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
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.
Tragically, children in foster care are raped and physically assaulted at shelters like Youth Haven that are not equipped to address the individual therapeutic needs of children. The Fort Myers News Press has started a five-part series that offers an up-close look into the world of Anber, “who drifted in... View Article
As reported by the Associated Press, the foster care programs meant to provide migrant children with care while authorities work to connect them with parents, relatives or other sponsors may actually be harming them. A review of 38 legal claims obtained by the Associated Press — some of which have... View Article
On November 13, the Annie E. Casey Foundation released Fostering Youth Transitions, a report with the most comprehensive data ever collected across all 50 states to help illustrate how young people ages 14 and older are faring as they transition from foster care to adulthood. This first-of-its-kind report examines how... View Article
Talenfeld Law Founder Howard Talenfeld shares insights on the deficiencies in our state’s foster care program in this article from the Orlando Sentinel, “‘Baby steps’ made to protect kids 20 years after Kayla McKean, 6, was murdered by father.” According to Talenfeld, privatization of child-welfare services has resulted in more state... View Article