Press Releases
Atlanta Foster Care Reforms Lagging, New Report Says
ATLANTA, GA — In spite of some improvements, the Atlanta foster care system is still failing to make required progress toward reform in many critical areas, according to a new, court-ordered monitoring report released today. The independent report was required under the 2005 settlement of Kenny A. v. Perdue, a federal class action brought against […]
November 8, 2007Mississippi Settles Lawsuit, Agrees to Comprehensive Reform of Child Welfare System
NEW YORK, NY — A settlement agreement mandating top-to-bottom reform of Mississippi’s long-failing child welfare system has been reached in the federal class action brought against the state by the national advocacy group Children’s Rights and a team of attorneys from Mississippi and across the country. The settlement, submitted for preliminary court approval, resolves the […]
October 22, 2007New Jersey Makes Additional Progress Toward Court-Ordered Child Welfare Reform
NEW YORK, NY — Although significant challenges remain, New Jersey’s Department of Children and Families (DCF) has mostly completed the first phase of a massive reform effort required under the settlement of the landmark class action brought against the state by Children’s Rights on behalf of children in New Jersey’s child welfare system, according to […]
October 3, 2007Forty-Nine States Falling Short of Adequate Reimbursement Rates for Foster Care, Study Shows
NEW YORK, NY — States across the nation must raise the rates by which they reimburse foster parents by an average of 36 percent to cover the actual costs of supporting a child in foster care, according to a new report released today by Children’s Rights, the National Foster Parent Association, and the University of […]
September 24, 2007Despite Improvements, Reports Show Urgent Need to Improve Planning and Services for Children in Connecticut
Two major reports evaluating Connecticut’s Department of Children and Families (DCF), released today, reveal that while DCF has made impressive progress in implementing improvements required by a longstanding court order to reform its child welfare services, a new sense of urgency is needed to address system-wide “gridlock,” waitlists for services, and other serious problems that […]
September 18, 2007Tennessee Foster Care Report: Significant Improvements in Key Areas, But Serious Problems Remain
Six years after the settlement of a landmark federal lawsuit charging Tennessee’s child welfare agency with violating the constitutional rights of the children in its care, the state has made significant progress toward implementing major reforms, according to a comprehensive monitoring report released today–but still must address serious problems to meet the requirements of the […]
July 23, 2007Children Are Not Doing Better in New York City Child Welfare System, Despite Ten Years of Reform Efforts
NEW YORK, NY — Outcomes for children and families in New York City’s child welfare system have not significantly improved, despite reform efforts over the last decade, a new study shows. Released today by the national watchdog group Children’s Rights, the report examines ten years of data, including the most recent data available, and concludes […]
June 28, 2007Children’s Rights and Rhode Island Child Advocate Sue to Protect Rhode Island Foster Children
PROVIDENCE, RI — The Child Advocate of Rhode Island, joined by national child advocacy group Children’s Rights and the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP, filed suit today in federal court seeking to reform the Rhode Island child welfare system, to protect the rights of the approximately 3,000 children living in state custody. The […]
June 18, 2007Atlanta Foster Children at Risk as Georgia Fails to Make Court-Ordered Child Welfare Improvements
ATLANTA, GA — A court-ordered monitoring report of the Atlanta foster care system released today shows limited progress amidst serious problems, including failure to monitor children’s safety in foster care. The report is the second under a 2005 federal court settlement between Georgia and national watchdog group Children’s Rights. Today’s report shows Georgia has failed […]
May 17, 2007Scores of Mississippians Report Urgent Need for Foster Care Overhaul
Counsel for the approximately 3,500 foster children in Mississippi will present a settlement agreement for approval today at a hearing before Federal District Court Judge Tom S. Lee, in the child welfare reform lawsuit known as Olivia Y. v. Barbour. Faced with a liability trial scheduled for this month, the state of Mississippi reached a […]
