Press Releases
End of Federal Court Oversight in View as Tennessee Dramatically Improves Care for Thousands of Abused and Neglected Kids
NASHVILLE – Nine years into a historic effort spurred by the national advocacy group Children’s Rights to reform the once-failing Tennessee child welfare system, a new progress report shows that the state’s abused and neglected children are dramatically safer and better cared for in state custody — and the end of federal court oversight of […]
October 5, 2010Mississippi Foster Children Continue to Be Harmed, Advocates Ask Court to Act
JACKSON, MISS. – Citing the well-documented and consistent failure of Mississippi’s Division of Family and Children’s Services (DFCS) to improve its deeply dysfunctional foster care system as required by the settlement of a federal class action lawsuit, the national advocacy group Children’s Rights today filed a motion for contempt calling for the federal court to […]
September 29, 2010Fifth Annual Children’s Rights Benefit Honors Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, Features Gov. Jon S. Corzine — Oct. 19 in NYC
NEW YORK CITY – To raise awareness and support for its ongoing battles to defend the lives and legal rights of abused and neglected children in foster care across the United States, Children’s Rights will hold its Fifth Annual Benefit — honoring philanthropist and hip-hop icon Darryl “DMC” McDaniels — on Tuesday, October 19, 2010, […]
September 28, 2010Condemning DC Leaders’ Inaction, Federal Judge Orders Immediate Funding for Teens Aging Out of DC Foster Care
WASHINGTON, DC — Slamming city officials for a history of “obstinate conduct” and “running the clock” by challenging court-ordered child welfare reforms rather than implementing them, the federal judge presiding over a long-running class action brought by Children’s Rights to reform the District of Columbia’s troubled child welfare system today ordered District officials to allocate […]
September 22, 2010Connecticut Must Complete Court-Ordered Child Welfare Reform, Federal Judge Rules
HARTFORD – Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families must immediately renew its work to complete a massive court-ordered effort to reform its child welfare services for thousands of abused and neglected kids statewide, according to a ruling today by the federal judge overseeing a class action brought by Children’s Rights, rejecting the state’s motion to […]
September 9, 2010Mississippi Still Unable to Track Foster Kids’ Safety Nearly Three Years into Reform Effort
JACKSON, MS — Nearly three years into a massive court-ordered effort to reform the failing Mississippi child welfare system, a new report by an independent monitor shows that the Mississippi Department of Family and Children Services (DFCS) has made little to no progress in improving its care and treatment of the approximately 3,500 abused and […]
July 22, 2010Children’s Advocates Demand Swift Action as Abuse Rises in Atlanta Foster Care and Reforms Erode
ATLANTA – Children in Atlanta foster care are suffering abuse and neglect in increasing numbers in their state-supervised foster homes and institutions, according to a new report issued today on the state-run Atlanta child welfare system — and advocates for the city’s vulnerable children are calling on state officials to act quickly to rectify this […]
July 6, 2010National Child Welfare Expert William Meezan Joins Children’s Rights as Director of Policy and Research
NEW YORK CITY – Noted child welfare scholar and educator William Meezan has joined the national advocacy organization Children’s Rights as director of policy and research. Meezan comes to Children’s Rights from the Ohio State University, where he was a professor of social work and served as dean of the College of Social Work from […]
June 18, 2010Huge Victory for Rhode Island Foster Kids as Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Class Action Seeking Sweeping Reforms
BOSTON, MA. – Children in the custody of Rhode Island’s failing foster care system won a huge victory today as a federal appeals court reinstated a federal class action lawsuit brought against the state on the children’s behalf by Rhode Island Child Advocate Jametta Alston and the national advocacy organization Children’s Rights, seeking sweeping child […]
June 1, 2010New Jersey Child Welfare System Sustains Vital Improvements, but Must Strengthen Efforts to Meet Vulnerable Families’ Needs
NEWARK, NJ — While New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) is continuing to maintain its success in improving fundamental areas of the child welfare system, such as sustaining manageable caseloads and moving children out of foster care and into permanent homes, a new report says the state is falling short — sometimes by […]