It is a tough time for America’s children. The opioid crisis is driving up the number of children entering foster care, thousands of immigrant children remain in detention facilities, and government cuts to basic nutrition, health and anti-poverty programs put hundreds of thousands of kids at risk. And our political system has for decades been […]

Browse our Spring 2018 newsletter below: On the Frontlines: From CR’s Executive Director In Focus: Children of the Opioid Crisis: A Growing Number Got Hope? Pin by Ronald Draper to Benefit Children’s Rights CR Insider: Greg Hecht Children’s Rights Champion Ride #RideForKids Children’s Rights’ Petition: Stop Separating Children from their Families at the U.S. Border […]

The nation’s opioid epidemic is landing an unprecedented number of children in foster care as their parents struggle with substance abuse. With the proper supports and services, many of these families could remain intact. In CR’s fall newsletter cover story, “Preserving Family Connections For Children in Foster Care,” we take an in-depth look at a growing movement to maintain family ties.

For decades, thousands of young people in Texas foster care have suffered in a severely broken system where overwhelming caseloads, too few foster homes and poor oversight are the norm. In our cover story of Notes From the Field, you’ll hear from several youth who experienced the devastating effects of Texas’ beleaguered “permanent foster care” system.

Most children who are adopted from foster care join loving families that last, but all too often kids are placed in “forever homes,” only to have their stability shatter. As we see in the cover story of Notes From the Field, the effects of broken adoptions are tragic – children can end up on the streets, back in state care or “rehomed.”

Across the country, children are suffering because of a severe shortage of foster homes. They’re being placed in shelters, mental hospitals, and spending the night in child welfare offices, simply because states have nowhere else for them to go.

Countless young people across the United States are being swept into the pipeline between foster care and sex trafficking every year, and their stories are heartbreaking. In the fall edition of the Children’s Rights newsletter, Notes From the Field, we feature the story of Crystal, who grew up in state care and was coerced into the sex trade at 18.

Nearly 640,000 young people depend on caseworkers to keep them safe in U.S. foster care each year. But with little training, unmanageable caseloads and long hours on small salaries, adequately protecting kids can be difficult. And, as we see in the cover story of Notes From the Field, the effects can be devastating.