I was born in Ohio 26 years ago. There were happy moments with my mother. But there were bad times too. I was abused by my uncles when I was very young. At the age of 7, I accidentally set the house on fire. That led to a Child Services report. I wound up in […]
This has been such a difficult time for so many families. I have three small children who should be having play dates or be in preschool. Keeping them busy has been a challenge. But thanks to a supportive partner, whose brother is our child care provider, and an amazing extended family of parents and grandparents […]
My mother spent time in foster care and promised herself she wouldn’t let it happen to me. I know she loved me. But addiction is a hard battle to fight. I saw my first drug deal when I was five – I was 14 before it clicked what was in that lunch sack. When I […]
Honor and share Cornelius’ memory: Facebook Twitter Instagram Today, we are thinking about Cornelius Frederick. Cornelius was a softhearted, rambunctious Black 16-year old child. He loved chess, card tricks, and computers. He was a loving brother and nephew who dreamed of being a counselor one day. His life was not easy. At age 10, he […]
Meet McClain Bryant Macklin. When a federal judge approved a settlement last January in a class action case brought by Children’s Rights and local partners in Kansas, he said it provides “real value” to the more than 7,000 children in the foster care system. McClain Bryant Macklin remembers how good it felt to know her organization, Health Forward Foundation, […]
Yesterday the jurors in Minneapolis held former police officer Derek Chauvin accountable for the brutal murder of George Floyd. The nine-minute video of that crime was shot by a 17-year old child. Children see and know much more than we think they do. George Floyd’s death taught them that the world is not always a […]
I was born in Nashua, New Hampshire. When I was three months old, my mother died. My sister and I went to live with our father in Hartford, Connecticut. We spent the next ten years there. Hartford is a difficult place for a child to grow up. It’s a rough city with failing infrastructure, high […]
In just three months, Children’s Rights made amazing progress for kids—including securing key reforms to give children a better chance at a stable home, improving access to health and mental health services, and ending the cruel use of restraints and solitary confinement in a boy’s group home in Iowa.
Christen Douglas, a member of the Children’s Rights National Advisory Council, is a partner at the law firm McDermott Will & Emery, where her practice is focused on trust and estates. She also advises clients on philanthropic planning and private charitable foundations. Christen has joined the CR Legacy Society by designating CR as a beneficiary […]
When I see the never-ending news reports about the inhumane conditions children in migrant detention centers are being forced to live in, I am reminded of my own experiences growing up in foster care facilities. This article got it exactly right. What’s happening to children at the border is a travesty. But it’s also happening […]
