In a new research paper published on May 17, 2020, Suffering in Silence: How COVID-19 School Closures Inhibit the Reporting of Child Maltreatment, three researchers document how the closure of schools across the country is affecting reports of child abuse and neglect. The authors examine historical patterns of child abuse reports going down when schools
On Monday, February 24, 2020, the Supreme Court announced it will take up a case pursued by Catholic Charities of Philadelphia claiming the City of Philadelphia was engaged in religious discrimination when it pulled a child welfare contract because of the charity’s policy of not recognizing same sex couples for placements involving foster and adoptive
On December 13, the Boston Globe and ProPublica released their findings on the first national survey they conducted on state’s compliance with the only federal child abuse law, the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA). The reporters found that not one state complied with all of the legal requirements. CAPTA requires states to comply
On Tuesday, December 17, NPR’s Steve Inskeep and journalist with The Kansas City Star Laura Bauer discussed the investigation of the outcomes for foster care children in America. The 7-minute interview, “Kansas City Star’ Probe Uncover Failures In Foster Care System, illustrated what happens to children who age out of foster care. Bauer and her
On Thursday, December 12, the Senate HELP Committee approved the reauthorizations of the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) (S. 2971) and the Adoption Opportunities Act (S. 2969) by voice vote. Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) remarked that today, the Senate HELP Committee approval of legislation would help states prevent child abuse and ensure the
On Tuesday, November 13, the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on whether the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) should be upheld. Some Supreme Court observers were guessing that the Court may be leaning toward supporting the Trump Administration’s efforts to shut down the program. It can be difficult to judge how the Court will
On Wednesday, November 13, 2019, the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare (NCSACW) hosted a facilitated discussion with representatives from child welfare and healthcare agencies from Colorado, Delaware, and New York. The webinar provided an overview of the treatment needs of pregnant women with substance use disorders and the effects of exposure to
On Friday, November 1, HHS announced a “notice of exercise of enforcement discretion” along with an unpublished notice of proposed rulemaking to say that they would not enforce nondiscrimination rules or regulations except those specifically passed in law or ruled on by the Supreme Court. In effect, they won’t enforce the Obama era nondiscrimination rules
November is National Adoption Month—a time to recognize the importance of family and lift up the voices of youth in foster care. This National Adoption Month, we’re joining the Every Child Deserves a Family campaign to advocate for an end to discrimination in child welfare. Too often, youth in care are denied loving, identity-affirming homes
Child sexual abuse is preventable, yet the last decade the number of children exploited over the internet has grown substantially, and the federal government, technology companies, law enforcement, and the community-at-large are not doing enough to prevent, stop, or reduce the problem. The New York Times article, “The Internet Is Overrun with Images of Child