The state of Illinois has been collecting the financial benefits for abused, neglected and abandoned children in foster care as state revenue rather than providing the benefits to the children. Last year, the benefits collected totaled over $14.2 million from sources such as disabilities or monies owed deceased parents from... View Article
The State of Illinois’ Office of the Auditor General recently published a performance audit report detailing the Department of Children and Family Services’ (DCFS) care of LGBTQ youth. The children are in care because they have been abused and neglected. The report finds LGBTQ youth in DCFS care are ostracized... View Article
On April 29, 2020, 16-year-old Cornelius Fredrick threw a sandwich at another child during lunch at Lakeside Academy, a Sequel Youth and Family Services facility for at risk children in Michigan. In response to the sandwich incident, seven adult male staff members held little Cornelius on the floor for more than 10... View Article
Until recently, the state of Florida has continued to abandon foster children who had already been abused and neglected, even after they left state care, by improperly removing 1,730 former foster children from Medicaid. Former foster children, under federal law, remain Medicaid eligible until age 26. However, a current Florida... View Article
The coronavirus pandemic has left many victims in its wake, and the nation’s foster care system is no exception. A recent NBC news article reveals that more kids are entering the foster care system, but fewer families are willing to house them in fear of spreading Covid-19. Children in highly... View Article
When Florida’s child welfare system fails, the child pays the ultimate price. Far too often, warning signs are overlooked by the private agencies entrusted to care for our kids. In the case of one young boy in Osceola county, they were ignored for four years. This tragic lack of oversight... View Article
USA Today is publishing an ongoing investigative series about Florida’s child welfare system. In one of the latest pieces, the newspaper explores how serious allegations against foster parents often go unchecked in our state, and how DCF and contractors sometimes cut corners in screening and investigating potential foster parents. Read... View Article
This article from the Tampa Bay Times discusses the many issues with inconsistency when it comes to crucial child placement decisions. Florida’s Children First’s Robin Rosenberg notes that the court doesn’t always get accurate information with which to make the best decision. Click here to read more.
As reported by the Miami Herald, “Eleven children and seven staff members have tested positive for COVID-19 in Florida’s largest group home for foster children.” Read more from the Miami Herald here.
Sadly, many of the challenges we are all facing during this pandemic are similar to what children in foster care experience every day. Hear firsthand from Florida Youth Shine advocate Jessica Overstreet in this op ed from Fostering Families Today magazine. Click here to read more.