U.S. District Court Chief Judge Thomas Thrash in Atlanta recently certified the lawsuit as a class action, meaning it will affect all those at the jail who qualify for special education services. “This decision allows us to represent not just our clients but the hundreds of other students like them who pass through the DeKalb […]
A federal judge approved on Thursday a settlement that aims to fix problems in the child welfare system in Kansas. U.S. District Judge Daniel Crabtree said in his ruling that the agreement provides “real value” to the more than 7,000 children in the foster care system. The judge said it addresses needs identified in the […]
Initially, Black families were excluded from child welfare systems entirely. It wasn’t until child welfare legislation was fully developed in the late 20th century that the focus shifted to families of color. Later, the welfare system became a means of separating Black families and facilitating unnecessary transracial adoptions. Black children are separated from their parents […]
KANSAS CITY, Kan. (WIBW) – The Kansas foster care system will soon see some dramatic changes regarding housing and mental health of children in state care. Kansas Appleseed says on Friday, a federal judge indicated that he plans to approve a settlement agreement between attorneys that represent almost 7,000 children in foster care and Kansas […]
As lifelong advocates for the health and protection of Maine’s children, we are stunned by the Maine Department of Health and Human Services’ difficulties addressing the issue of monitoring the prescription of psychotropic drugs among our state’s fostered population. According to a Jan. 7 article in the Portland Press Herald, children’s advocates have filed federal suit […]
The recent lawsuit filed against Maine DHHS alleging the overuse and misuse of psychotropic medications for children in state custody underscores the need for continued vigilance to ensure Maine’s most vulnerable kids are getting the care they need. Children who have experienced abuse or neglect at home and need to be removed for their safety […]
“It is unconscionable that in its closing days, this administration is finalizing a rule change that would roll back non-discrimination provisions for programs funded with taxpayer dollars through the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), including child welfare agencies,” said Christina Remlin, lead counsel for Children’s Rights, which has spent the past year speaking […]
A federal class action lawsuit filed against the state of Maine alleging that hundreds of children in foster care are being given potentially harmful psychotropic drugs without adequate safeguards. The suit is asking the state to take several immediate steps to protect kids’ constitutional rights. Brought by the national advocacy group, Children’s Rights, the Portland, […]
Christy Johnson’s heart dropped in February when she first stepped into a facility for children with serious mental and behavioral health issues in Courtland, a few miles from the Tennessee River in northern Alabama, run by Sequel Youth & Family Services. “There was a particular room,” said Johnson, investigations supervisor for the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy […]
As 2020 draws to a close, our nation’s children—despite strides made over the last year to keep them safe—are still being harmed in the very child welfare systems meant to protect them. We keep relearning the same lesson: the state is not a good parent, and it cannot effectively substitute a parent-child bond with a […]
