Press Releases
DCF Improves Case Planning for Foster Children, but Backslides in Crucial Area — Keeping Kids Safe From Repeat Abuse and Neglect
While New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) recently made critical improvements in aspects of child welfare, the state is still struggling to meet its obligations in some core areas, such as keeping children safe from repeat maltreatment and finding them permanent homes, according to a progress report released by an independent federal court monitor.
October 1, 2013DCF Improves Case Planning for Foster Children, but Backslides in Crucial Area–Keeping Kids Safe From Repeat Abuse and Neglect
(New York) — While New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) recently made critical improvements in aspects of child welfare, the state is still struggling to meet its obligations in some core areas, such as keeping children safe from repeat maltreatment and finding them permanent homes, according to a progress report released today by an independent federal court monitor.
September 27, 2013Milwaukee Moves Closer to Reaching Final Goal of Foster Care Reform
Today, the Wisconsin Department of Children and Families’ Bureau of Performance Management released the latest report tracking the progress of the Wisconsin Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare (BMCW). The report, covering the first half of 2013, shows improvement in placement stability, the last unfulfilled Settlement Agreement requirement for foster care reform. In response, Eric Thompson, […]
August 28, 2013Federal Court Rules that Lawsuit Against State of Texas Can Proceed On Behalf of All Children In Long Term Foster Care
Children in permanent foster care in Texas can move forward with their lawsuit against the Department of Family and Protective Services (DFPS), claiming that the state has violated their constitutional rights and subjected them to harm, a federal court has ruled. In a 107-page decision (PDF) handed down this week, Senior U.S. District Judge Janis […]
August 7, 2013Metro Atlanta Backslides on Protecting Kids in Foster Care
New Report Shows Higher Rate of Maltreatment, Poorer Safety Monitoring (New York) — As Georgia experiences major changes in its child welfare leadership, new data shows that metropolitan Atlanta’s effort to protect abused and neglected children in foster care has suffered. According to the latest report from federal court monitors, the performance of the Department […]
July 12, 2013District of Columbia Falls Short on Investigating Child Maltreatment Allegations, Report Finds
While Reform Effort Shows Progress, Some Findings ‘Should Be of Great Concern’ to Child Welfare Officials, Says Children’s Rights (New York)–The District of Columbia’s Children and Family Services Agency (CFSA) has struggled to conduct quality investigations into alleged child abuse and neglect and has fallen short of meeting other court-ordered mandates, according to the latest […]
July 1, 2013Connecticut Moves More Kids Out of Institutions, Falls Short on Mental Health Services, Report Finds
(New York, NY) – Today an independent federal court monitor released a report that reviews the progress of Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) in reforming its child welfare system, a longstanding effort spurred by the national advocacy group Children’s Rights. In response to the report, covering the first quarter of 2013, Ira Lustbader, […]
June 24, 2013‘Disappointing’ Progress for Tennessee’s Foster Care System, Report Finds
(New York, NY) — Following years of steady improvement, the reform of Tennessee’s child welfare system stalled in 2012, leaving some kids waiting too long for workers to investigate abuse allegations, and many older youth ill-prepared for life after state care, according to a report filed today.
May 31, 2013First-Person Stories of Foster Care Come to Light for May Campaign
(New York, NY) – On May 1, in honor of National Foster Care Month, national advocacy organization Children’s Rights will launch Fostering the Future, a public awareness campaign that will give first-hand accounts of being a child in state care.
May 30, 2013Lax Supervision, Failure to Act at ‘Boys Home Of The South’ Led to Attack, Sexual Assault of 11 Year Old, Charges Lawsuit
(Abbeville, SC) — Unacceptably lax policies, combined with officials turning a blind eye to child-on-child assaults at an institution licensed and supervised by the South Carolina Department of Social Services (SCDSS), paved the way for an 11-year-old Abbeville County boy to be attacked and sexually assaulted at the facility in March of 2011, charged an amended complaint filed in the Abbeville County Court yesterday.