2016

Members of the Texas Senate Finance Committee proposed emergency funding Monday for the state’s Child Protective Services to hire more caseworkers and raise current caseworkers’ salaries to keep up with foster care children’s cases. “Ultimately they’re going to need to sustain a higher level of investment to have more caseworkers and they’re going to need to raise the pay so they can retain good and experienced caseworkers for this very important work,” said Gina Hinojosa, District 49’s State House Representative-elect.

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TX: County Child Welfare Board looking for members

Groesbeck Journal – November 10, 2016

Limestone County’s Child Welfare Board is approaching a crisis in its low number of board members, so they are looking for people who would be willing to serve on the board. The board works under the authority of commissioners court and usually has about 12 members. They are down to only six, however, and two of those anticipate leaving soon because of personal commitments.

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TX: Gallery displays children seeking adoption

Corpus Christi Caller Times – November 10, 2016

The 12th annual Heart Gallery of South Texas opened Thursday evening at the Antonio E. Garcia Arts & Education Center. The gallery is a joint effort with the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services and Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi to increase adoption in South Texas. This year’s showing includes 22 portraits of 44 children.

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TX: WFAA, partners redecorate CPS visitation room

WFAA – November 10, 2016

For National Make A Difference Day, WFAA chose a service project that cleaned, repainted and redecorated parent-child visitation rooms at CPS’ Stemmons location. In these rooms, children who have been placed in protective care have supervised visits with their families. For families going through a difficult time, welcoming and cheerful rooms with toys and activities makes the visit more pleasant.

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WI: Families Celebrated Adoption Day at Milwaukee County Children’s Court (Includes video)

WDJT – November 10, 2016

November is a month for making dreams come true for children waiting for permanent and loving families. During an adoption day event at Milwaukee County Children’s Court this morning, four families celebrated new additions including Meg and Matt Proft-Maikowski.Meg was a foster child herself who has 13 siblings who were also adopted.

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US: Agency Information Collection: Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (Press release)

U.S. Children and Families Administration – November 11, 2016

The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has assigned approval number 0970-0463 to the Comprehensive Child Welfare Information System (CCWIS) Final Rule (81 FR 35450, published June 2, 2016) information collection.

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US: Alcohol damage to fetus measured by new blood test

Medical News Today – November 10, 2016

The effect of alcohol on the developing fetus is difficult to predict; however, earlier interventions can help minimize the damage. Researchers from America and Ukraine have joined forces to design a blood test that might help solve this problem.

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US: Parents don’t notice young children’s PTSD – but may need support themselves

Medical News Today – November 10, 2016

Young children may experience Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for years without it being recognised by their parents according to new research from the University of East Anglia (UEA).

Information Gateway resource: Trauma-Informed Practice: childwelfare.gov

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INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Calgary study focuses on child abuse victims’ brain development

The Canadian Press – November 10, 2016

Ongoing mental-health challenges faced by victims of childhood abuse will be the focus of a long-term study by the University of Calgary and the Sheldon Kennedy Child Advocacy Centre. The university’s Mathison Centre for Mental Health Research and Education, along with the Kennedy centre, will conduct the study. In its initial two-year pilot stage, the study is to involve 240 children between six and 17.

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South Africa: Children’s rights highlighted at hearings

News24 – November 11, 2016

At the public hearings of the Children’s Second Amendment Bill, hosted by the Social Development NCOP delegation in Kokstad, children’s rights were highlighted. KZN National Council of Provinces (NCOP) members, led by chairperson Nahara Yatima, and a member from national Parliament, Lungelwa Zwane, attended. Yatima said the purpose of the proposed Bill is to ensure that children are protected, especially adopted children.

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AR: Governor’s proposed budget includes major increase in foster care spending

Arkansas Times – November 09, 2016

Also: Gov. Asa Hutchinson presented the legislature with his proposed budget for the state of Arkansas this morning, outlining a plan that would include a $50 million tax cut, a significant increase in child welfare spending.

Hutchinson outlines Arkansas budget proposal, including $50M tax cut: Hutchinson outlines arkansas budget proposal inclu (arkansasonline.com)

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AR: Court filings: Arkansas child abuse investigator faked reports

Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette – November 08, 2016

A civilian investigator with the Arkansas State Police Crimes Against Children Division is accused of fabricating reports in 43 cases in Benton and Washington counties, according to court documents.

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CA: Sanctuary Palm Springs officially licensed and accepting applications (Includes video)

KESQ – November 09, 2016

Sanctuary Palm Springs, a foster care transitional home for young LGBTQ adults, is now accepting resident applications. After years of trying to acquire a license from the state and county, Sanctuary is proud to be called the very first in Southern California. “Forty percent of foster care population is LGBT,” said Julie Siri, program director at Sanctuary.

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GA: ‘Parents as Teachers’ program gets funding

Morgan County Citizen – November 09, 2016

Morgan County Family Connection is pleased to announce we were awarded a grant for $37,000 through the GA Division of Family and Children Services to implement the Parents As Teachers Program. These were made possible through their Promoting Safe and Stable Families (PSSF) Program.

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MD: Foster parents often as diverse as the children in their care

Frederick News-Post – November 09, 2016

Long, a foster parent recruiter and trainer, has been leading foster parenting info sessions at libraries throughout the county during the past few months. She said her department has been working with churches and the faith community for years, but were looking forward to reaching a new audience.

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MO: Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect celebrates new juvenile justice board

The Misourian – November 10, 2016

The Joint Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect unanimously approved its annual report on Wednesday and praised new legislation aimed at evaluating the juvenile court system.

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NC: Social workers for Wilkes DSS (Opinion)

Wilkes Journal-Patriot – November 09, 2016

With the election out of the way, we hope the Wilkes County commissioners can devote more attention to making progress on certain pressing issues. One is addressing salary issues in Wilkes County government, including for social workers in the Wilkes Department of Social Services.

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NY: Budget Changes Approved To Cover Early Intervention Costs

Post-Journal – November 10, 2016

County legislators on the Human Services Committee approved to move excess funds within the Health and Human Services Department to cover additional hours and expenditures associated with the Early Intervention program.

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OH: A drug baby (Opinion)

Cleveland Jewish News – November 09, 2016

My patient is a “drug baby.” His mother is addicted to opiates, and today’s visit is part of the MOMS Project, an innovative program that cares for drug-addicted moms and their babies throughout pregnancy and beyond.

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OH: Children Services employees overwhelmed by caseload, red tape (Opinion)

Richland Source – November 09, 2016

Today, Richland County Children Services employees are overwhelmed with the trauma and grief of daily headlines of child maltreatment. On top of this, they struggle to keep up with the mountain of bureaucratic requirements, which often do little to help them keep children safe.

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OR: Bend agency to fight youth homelessness

Bend Bulletin – November 07, 2016

A Bend organization has been awarded more than $1 million in grants to combat youth homelessness and human trafficking. Cascade Youth & Family Center, a program of J Bar J Youth Services, will receive the money from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services over the next three years.

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TN: Reflecting on Rutherford County Child Abuse Victims

WGNS – November 10, 2016

The flag raising ceremony is part of the 19 Days of Activism for the Prevention of Violence toward Children and Youth from November 1 through November 19, 2016. The Child Advocacy Center partners with local agencies during this campaign to bring awareness to issues that negatively affect the health and safety of children

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TX: Adoption event hopes to find homes for 6,000 children

Fox29 – November 10, 2016

Tillman a foster and adopt recruiter said a last year they found 5,600 kids forever homes, and this year there’s 6,000 waiting. “And we don’t want these children to get discouraged,” she said. “We want them to know there are people in the community that care.”

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TX: Harsh reality of foster children who age out of system (Includes video)

KHOU – November 10, 2016

Each year in Texas, more than 1,000 teenagers age out of the foster care system. It happens when they turn 18 and the kids are legally adults. There’s a harsh reality when it comes to what happens to some of these foster children when the state says “you’re free to go.”

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WI: Capitol Ideas: Protecting our most vulnerable citizens (Opinion)

Lake Country Now – November 09, 2016

Protecting the most vulnerable among us is a top priority. This is especially true for those whose personal safety is at stake – those who cannot always stand up for themselves. There are two specific bills recently signed into law: one that helps children with disabilities, and one that assists domestic abuse, sexual abuse and stalking survivors.

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US: Child-Focused Recruitment: What is It and Why Does It Work? (Press Release)

CSR Wire – November 09, 2016

The number of children waiting to be adopted from U.S. foster care has consistently exceeded the number of finalized adoptions. Strategies for recruiting and matching adoptive families for these children have a history of anecdotal rather than evidence-based development. Cataloging children online or through the media is common practice and supported by Federal funding, but there is scant evidence to suggest it is an effective method for effectively recruiting appropriate families, particularly for those most at risk of aging out of care-older youth, sibling groups and children with mental and physical challenges.

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INTERNATIONAL

Democratic Republic of Congo: How international adoption creates a market for child trafficking

Fusion – November 10, 2016

International adoption is often presented in the U.S. as a morally justified way of helping poor children around the world. But there’s a criminal side of this business that makes victims of everyone, from families in America who pay tens of thousands of dollars in adoption fees, to those in developing countries who are conned into giving up their children.

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Fiji: Child Abuse Statistics Raise Alarm

The Figi Times – November 10, 2016

A Child Welfare Decree report on child abuse over the past year revealed that most child abuse cases were reported on December 31 last year. Minister for Women, Children and Poverty Alleviation Mereseini Vuniwaqa said stakeholders needed to be alert over such statistics.

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India: Swipe to report child abuse: App launched in India to rein in crime

Thomson Reuters Foundation – November 10, 2016

The Maharashtra State Child Rights Protection Commission on Wednesday launched the Child Helpline for Information on Rights and Address Grievances (Chirag), a mobile application for Android phones that also provides information on children’s rights, including legislation.

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International: RGG Special Report: Central America’s Northern Triangle: Home Sweet Home

Rio Grande Guardian – November 09, 2016

Tens of thousands of Salvadorans, Guatemalans, and Hondurans, many of them unaccompanied minors, have arrived in the United States in recent years, seeking asylum from their region’s skyrocketing violence. Their countries form a region called the Northern Triangle. Civil wars in the 1980s left the region with a legacy of violence and fragile institutions. Gangs and organized crime have taken over. It is an international crisis.

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United Kingdom: Five arrested over Rotherham child abuse

The Times – November 10, 2016

Five men have been arrested as part of the National Crime Agency’s investigation into historical child sexual exploitation in Rotherham.

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United Kingdom: A Thousand Days Of Missed Chances (Opinion)

The Huffington Post UK – November 09, 2016

Today, the House of Lords will debate the Children and Social Work Bill. Tucked into it is a tiny amendment that will have a titanic impact on thousands of the UK’s most vulnerable children – an amendment that ensures that every child, when going into care, is given a mental health assessment by a professional. Yet despite the NSPCC leading a chorus of calls from charities, health professionals, and peers to implement an assessment that would flag up whether a child needs some help, Government is still dawdling over what to do.

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FL: Children’s Services Council awards grants to area nonprofits

Palm Beach Post – November 09, 2016

That was the inspiration for Udell’s nonprofit, My Own Home Project, which provides youth aging out of foster care with essential household items for their transition to self-care and self-reliance.

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MO: Courageous Conversations: Abuse Impact on Foster System (Includes video)

Ozarks First – November 09, 2016

According to the Greene County Sheriff’s Department, investigators on domestic violence calls often get the most truthful information about what happened from children on the scene.

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NY: Onondaga County reelects Mulroy for County Family Court

Eagle News – November 09, 2016

According to her biography, from 2007 to 2014, Mulroy presided over and determined child welfare matters, including abuse and neglect, juvenile delinquency, support, custody and visitation, PINS, paternity and adoptions.

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OH: Children’s services levy passes

Zanesville Times Recorder – November 08, 2016

Muskingum County residents voted to renew the levy supporting Muskingum County Children’s Services and the Avondale Youth Center.

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WA: Archdiocese’s child protection director teams with retired detective to launch new effort on keeping kids safe

Catholic Standard – November 08, 2016

The Archdiocese of Washington has further strengthened its child protection efforts by creating a new outreach for teachers, educators and others on how to identify and promptly report suspected child abuse.

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US: Helping military families at-risk of child abuse

San Antonio Express – November 08, 2016

Fueling the need for such a program is new data that shows the incidence of child abuse and neglect among military families is rising. Historically, the rate of child maltreatment in military families has been about half that of the civilian population – around 7 confirmed cases versus 14 per 1,000 children. Since 2003, however, it has begun to outpace the nonmilitary statistics, a trend that coincides with the post-9/11 rise in overseas military operations, according to a study by the National Child Traumatic Stress Network.

Information Gateway resource: Supporting Military Families: childwelfare.gov

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US: After Bill Cosby, States Shift on Statutes of Limitations in Sexual Assault Cases

New York Times – November 06, 2016

In Colorado, where lawmakers made a similar change this year, legislators had been lobbied hard on the bill by Beth Ferrier and Heidi Thomas. In California, it was Lili Bernard, Victoria Valentino, Linda Kirkpatrick and Janice Baker Kinney who helped organize a campaign, EndRapeSOL, and rallies as part of a movement that this fall eliminated that state’s statute of limitations for rape altogether.

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INTERNATIONAL

Australia: The Family Matters report

Australian Policy Online – November 09, 2016

On 9 November 2016, the Family Matters campaign released its inaugural report. This report revealed shocking results on the state of child protection in Australia for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children.

Report: Family matters report (apo.org.au)

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Australia: Queensland lifts time limits on child sexual abuse lawsuits

The Guardian – November 08, 2016

Child sexual abuse survivors will be able to launch fresh lawsuits against churches and schools that forced them into unfair settlements under new laws passed in Queensland, the first of their kind in Australia.

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International: Parental Attachment Problems

Psychology Today – November 09, 2016

How you bond with caregivers during early childhood affects how you behave in relationships and friendships, how in touch you are with your emotions and how much you will allow yourself to love others on a conscious level.

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AR: Child abuse investigator charged with falsifying information in 43 cases
Arkansas Times – November 07, 2016
A former civilian investigator with the Crimes Against Children Division of the Arkansas State Police has been charged with tampering with a public record, a spokesman for the state police said in a statement. The crime is a Class D felony.
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AZ: What’s Next? Fiscal Year 2017 priorities at the Arizona Department of Child Safety
Sonoran News – November 07, 2016
In recent weeks, the Arizona Department of Child Safety (DCS) Director Gregory McKay has articulated the need for the agency to continue strategically improving services for Arizona’s children and families. At the time DCS was created, more children were in state care than the system could effectively manage. Resources within the agency, the courts, and the foster care community were strained beyond capacity.
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CA: L.A. Supervisor Contender Steve Napolitano Dubs Himself a “Data-Driven Guy” with a Streamlined Vision of County Government
Chronicle of Social Change – November 05, 2016
He looks to an embrace of public-private partnerships around early-childhood education, greater oversight of county initiatives like foster-parent recruitment and increased use of analytics as the way to keep the massive bureaucracy of L.A. County running smoothly.
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FL: Life Management Center Works to Find Children Forever Homes During National Adoption Month (Includes video)
My Panhandle – November 07, 2016
November is national adoption month so officials are working over time to find families willing to provide a forever home to local kids. “National adoption month is recognized just as an extra time for us to focus on the need to find homes for children who are in foster care looking for loving and permanent homes,” said Life Management Center Recruitment and Retention Specialist Kasey Killebrew.
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MD: Montgomery County, Maryland Sick and Safe Leave Law Amended to Permit Use for Birth, Adoption, Foster Care, and Bonding
Littler – November 07, 2016
Effective immediately, employers in Montgomery County, Maryland must allow eligible employees in the County to use up to 56 hours of paid sick and safe leave provided under Montgomery County’s sick and safe leave law for birth, adoption, foster care, or bonding with the employee’s child. The County Council adopted this measure to bridge gaps in employees’ ability to use paid leave for various combinations of parental leave under federal and state laws.
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MN: Hennepin County shifts child protection mission with new model
Star Tribune – November 07, 2016
Hennepin County wants to launch a $26 million program to protect at-risk children, preventing abuse rather than waiting to act until it happens. The new model reflects a national trend of moving child protection services from crisis mode to responding before abuse takes place.
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NV: Report: CPS investigated home 6 times prior to girl’s death (Includes video)
Las Vegas Now – November 07, 2016
Child Protective Services had investigated the family six times prior to the girl’s death, according to the arrest report obtained from Las Vegas Justice Court.
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NY: Local officials confronting county’s high rate of drug addicted newborns
Niagara Gazette – November 08, 2016
Niagara County has the highest rate of drug addicted newborns in the entire state. According to data from the state Department of Health, the county registered 264 infants born with a drug-related diagnosis per 10,000 births.
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NY: ACS renews contract with agency that sent foster kids to live with accused Long Island pedophile
New York Daily News – November 07, 2016
The city will renew its contract with the foster care provider that placed dozens of kids with an alleged Long Island pedophile, despite objections from the city Controller’s office, officials said. The Administration for Children’s Services says it needs to renew the contract with SCO Family Services to prevent a disruption of services for close to 1,000 kids who were being served by the provider prior to the abuse allegations that surfaced earlier this year.
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NY: Grandmother’s Killing Lays Bare a Dilemma in Child Welfare Work
New York Times – November 07, 2016
In a city that has seen murder rates fall to historic lows, such deaths remain a stubborn strain of violence, one that too often has also exposed lapses in the child welfare system. In the most notorious of those cases, caseworkers missed persistent signs of physical abuse and children later died, inciting outrage and prompting reforms.
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OH: Ferrero, his staff weigh emotional needs of child-abuse victims
Indeonline – November 04, 2016
Every day, Stark County’s multidisciplinary child abuse team helps children in unimaginable situations. These professionals recognize that each abused child has different life experiences/family situations, competency levels, and mental health issues. Each team member relies on his or her own expertise to ensure good decisions are made regarding the best interest of the victim. Because of this, the decision to prosecute an offender is handled as a team, which is a national norm. Information Gateway resource: Multidisciplinary Teams: Multidisciplinary (childwelfare.gov)
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PA: Penn State appeals $7.3 million verdict in Mike McQueary’s whistleblower case
Penn Live – November 07, 2016
Penn State is fighting back hard against a $7.3 million civil verdict assessed against it last month on claims raised by former assistant football coach Mike McQueary. McQueary, a star witness in the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case, has contended that his career as a high-level college football coach has been set back because of Penn State officials’ failure to appropriately act on his initial February 2001, sexual abuse report against Sandusky.
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TX: Proposed Foster Care Reforms a Good Step, Even As Texas Drags Its Heels (Opinion)
Houston Press – November 07, 2016
Recommendations by independent experts assigned to help overhaul the state’s beleaguered foster care system call for increased transparency and training, as well as life skills training starting at age 14, to help ease the transition of kids who age out of the system, among other plans. Also: Report Offers Fixes For Texas’ Troubled Foster Care System: Report offers fixes for texas troubled foster care system (khn.org)
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TX: Senate panel proposes $75.3 million to start fixing foster care system
Texas Tribune – November 07, 2016
The panel’s plan would allow the agency to boost salaries by $12,000 and hire 136 new workers, including 50 new special investigators, 50 new investigative caseworkers and 36 new support staff members. Whitman had originally wanted to hire an additional 200 investigative caseworkers and an additional 100 special investigators. Also: Senate Workgroup on Child Protection Announces Plan for More CPS Investigators, Higher Caseworker Pay: guidrynews.com Also: Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick on Monday issued a statement following the release of the Senate Finance Committee Workgroup on Child Protection recommendations regarding critical needs funding for the Department of Family and Protective Services: guidrynews.com
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UT: Foster parents needed to help children in the Basin
UBMedia.biz – November 07, 2016
At any given time in Utah, there are more than 2,700 children in foster care and about 1,300 licensed foster families. Most children stay in the foster care system for about 12 months and nearly two-thirds of them return to their parents or a relative. But there are many who can’t be returned to their family making them eligible for adoption. During fiscal year 2015, 604 children were adopted from foster care in Utah, many of them by their foster parents.
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UT: How Utah Organization is Working with Families to Prevent Child Abuse (Includes video)
ABC 4 UTAH – November 07, 2016
Child abuse knows no social, economic or cultural limits. Forty-two percent of Utah’s child abuse victims are under the age of 5. Prevent Child Abuse Utah (PCAU) believes education is the key to eradicating the problem.
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WA: What happens to a kid released from Remann Hall when no one picks them up?
News Tribune – November 05, 2016
“A fair number of kids who are in the detention facility at Remann Hall and are ready to be discharged, they call the parents and the parents say, ‘I don’t want them. You know, I’m done.’ So they’re basically experiencing homelessness at that point,” said Kurt Miller, executive director for Community Youth Services’ Pierce County operation.
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WI: Brown County human services faces deficit
Green Bay Press Gazette – November 05, 2016
With the department responsible for Brown County’s most vulnerable citizens expecting a deficit of almost $560,000 in 2017, some county lawmakers are raising questions about how funds are being used. Supervisors last week questioned why the Human Services Department faces a deficit barely a year after they granted the department an extra $1.15 million to bolster mental-health services.
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US: Mother takes immigration and child custody fight to federal court
Washington Post – November 07, 2016
The rare and complicated case is set to be heard this week in federal court in Northern Virginia where Beltrán is challenging the role of federal officials in child custody matters.
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US: SAMHSA provides up to $278 million in state, tribal and community programs to help people and communities recover from trauma
SAMHSA – November 07, 2016
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has awarded up to a total of $278 million over the next five years for programs that help people and communities recover from, and build resiliency from trauma. “Trauma, whether from exposure to child abuse, community violence, or natural disaster can have a devastating effect on people,” said SAMHSA Principal Deputy Administrator Kana Enomoto. “We must help people in every segment of our community — especially youth and Tribes, many of whom have experienced significant historical, community, and individual traumas.”
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US: Barron: Spending federal welfare money
Casper Star-Tribune – November 05, 2016
According to a recent article in Governing magazine, the states on average last year used less than 10 percent of welfare funding for work-related services such as subsidized employment, job training job search assistance and transportation vouchers. A policy research group in Louisiana openly referred to the state’s welfare program as a “slush fund” used to plug holes in the state budget caused by large tax cuts.
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INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Nova Scotia will soon to be one of few provinces with closed adoption records
CBC News – November 07, 2016
By the end of 2016, Nova Scotia – along with New Brunswick, P.E.I. and Que. – will be the only provinces that do not allow birth mothers and adult adopted children to obtain information about one another.
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Europe: Female genital mutilation: Putting human rights at the core of Europe’s asylum system (Opinion)
EurActiv – November 07, 2016
Female genital mutilation (FGM) survivors, and women and girls at risk, are particularly vulnerable in the asylum system. They must receive support to help them navigate the process, writes Liuska Sanna.
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India: Rehabilitation of rescued children major concern
Times of India – November 06, 2016
While the number of successful rescue cases in the last five years is 352, as many as 2,354 children have been rescued by the state police under Operation Muskan since January 2015 till date from across the state of which 1,952 were from Jharkhand.
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India: Call to hike budgetary allocation for child welfare
The Hindu – November 05, 2016
Weeks before the Telangana government embarks on its annual budgetary exercise, a non-governmental organisation Save the Children framed the outline for children and presented its evaluation of where the state stands in terms of human development index.
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Russia: Ordering inquiry into claims of FGM in Dagestan (Includes video)
Guardian – November 05, 2016
Russia has launched an investigation into claims that tens of thousands of girls in remote mountain areas, some as young as three months’ old, have been forced to undergo female genital mutilation.
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United Kingdom: Child protection is changing, but safety must remain a priority
Guardian – November 08, 2016
Strong and effective multi-agency safeguarding arrangements do not just happen; they require an active commitment to collaboration and a common purpose, and must be supported by a system that sustains those partnerships and relationships.
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United Kingdom: CPS ‘afraid to tackle honour crimes for fear of causing unrest in Asian communities’ (Opinion)
The Telegraph – November 07, 2016
The Crown Prosecution Service is failing to prosecute honour crimes for fear of causing “unrest” in Asian communities, a Scotland Yard whistleblower has alleged. Det Sgt Pal Singh disclosed that “apathy” by prosecutors led to the collapse of what could have been the first conviction for forced marriage in England.
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CA: Home for young sex-trafficking victims closes even as nonprofit raises money, pitches expansion
Sacramento Bee – November 06, 2016
Courage House got the good news from the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services on June 17: a $60,808 grant had been approved to help fund services at the Northern California home for young sex-trafficking victims. What the state agency didn’t know at the time was that the Courage House outside Sacramento had closed three days earlier, shuttling the four remaining girls off to other providers amid a rash of citations from regulators, including allegations of inadequate staffing and repeat violations of clients’ rights.
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CA: Prop. S supporters hope SF tourism will help end family homelessness
San Francisco Gate – November 06, 2016
Family homelessness is the somewhat invisible face of the homelessness problem in San Francisco, as parents “run the risk of losing their children to Child Protective Services,” said Martha Ryan, director of the Homeless Prenatal Program.
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CO: Restorative Justice: Shutting Down the School-to-Prison Pipeline (Includes audio)
Public News Service – November 07, 2016
“Zero-tolerance” policies of the past 20 years have increased K-12 suspension rates dramatically, with significantly negative outcomes for more students and their communities – especially for students of color. One school district is turning that around to keep kids in school and out of prison.
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IL: Agencies recruit foster parents
Commercial News – November 04, 2016
In response to the shortage of local foster homes, the Vermilion County Foster Care Recruitment Committee and community partners will launch “It Takes a Village” to recruit valued foster parents who are highly committed, well-trained partners in raising children who have been abused and neglected and to increase community awareness of how folks who cannot currently foster can support these children and foster families.
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IL: Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois announces leadership transition
Chicago Daily Herald – November 04, 2016
Lutheran Child and Family Services of Illinois, a leading social service provider focused on nurturing and protecting children, strengthening families and enhancing communities, has announced the retirement of Gene Svebakken, MSW, ACSW as chief executive officer effective Dec. 31, 2016.
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MA: Homelessness In The Schools
Falmouth Enterprise – November 04, 2016
There are students in the Falmouth Public School district who have no permanent home, but so far the number appears not to have increased from this time last year.
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MO: Organization puts kids first to prevent child abuse
Jefferson City News Tribune – November 05, 2016
Missouri KidsFirst has taken child abuse prevention to a new level. Over the past eight years, the organization has expanded to a network of 22 child advocate centers across the state, offering training and assistance to child protection professionals throughout various communities.
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MT: Foster families needed across the state (Includes video)
KFBB – November 04, 2016
The non-profit Youth Dynamics says that during the month of September, 500 children and teens in Cascade County entered the foster care system. However, there are only 80 homes..that are licensed to provide foster care in the entire county.
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NC: Christian Adoption Services looks to future
Charlotte Weekly – November 07, 2016
Christian Adoption Services has placed more than 2,000 children into loving homes over the course of its 37-year history – a testament to the work of its founders Jim and Doris Woodward. Kevin Qualls took over the reins earlier this year as president of Christian Adoption Services.
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NJ: Families encouraged to consider opening homes to NJ’s most vulnerable children
New Jersey 101.5 – November 07, 2016
Nov. 18 is National Adoption Day. Families considering adoption through DCF must apply to become a licensed resource home, which Berzin noted involves training and a background check. “Depending on the length of time, it’s difficult to say how long a family would wait for a child to be adopted,” Berzin said.
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NY: Kids need distance from their abusers: A system skewed to risky reunions (Opinion)
New York Daily News – November 07, 2016
In a sadly familiar ritual, the New York City Administration for Children’s Services pledges more oversight and more coordination between government agencies following the fatal beating of 6-year-old Zymere Perkins – just as it did following the deaths of Kevasia Edwards and Nixzmary Brown, two children who previously died under its watch.
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NY: HF-L fires coach amid State Police, CPS investigation (Includes video)
WHAM – November 04, 2016
A coach with the Honeoye Falls-Lima Central School District was fired after an investigation by the district, New York State Police, and CPS into “inappropriate behavior.”
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OH: Mental Health and Substance Use Services: Meeting Kids Where They Are (Includes audio)
Public News Service – November 07, 2016
Research indicates mental-health conditions can make kids more prone to use alcohol or drugs. As schools around Ohio work to educate students about the dangers of substance use, one district is also providing mental health services to kids. Information Gateway resource: Mental Health Support Services for Children and Families: Programs (childwelfare.gov)
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OH: Children, the innocent victims of the opioid epidemic in NW Ohio (Includes video)
WTVG – November 04, 2016
The number of children in foster care as a direct result of the opioid and heroin epidemic continues to grow. This is a problem that is overloading children’s services throughout all of Northwest Ohio.
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OH: Opiate crisis leads to spike in Trumbull County adoptions (Includes video)
WKBN – November 04, 2016
Tim Schaffner, executive director of Trumbull County Children Services, said the heroin and prescription drug epidemic are behind many kids landing in the foster care system. “We’re in such a crisis with the opiates. We’ve really had more and more people stepping up to be foster parents, and the adoptions, we hope continue to go through the roof,” he said.
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OR: Clatsop County in need of foster homes (Includes video)
Daily Astorian – November 04, 2016
Clatsop County faces a shortage of temporary homes for children authorities have removed from unsafe and dysfunctional households, and the local Child Welfare District office, part of the state Department of Human Services, is launching an effort to recruit more foster parents.
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PA: For families willing to adopt, older kids can be “the missing piece” (Includes video)
Morning Call – November 04, 2016
“We would like to see these youth remain in the Lehigh Valley, where they can stay connected to their schools, their friends. We want to give them lifelong connections,” said Nell Sokalski, a case manager at Lehigh Children and Youth.
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PA: Jury awards $5.3M to girl placed in abusive foster home
Metro.us – November 04, 2016
“You can’t take kids out of what you think is a bad environment and put them in a worse one, and you certainly can’t put them in a nightmare,” Bezar said. “This is the most vulnerable part of our population. These are kids that have already had their lives disrupted.”
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TX: Gov. Abbott girds for fresh fight against feds if Clinton wins (Opinion)
San Antonio Express-News – November 06, 2016
For example, Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick wants a state law to ban transgender-friendly bathroom policies, spurred when Obama issued a directive for schools to allow transgender students to use the bathroom associated with their gender identity.
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TX: State of Texas: In-Depth – Looking Beyond Election Day (Includes video)
KXAN – November 06, 2016
Many lawmakers agree about the need for reform in agencies like Child Protective Services, but the budget forecast complicates efforts to find solutions. “Comptroller Glenn Hegar said you are not going to have as much money rolling in this time as you did last time,” Ramsey said. Also: PERRYMAN:Time for action in the Texas Legislature (Opinion): Article 8164d3c8 a3d8 11e6 b290 b351437a849f (oaoa.com)
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TX: State not taking basic steps to protect children, report says
KXAN – November 04, 2016
In 2015, Federal District Judge Janis Jack charged child care experts Kevin Ryan and Francis McGovern to recommend reforms to the program now in the public eye after high-profile child deaths and abused children, who weren’t seen after reports came in. They recommend having a picture of every child in each case file and ensuring every abused child sees a doctor after CPS workers make contact. These recommendations hint to CPS, under the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), is unable to do what many think are basic steps to ensure child safety. Report: Special Masters Report (static.texastribune.org) Also: State Could Give Child Protective Services $88 Million to Keep Kids Safe (Includes audio): State could give child protective services 88 million keep kids safe (kut.org) Also: Report says Child Protective Service workers are overloaded, urges overhaul: Special masters recommend dfps overhaul (texastribune.org) Also: Experts Recommend Broad Reforms For Texas Foster Care System: Experts recommend broad reforms for texas foster care system (dfw.cbslocal.com)
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TX: Texas Association of Business: Anti-LGBT Laws Would Cost $8.5 Billion and 185,000 Jobs
Texas Observer – November 04, 2016
In response to an interim charge from Patrick, the Senate State Affairs Committee recently recommended that the Legislature take up “targeted” religious freedom bills next year, to reduce the risk of “lengthy and costly litigation” related to broader proposals. The committee suggested that lawmakers consider bills allowing adoption and foster care agencies, religious schools, judges and mental health professionals to discriminate against LGBT people based on their sincerely held religious beliefs.
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WI: Finding family, with law change and DNA’s help
Burlington Hawk Eye – November 06, 2016
The state’s adoption privacy law prevented him from getting anything more than the barest of details. Until early this year, when a revision was passed in the state assembly and signed by the governor. Because both his birth parents were deceased, the documentary tale of Pella’s origins became available, decades after he first made inquiries.
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US: Children left behind: Evidence grows of poverty’s toll on young brains, academic achievement gap
Center for Investigative Reporting – November 07, 2016
Naja’s and Hannah’s brains are in critical phases of development, and they are being stimulated by a home environment that prioritizes education. But children who do not have this same experience early in life – especially those growing up in poverty – could experience delayed brain development that significantly harms their educational progress, according to recent research by psychology professor Seth Pollak and economist Barbara Wolfe at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
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US: Why more grandparents are raising children
Daily World – November 04, 2016
The number of grandparents who are raising their grandchildren is going up, and increasingly it’s because their own kids are addicted to heroin or prescription drugs, or have died from an overdose. For some, it’s a challenge with little help available.
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US: If You Don’t Eat Healthy During Pregnancy, Your Baby’s Heart Could Suffer
Medical Daily – November 06, 2015
A poor diet during pregnancy may have dire implications for the future heart health of your child, suggests new animal research published Sunday in The Journal of Physiology.
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INTERNATIONAL

Canada: Winnipeg organization aims to help kids who are “aging out” of the system (Video)
APTN – November 02, 2016
A Winnipeg-based organization aims to combat homelessness with a new program for kids exiting the child welfare system. Exit Up is giving young Indigenous adults a step up when it comes to living on their own.
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Kenya: Twelve linked to FGM arrested as leaders call for permanent solution
Kenya News Agency – November 07, 2016
Police in Kuria West are investigating twelve people they arrested for being linked to aiding Female Genital Cut. Among those arrested were five female circumcisers in an ongoing operation against FGM perpetrators that began last week.
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Nigeria: UNICEF Train Stakeholders On Strategies Against Child Violence
Leadership (Nigeria) – November 07, 2016
The United Nation Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has embarked on training some stakeholders to engage in efforts to end violence against children in Gombe State. Ms Ladi Alabi, the Child Protection Specialist, UNICEF Bauchi Field Office, on Monday told the participants that there was an urgent need for them to understand issues that affected children in the state.
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CA: Yonatan’s Death Spurs Deep Look at How L.A. Gauges Child Abuse Risk
Chronicle of Social Change – November 01, 2016
When it comes to child protection, that “suite of instruments” is really a set of six different questionnaires that help social workers make decisions about what to do with referrals of child abuse like those involving Yonatan Aguilar. The system is very similar to the “actuarial” questionnaires that insurer’s use to determine rates.
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CT: DCF pivots to a new strategy to keep juveniles out of jail
Connecticut Mirror – November 01, 2016
It’s a path that’s too common for state officials to accept, and they are working to overhaul the system and close the Connecticut Juvenile Training School, where eight out of 10 youths who leave are arrested for a new crime within 24 months. Child Welfare Information Gateway resource: Youth Involved With Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare: Dualsystem (childwelfare.gov)
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KS: State launches new resource center to help adoptive parents (Includes video)
WIBW – November 01, 2016
K-PARC will provide weekend retreats for adoptive parents as well as resources and tools to support them through their adoption journey.
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LA: State stands out during National Adoption Month (Includes video)
KPLC – October 31, 2016
“We lead the nation in foster care adoptions,” he said. “We’ve actually led the nation the last four years.” Seven-hundred and thirty-five children were adopted from foster care from October 1, 2015 to September 30, 2016 – 103 of these children are from the Lake Charles area.
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NY: Are neglected Island kids safe? Agency caseloads rise
Staten Island Live – November 01, 2016
Staten Island caseworkers were juggling more child welfare investigations than in any other borough this summer.
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NY: Child Protective Services (CPS): Protecting Children and Supporting Families (Opinion)
Minority Reporter – November 01, 2016
The greater concern espoused by most parents and guardians comes about when the questions asked of the child involve drugs, drug use in the homes, domestic violence, beatings with belts, and of whether a child has been left home alone for extended periods of time.
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SC: As SC faces another $63M in fines, DSS pressed to finish child support project
Greenville News – November 01, 2016
South Carolina remains the only state not to have an automated child support enforcement system up and running in response to a 1988 federal law. The state now does the work manually and while that work has been lauded, officials say the new system will connect with more agencies and is expected to boost enforcement actions against deadbeat parents.
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US: Adoption has lifelong benefits: National Adoption Month highlights 1.5 million adopted kids in U.S.
Fairbanks Daily News-Miner – November 02, 2016
There are roughly 1.5 million adopted children in the U.S., comprising 2.5 percent of all American children. But the reach of adoption goes further: Almost 60 percent of Americans in a landmark 1997 survey said they knew someone who had been adopted, had adopted a child or relinquished a child for adoption. Those children come from all manner of backgrounds and locations – in 2009, children adopted by Americans came from 106 countries around the globe.
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US: Breaking through the adoption stereotypes
Untah Basin Standard / Vernal Express – November 01, 2016
What comes to your mind when you hear the word adoption? It’s a word that stirs up emotions and can elicit feelings of joy and sorrow, just to name a few. It seems like in my family, we’ve been through them all. We are a family that has been touched by adoption. This is the first part of a five part series about National Adoption Awareness Month.
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INTERNATIONAL

Netherlands: Stop adoption of children from abroad, advisory council says
Dutch News – November 02, 2016
The Netherlands should stop allowing people to adopt children from abroad because it is not in the best interests of the child, the Dutch youth protection council RSJ said on Wednesday.
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CA: SF’s new plan to get homeless families off the streets
San Francisco Chronicle – October 29, 2016
There are 1,303 homeless families in San Francisco’s public schools with a total of 2,097 children, more than double the total nine years ago. Fifteen families, including 20 children, live in tents or cars on the city’s streets.
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IL: DCFS workers learn to spot child abuse at UIS training academy
State Journal-Register – October 31, 2016
A partnership between the University of Illinois Springfield and Illinois Department of Children and Family Services is the first of its kind in the country, a university official says.
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IL: Campaign aims to end Chicago youth homelessness by 2020
Windy City Times – October 28, 2016
Even with some of the sheer numbers of youth experiencing homelessness in Chicago and the challenges they face reinforced to an Oct. 25 audience at the Chicago loop offices of Chase Bank, it was the testimony of Unity Parenting and Counseling youth leader Caprice Williams that presented the most devastating and persuasive case for the unprecedented goal of the I AM IN campaign launched that morning to end youth homelessness in Chicago by 2020. Information Gateway Resource: Services for Youth: Homeless and Runaway: Homeless runaway (childwelfare.gov)
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IN: Child re-sentenced for murder: A sign of juvenile justice reform?
Christian Science Monitor – October 31, 2016
Paul Gingerich was 12 years old when he helped fatally shoot a friend’s stepfather in a small Indiana town about 45 miles northwest of Fort Wayne. The boys had planned to flee to Arizona or California after the ambush, but both were caught, convicted, and sentenced to 25 years in prison. The case sparked outrage from child welfare advocates because Mr. Gingerich, now 18, is believed to be the youngest person in Indiana history to be sentenced in an adult court.
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IN: Drugs could be to blame for rise in foster care cases, officials say (Includes video)
WDRB – October 31, 2016
As the number of kids in foster care in the United States goes up, Indiana is among the states seeing the largest increase in new cases.
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IN: State’s National Adoption Month Kicks Off with Adoption Celebration Launch Event
WIBC – October 31, 2016
November is Indiana’s National Adoption Month and the Department of Child Services is kicking off the month-long event with an adoption launch event on Thursday, November 3rd to support and raise awareness of adoption programs for children and older youth who are in foster care in the Hoosier State.
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KS: National Adoption Month
Emporia Gazette – October 31, 2016
There are more than 5,000 Kansas children in foster care and just under 900 of those children are waiting to be adopted. The majority of those children are over the age of 10 or are part of a sibling group that needs to be adopted together.
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LA: Shreveport alternative charter school director, 2 others arrested (Includes video)
KSLA – October 31, 2016
The principal of a brand-new alternative charter school in Shreveport has been arrested along with two other school employees. AMI board member Ted Cox says a student at the school had informed school leaders that she was sexually assaulted on the Hutchinson St. campus, but no one contacted police.
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MI: Vista Maria takes over foster care services from Holy Cross
Crains Detroit Business – October 31, 2016
Holy Cross Services is exiting foster care in four counties and shifting those placements and clients to Dearborn Heights-based Vista Maria, which does nearly three times as many foster care placements in those counties. Through the agreement, which came together over the past six or seven months following about five years of conversations, Vista Maria will become one of the largest providers of foster care services in Wayne County.
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MS: Governor fights in court for anti-LGBT “religious freedom” law
CBS News – October 31, 2016
U.S. District Judge Carlton Reeves blocked the “religious objections” or “religious freedom” law moments before it was to take effect July 1, ruling that it unconstitutionally establishes preferred beliefs and creates unequal treatment for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The law championed and signed by Gov. Phil Bryant sought to protect three beliefs: Marriage is only between a man and a woman; sex should only take place in such a marriage; and a person’s gender is determined at birth and cannot be altered. Also: Mississippi asks court to uphold law affecting LGBT rights: US RELIGIOUS OBJECTIONS MISSISSIPPI (customwire.ap.org)
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MT: CASA program expands Native American outreach, cultural training
Billings Gazette – October 31, 2016
The Yellowstone County CASA program is pushing for an increase in American Indian CASAs, Staton said. AmeriCorps VISTA Shannen Keene and Indian Child Welfare Program Coordinator Nicole Walksalong are two new CASA team members helping with this effort.
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ND: Heitkamp Emphasizes Commitment to ND Foster Care Families (Press release)
Public Now – October 29, 2016
Heitkamp spoke with advocates, leaders, and foster family community members about her commitment to pushing for policies in the U.S. Senate that will support foster families and the important role PATH plays in North Dakota’s foster care community.
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NH: Neglecting children: DCYF report shocks NH (Opinion)
New Hampshire Union Leader – October 29, 2016
Caseloads at DCYF have spiked over the past four years, coinciding with the increase of opioid abuse across New Hampshire. But DCYF never sounded the alarm about the growing threat to children under its care, even as overwhelmed social workers saw 80 percent of their cases back up for months.
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NY: Council hearing on child’s death yields few specifics
Politico – October 31, 2016
A visibly wan Carrión, who was suffering from a cold and coughed through her testimony, grew increasingly plaintive as she delivered an opening statement to the Council’s General Welfare Committee, and finally broke down when she reached the end of a nearly-half-hour long opening statement to the City Council’s General Welfare Committee. Also: ACS head breaks down at hearing over Harlem boy’s death : abc7ny.com
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NY: Drug problems increase the need for foster parents (Includes video)
WKBW – October 31, 2016
Linda McCartan director of family preservation with child and family services says the drug epidemic has greatly impacted the number of children her agency serves. “We’ve seen children that come into care for all different reasons,” McCartan says. “But there’s definitely kids in there with experiencing abuse and neglect and it’s been connected to the parent’s use of drugs.”
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TX: Black children are targeted by CPS (Opinion)
Dallas Examiner – October 31, 2016
The boy was playing outside and picked up candy off the street. His dad said, “Put it down,” The boy popped it in his mouth and was promptly spanked. For normal people, this is being a good daddy. In fact, decades ago, the Texas Legislature passed a law protecting exactly this kind of parenting. You can find it under Texas Penal Code 9.61. Unfortunately, lawlessness has infected some Texas bureaucracies. The most culpable agency appears to be the scandal-plagued Child Protective Services. CPS is the largest employer of social workers in Texas but is mostly known for a series of faked and fabricated claims that have resulted in injured and murdered children.
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TX: Chaotic agency needs real reform (Opinion)
Denton Record-Chronicle – October 31, 2016
The action couldn’t come soon enough for the nearly 2,900 children across the state who have not had required CPS visits, more than 500 of them deemed at risk of serious injury or death. A salary increase for caseworkers should help reduce turnover in this dysfunctional system. The pay is so low – starting at $34,000 – that caseworkers quit in droves (57 percent a year in Dallas County). That leaves hundreds of unfilled positions and high caseloads.
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TX: Texas Public Policy Foundation begins new child welfare initiative
Texas Tribune – October 31, 2016
The conservative Texas Public Policy Foundation is jumping into the conversation about finding fixes for the state’s flailing child welfare system, creating a Center for Families and Children to “propose conservative, child-oriented solutions that responsibly steward taxpayer money and respect the limits of state control while meeting the needs of Texas families.”
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TX: Leeson: It’s a lot more about the people of Texas than the politics of Texas (Opinion)
Lubbock Avalanche-Journal – October 29, 2016
On any given day in the past six months, nearly a thousand of Texas’ ‘highest-priority’ children – considered by the state to be at immediate risk of physical or sexual abuse – were not checked on even once by Child Protective Services investigators.”
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WA: Matt Driscoll: Can six shelter beds make a difference for Pierce County’s homeless youth? (Opinion)
News Tribune – October 31, 2016
In two years, Tacoma should have a 12-bed crisis residential center – known as a CRC in the social services business – for youths ages 12 to 17. It will be a place where youths experiencing homelessness can stay for up to 15 days, while staff members meet their immediate needs and address their long-term housing plan.
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WI: Journey House opens second property to house youth aging out of foster care
On Milwaukee – October 29, 2016
Each unit of the four-unit building, which had been a city-owned foreclosure, will house a teen who has aged out of the foster care system as part of the Campus Housing Initiative, a partnership between Journey House, Milwaukee County’s Project O-Yeah and the city of Milwaukee.
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US: Federal legislation aims to help students who are homeless or living in foster care
ABA Journal – November 01, 2016
In the past, legislative efforts to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education generally overlooked the unique needs of children who are homeless or living in foster care. But that situation is changing under the Every Student Succeeds Act, which contains a number of provisions that seek to provide greater stability in school for children who come from those backgrounds. The ABA is working to guarantee that regulations being implemented under the act effectively meet the needs of those students.
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US: Feds Propose More International Adoption Restrictions
World News Service – October 31, 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.
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US: Financial Aid for College not Reaching Foster Youth
Diverse – October 31, 2016
Although special programs have been set up at the state and federal level to provide financial aid for students who’ve been in foster care, the program requirements can be so confusing and restrictive that many foster youth “continue to slip through the cracks,” a new report has found. Report: Strengthening Policies for Foster Youth Postsecondary Attainment Strengthening Policies for Foster Youth Postsecondary Attainment 1 (ecs.org)
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US: The Role of Human Services Programs in Addressing Domestic Violence (Includes audio)
Administration for Children and Families – October 31, 2016
Mark Greenberg, Acting Assistant Secretary, Administration for Children and Families: During the Obama Administration, we’ve made it a priority at the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) to strengthen attention to domestic violence across ACF programs. As we commemorate Domestic Violence Awareness Month, I wanted to highlight what we’ve done and talk about why we’re encouraging all human services providers to working to end domestic violence.
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INTERNATIONAL

Australia: Child Abuse Report Line calls abandoned after long waits across South Australia
ABC News Australia – October 31, 2016
A caller wanting to report something to South Australia’s Child Abuse Report Line had to wait almost seven hours for their call to be answered, statistics reveal.
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Canada: Federal government should immediately comply with Canadian Human Rights Tribunal ruling: Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth
Canada News Wire – October 31, 2016
The Office of the Provincial Advocate for Children and Youth urges the Federal Government of Canada to comply with the legal orders issued by the Canadian Human Rights Tribunal and provide immediate funding to child welfare services on reserves, as well as adopt Jordan’s Principle.
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Nigeria: Child marriage is child abuse – Anglican Bishop
Punch – October 30, 2016
The cleric, apparently speaking against the backdrop of an alleged forced marriage between a 14-year-old girl, Habiba Isa and one Jamiu Lawal, noted that the consequence of such marriage could be grave for the victim.
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