Press Releases
Children’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 […]
April 15, 2010Citing Widespread Abuse of Kids in Foster Care and Seeking Sweeping Reforms, Advocates Sue Massachusetts Governor
SPRINGFIELD & BOSTON, MA — Citing one of the nation’s highest rates of abuse of children in foster care and other persistent and severe problems throughout the Massachusetts child welfare system, the national advocacy group Children’s Rights and Boston law firm Nutter McClennen & Fish LLP — with the support of advocates and families throughout […]
April 12, 2010Connecticut Fails to Meet Basic Needs of Abused and Neglected Kids — Advocates Threaten Further Legal Action
HARTFORD, CT — The Connecticut Department of Children and Families (DCF) is failing to meet its fundamental obligations to the abused and neglected children who depend on it, says the national advocacy group behind a long-running federal class action to reform the Connecticut child welfare system — and the advocates have notified DCFthat it is […]
April 5, 2010Federal Court Holds DC Mayor Fenty in Contempt for Child Welfare Failings; District Must Fully Implement Reforms
WASHINGTON, DC — The federal judge presiding over a long-running Children’s Rights class action seeking the reform of the Washington, DC, child welfare system today handed down a ruling that holds the District and its mayor, Adrian Fenty, in civil contempt for failing to comply with the requirements of federal court orders mandating widespread improvements […]
March 24, 2010Kids in Foster Care Suffer as Oklahoma Child Welfare Agency Fails to Track Workers’ Caseloads
TULSA, OK — As a new expert review of children in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Human Services draws connections between the agency’s failures and horrific incidences of child abuse and neglect on its watch,DHS has admitted that it does not systematically track the total number of cases it assigns to the child […]
March 22, 2010Huge Victory for Abused and Neglected Kids as Tennessee Repeals Law Interfering with Juvenile Court Hearings
NASHVILLE, TN — Under pressure from legal action by Children’s Rights to protect vulnerable children facing life-altering decisions in juvenile court hearings, the Tennessee General Assembly has voted to repeal a misguided law aimed at interfering with local judges’ decision-making, and sent the revised legislation to be signed by Governor Phil Bredesen. Under the law, […]
March 21, 2010Milwaukee Must Focus on Maintaining Stability in Foster Care Placements and Returning Kids Home More Quickly
MILWAUKEE, WI — While the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare (BMCW) has made important progress in implementing widespread reforms required under a court order secured by Children’s Rights — including dramatically reducing the number of children who suffer abuse or neglect in their foster homes — a new progress report shows that too many children […]
