The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a wide-ranging investigation into abuse and neglect of people with developmental disabilities at Illinois treatment facilities. Read more here.
This year marks the 20th anniversary of Florida Youth SHINE, Florida’s premiere youth advocacy, empowerment, and leadership group. The group was founded by the award-winning nonprofit organization Florida’s Children First and FCF Board Chair Howard Talenfeld, a lead partner of the Justice for Kids Division of Kelley Kronenberg. To help... View Article
By: Julianna Walo, Esquire The child welfare attorneys at Justice for Kids, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, regularly review cases where DCFS negligence claims arise from institutional failures in Illinois child advocacy. This particular case exemplifies why legal intervention is sometimes necessary to protect foster care rights and hold agencies accountable.... View Article
Despite eight prior calls to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) abuse hotline, a young boy was left in the care of his mother and is now catastrophically injured. Having exhausted all legal remedies, a claims bill (HB 6541) has been filed by Clermont Republican Rep. Taylor Yarkosky... View Article
A residential mental health treatment facility in Palm Beach County, Florida can’t admit new clients with a “history of self-harm, suicidal ideations or suicide attempts” according to an order issued by the state. As reported by WFLX Fox 29, the Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA) claims that employees at... View Article
By: Julianna Walo, Esquire The Illinois child welfare system faces unprecedented challenges in protecting our state’s most vulnerable children. As child protection services struggle with systemic issues and DCFS oversight remains under scrutiny, families and advocates need clear information about the foster care system. Here are the most pressing questions about... View Article
By: Julianna Walo, Esquire A Tragic Case Reshapes Illinois Daycare Safety Fifteen years ago, on January 14, 2009, a child’s death in the hands of a daycare led to many questions of child neglect and abuse. The daycare worker, Melissa Calusinski, was working at a daycare in a suburb of Chicago.... View Article
By: Julianna Walo, Esquire Illinois’ child welfare system is in crisis, with child advocacy groups increasingly concerned about systematic failures. Despite a landmark ACLU class action lawsuit filed 36 years ago (B.H. v. Johnson) meant to reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the treatment of children in... View Article
When adoptive parents welcome a child into their home, they trust adoption agencies to provide complete and accurate information about their child’s background. Unfortunately, this trust can be broken through adoption agency negligence–a serious legal issue that can have devastating consequences for families and may warrant an adoption negligence lawsuit. Such... View Article
Justice for Kids®, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, is pleased to announce that Business Unit Leader and Partner Stacie J. Schmerling has been selected to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite NOTABLE – Women Leaders in Law for 2024. Florida Trend’s editorial review team vetted and selected individual women leaders in law who qualified... View Article