Outside of the traditional foster care system exists a shadow system of potentially hundreds of thousands of children removed by CPS to their relatives or family friends—without a court case, monetary support, or due process.
Child welfare cases are at a 14-year high months after Los Angeles County’s Dependency Court reopened in June. Families and attorneys are struggling in virtual courtrooms.
Child welfare agencies use a shadow system to remove kids from their parents’ care. Nobody knows how many children are placed this way or what happens to them in new homes.
The Virginia Department of Social Services has seen a 50% drop in calls to the child abuse and neglect hotline since mid-March, but social workers are concerned that an increase in domestic violence and child abuse may be going unreported.
Federal offficials are concerned families could be penalized unfairly.
Are parents whose children are being removed from their homes following allegations of abuse and neglect being billed for the cost of foster care and family reunification services? The signs suggest yes.
The Office of the Children’s Ombudsman will investigate complaints concerning the Virginia Department of Social Services and will have a heavy focus on foster care and child-placing decisions.
Ashley wanted the abuse to stop. But Butch, her adoptive father, was always around.
I met Ashley for the first time in March 2015 at a Noodles & Company in Indianapolis. Her adoptive father Craig Peterson had arranged the meeting. He initially reached out to me about an article I'd written, then shared bits of Ashley's story.
Ashley stepped out of Sandy’s red-and-white van. The 10-year-old didn’t say a word, didn’t glance back at Sandy, her adoptive mother. And she refused to meet the hazel eyes of the man waiting in front of her.
