As reported by Florida Politics, a new report shows that most young children’s visits to emergency departments were related to a lack of preventive care, even when Medicaid covers the services. Read more here.
A New Mexico jury has awarded $485 million in damages in a civil case involving a child sexually assaulted in foster care. As reported by AP, the program allegedly placed the girl in the home of a foster parent despite knowing that he had been accused of sexual assault. Read... View Article
U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks has ruled that Florida must find better placement options for medically fragile kids and neglected disabled children who are placed in nursing homes. According to an article in the Miami Herald, about 140 medically fragile children live in nursing homes, with another 1,800 at... View Article
A guardian ad litem (GAL) is an important advocate for children who may be the victims of child abuse or child neglect. With the passing of House Bill 1555, the Illinois Marriage and Dissolution of Marriage Act (the statute currently governing the roles and duties) has been amended to prevent... View Article
Illinois’ General Assembly recently passed legislation that aims to reform criminal sentencing for minors, particularly those who are victims of child sex trafficking. House Bill 3414 adds to the factors that judges must consider when sentencing a child found guilty of a crime. Judges will now be required to consider... View Article
Recently introduced House Bill 3705 amends the Illinois’ Children and Family Services Act to reinforce the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services’ (DCFS) duty to children in foster care as well as its responsibility for placing youth in permanent family homes through guardianship or adoption (as opposed to adoptive homes)... View Article
A federal lawsuit recently held child abuse pediatricians, hospitals, and the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) accountable for their actions with regard to situations involving Illinois child welfare. In his recent ruling, Judge Joe B. McDade of the United States District Court for the Central District of... View Article
As reported by Liberty One, The Volusia Sheriff’s Office recently arrested a Florida couple on charges related to what they are calling “a brutal pattern of child neglect, abuse, and torture.” Read more here.
DCFS licensed a three-time convicted felon as a foster parent and subsequently placed a 16-year-old sex trafficking victim into his care. DCFS placed the girl with the 24-year-old pimp, Erick Johnson, just months after he was released from federal prison after a 24-month sentence on a firearms charge. Before that,... View Article
Despite three decades of litigation by the American Civil Liberties Union, broken promises, court orders, news reports, and letters from informed officials, DCFS continually lacks placements for children in its care, forcing some foster children to be wrongfully incarcerated. The recent lawsuit seeks to represent all individuals placed in DCFS... View Article