Until the coronavirus arrived, the gym was one place where I lived out loud. I have a passion for fitness; it keeps me sane. Now the virus has left me at home more these days which is not the normal for me. I do have an overwhelming 18 credits I’m working toward this semester as […]

Sandra Carpenter opened her home for over 16 years to 65 kids in the foster care system. After having 3 kids of her own, they extended their family, adopting 8 children. Being a foster parent isn’t the only way she has helped kids. Over 14 years ago, she opened an organization to support kinship placements and youth aging out of the system. Sandra shares her experience as a foster parent and child advocate.

The kids we represent are being forgotten and left behind by the systems charged with protecting them. Social distancing and fear of infection in the courts and among case workers have created new challenges that leave kids and their wellbeing to fall through the cracks. Children in the foster system can no longer have regularly […]

Generosity is what brings people together, especially in difficult times like these.  Children’s Rights is proud to support National Foster Care Day and #GivingTuesdayNow, two special ways to give back that are both happening on May 5. We hope you’ll join us and make it a day to remember for kids in foster care who need us […]

The COVID-19 crisis endangers young people transitioning out of foster care–without continued assistance, they will fall through the cracks. Foster youth already face increased odds for homelessness, unemployment, and other negative outcomes. As policymakers at both the state and federal level consider how to implement protections for American families from the economic and societal consequences […]

*Update, May 12, 2020 We are proud to have joined over 110 organizations and 650 foster youth, foster parents, and advocates calling for Congress to provide crucial supports to older youth facing the stress and disruptions resulting from COVID-19. We urge Congress to consider the series of legislative recommendations provided below for inclusion in the […]

Sheltering-in-place is a privilege. It’s for those with steady homes. Those who are living in a safe space, away from violence, and discrimination. Turn to our juvenile justice system where youth in detention centers, adult prisons, and juvenile justice facilities are either confined in unsanitary, unsafe conditions or forced into trauma-inducing 23-hour solitary confinement. Children in foster care too often don’t […]

“Anyone who does anything to help a child in his life is a hero.” – Mr. Rogers In today’s climate, it isn’t difficult to point to the heroes working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic sweeping the globe. They are our healthcare heroes, our grocery clerk heroes, our food delivery heroes all ensuring […]

Times of crisis demand bold action. That’s why Children’s Rights is calling for urgent policy changes now across the country to get children and youth out of jail, detention, group homes and institutions and into family homes. For the vast majority of children, the risk to their health in facilities cannot be justified. The COVID-19 […]

Children who enter the school are caught in a vicious cycle of violence perpetuated by the institutional shortcomings of a school that places very little emphasis on treating mental health disorders.