Press Releases
Mississippi Fails to Tackle Systemic Failures at DFCS
(New York, NY) —- A new report by the court-appointed monitor shows that the Mississippi Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) is struggling to ensure the basic safety of abused and neglected children in state care — despite a modified settlement agreement filed six months ago addressing the state’s consistent failure to improve system-wide. The reform efforts were spurred by Children’s Rights when the national advocacy group filed a class action suit against the state in 2004.
February 6, 2013Tennessee’s Dept. of Children’s Services Commissioner Resigns
(Nashville, TN) — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam announced that Department of Children’s Services (DCS) Commissioner Kate O’Day has resigned from her post. In response to this news, Ira Lustbader, associate director of Children’s Rights, issued the following statement.
January 17, 2013Massachusetts Child Welfare Case Goes to Trial on Tuesday
(Boston, MA) — U.S. District Judge William Young has determined that the trial for a federal class action lawsuit seeking to reform Massachusetts’ deeply-troubled child welfare system will begin on Tuesday, January 22, 2013.
December 19, 2012NJ Must Improve Core Services for Foster Kids to Remain a Leader in Child Welfare Reform
(Newark, NJ) — Today an independent federal court monitor released a progress report (PDF) on New Jersey’s child welfare reform effort, a campaign spurred by national advocacy group Children’s Rights. In response to the report, which covers the first half of 2012, Children’s Rights Executive Director Marcia Robinson Lowry released this statement.
December 18, 2012Atlanta Takes Major Steps to Address Foster Care Safety Issues, but Struggles with Growing Caseloads
(New York, NY) — Today federal court monitors released a report (PDF) tracking metropolitan Atlanta’s progress in reforming the child welfare system of DeKalb and Fulton Counties, an effort spurred by national advocacy group Children’s Rights known as the Kenny A. lawsuit.
December 17, 2012Report: D.C. Child Welfare Reform Builds Momentum Under New Leadership
Solid improvement needed as investigative workers exceed caseload limits & data problems linger (Washington, DC) — A report released today says new leadership at the Children and Family Services Agency (CFSA) is moving the District of Columbia’s long-struggling child welfare agency toward the path of reform.
October 3, 2012Massachusetts Fails to Ensure the Safe Administration of Psychotropic Medications to Children in Foster Care
(Boston, MA) — The Massachusetts Department of Children and Families (DCF) lacks an oversight system and qualified staff to ensure that foster children are safely and appropriately administered psychiatric prescriptions, according to an expert report released today by attorneys for Children’s Rights, who represent foster children in a lawsuit against the state.
September 28, 2012Wisconsin Poised to Achieve Compliance with Reform Plan that Overhauls Milwaukee Child Welfare System
Today state reviewers issued a report tracking the continued progress of The Wisconsin Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare (BMCW) in reforming its child welfare system — an effort launched by national advocacy group Children’s Rights.
August 23, 2012New Reports Show Massachusetts Failing to Protect Children in Foster Care
(Boston, MA) — A massive review of Massachusetts foster care shows that nearly one in five children who have been in state care for at least two years have suffered confirmed abuse or neglect — all while in the custody of the state Department of Children and Families (DCF).
July 25, 2012Child Welfare Experts Approve Plan to Reform Oklahoma Foster Care
Children’s Rights: Result is a Roadmap That ‘Inevitably Will Transform’ Child Welfare
