child welfare

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Youngest Turpin Siblings Detail Alleged Abuse in Foster Care

They claim in suit they were forced to overeat and then eat their own vomit

(Newser) - Update: The six youngest Turpin siblings have sued Riverside County and foster care agency ChildNet, alleging that in the years after their 2018 rescue from their parents' Perris, Calif., home, they were subjected to "severe abuse and neglect" while in foster care. The suit claims the foster family they...

'Kidnapper' Shirts Don't End Well for Child Welfare Staff

Arizona Department of Child Safety workers reportedly wore 'Professional kidnapper' tees

(Newser) - An Arizona Department of Child Safety office is a bit short-staffed these days, reportedly because several workers were fired after wearing eyebrow-raising attire. Sources tell the Arizona Republic that multiple DCS employees in Prescott were canned after a photo circulated showing them wearing bright pink T-shirts, seemingly during work hours,...

Girl Visiting Dad in Jail Had to Do 'Traumatizing' Thing First

Civil rights activists are outraged 8-year-old was strip-searched at Virginia correctional facility

(Newser) - An 8-year-old who visited her dad in a Virginia prison received an unpleasant surprise there that has civil rights activists outraged. The Virginian-Pilot reports on Nov. 24, the father's girlfriend, Diamond Peerman, took the girl to Buckingham Correctional Center in Dillwyn. Once there, a drug-sniffing dog focused on Peerman,...

Files on Hart Family Detail Harsh Punishment Over Pizza

Reports from child-welfare officials in 3 states released

(Newser) - In the wake of the Hart family's death at the bottom of a Northern California cliff comes the release of reports by child-welfare officials in Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington state that the New York Times sees as peppered with "clues" as to what was going on inside the...

Social Worker Called 911 the Day the Hart Family Died

She said she was worried children weren't being fed

(Newser) - A social worker worried about the welfare of the Hart family called 911 in Washington state the same day the family's SUV plunged off a cliff in California. The Department of Social and Health Services employee told dispatchers in the March 26 call that she was requesting a welfare...

Mom Accused of Killing Daughter Was Child Welfare Worker

Sara Packer worked as an adoption supervisor until 2010

(Newser) - A Pennsylvania woman charged with killing and dismembering her adoptive daughter as part of a rape-murder fantasy she and her boyfriend shared had previously worked as an adoption supervisor for a children's welfare agency, authorities said Monday. Sara Packer worked as a supervisor for the Northampton County Children, Youth,...

Save the Children Ranks Best, Worst Countries to Be a Girl in
It's Better to Be a Girl
in Algeria Than the US
new report

It's Better to Be a Girl in Algeria Than the US

The makeup of Congress doesn't help

(Newser) - Norway, Slovenia, Israel, Algeria, and Kazakhstan are among 31 countries where it's better to be a girl than the United States of America, according to the "Opportunity Index" in a new Save the Children report on the welfare of girls worldwide. Denmark was in first place and Niger...

Teen Dies After 68-Day Fast, Family Faces Homicide Charges

13-year-old Aradhana Samdariya was taking part in ancient religious ritual

(Newser) - For more than two months, a 13-year-old in India took part in an extreme religious fast, reports the BBC . Early this month she called off that fast, but she fell into a coma two days later and died of cardiac arrest on Oct. 4—and now her parents, well-off jewelers...

Vegan Mom Accused of Feeding Baby Only Fruits, Nuts

Family says Elizabeth Hawk wanted to live on 'water and sunlight' herself

(Newser) - A vegan Pennsylvania woman who was, per her family, determined to live on "water and sunlight" apparently took her extreme dietary views too far and has now been accused of starving her 11-month-old baby, feeding him nothing but fruit and nuts, CBS Pittsburgh reports. The child's father, who'...

Teen's Plan to Die Runs Into Opposition

Disability groups are asking child services to intervene in Jerika Bolen's plan

(Newser) - Jerika Bolen made it very clear earlier this year that she was going to attend her prom , spend a final summer with her mom, and then end her life . But instead of a "magical" ending for the Wisconsin 14-year-old, who has an incredibly painful incurable illness, she and her...

Weiner: Yes, Child Services Is on My Case

NYC agency delivered investigation letter to his mom's house

(Newser) - There were whispers that child welfare authorities could be knocking on Anthony Weiner's door after his most recent sexting fiasco , and now that possibility has come to fruition. The former NYC mayoral candidate himself confirmed Thursday to the New York Times that the city's Administration for Children'...

Weiner's Woes Could Lead to 'Ugly' Custody Battle

Woody Allen couldn't write a movie script like this, divorce lawyer says

(Newser) - Anthony Weiner has already lost wife Huma Abedin over his latest sexting transgressions, but the fact that Weiner's young son may have been in one of his late-night selfie sessions could have him in trouble with child services. Experts tell the New York Daily News —which says it...

Mom's Arrest Underscores Ambiguity of Leaving Kids Alone

Children in this case were 8 and 9; mom left them for 45 minutes to pick up food

(Newser) - A Maryland mom who made a food run while vacationing in Rehoboth Beach, Del., probably wishes she had just microwaved some pizza bagels. Rehoboth Beach Police Lt. Jaime Riddle says 55-year-old Susan Terrillion was arrested Tuesday and charged with endangering the welfare of her 8-year-old and 9-year-old kids after she...

Boy Left in Woods Cried So Much He Lost Sense of Direction

Cops referring case to child welfare authorities

(Newser) - Yamato Tanooka was found alive and well on Friday after a frantic six-day search—but his parents aren't out of the woods yet. The 7-year-old was left alone on a forest road in Hokkaido as punishment for throwing rocks, and police are now considering investigating his parents for psychological...

Man Raped at 14 Has to Pay Child Support
Man Raped at 14
Has to Pay Child Support 
in case you missed it

Man Raped at 14 Has to Pay Child Support

He found out only recently that he fathered a child 10 years ago

(Newser) - Nick Olivas got the shock of his life two years ago when he was hit with a child support demand from the state of Arizona—for a child he fathered when he was 14 years old. In that state, a child under the age of 15 can't consent to...

NYC Yanks Kids From Pothead Parents

Marijuana, cocaine, heroin given same treatment by child welfare agencies

(Newser) - Heroin, cocaine, and Mary Jane are all treated the same by child welfare authorities in New York City: even a legal amount of marijuana at home means your children can be taken away, even permanently, the New York Times reports. Several hundred of the city's casual dope smokers have...

Dad Loses Baby He Left in Car to Watch Strippers

Authorities meeting with boy's relatives

(Newser) - A New Zealand dad has lost his baby to child welfare authorities after he left the boy in his car for hours yesterday while he went to a bar to watch strippers. A passer-by spotted the tot dozing at 3 in the morning and called police. Leaving a child alone...

After Foster Care, Kids in Dire Straits

College is a rarity and crime is common, new study finds

(Newser) - States cut loose foster kids when they age out of programs at 18, and the abrupt cutoff usually takes a toll on their prospects for success, says a new study. The University of Chicago survey found that by 24, just 6% of former foster kids have a college degree of...

Carnival Samba Queen, 7, Breaks Down

Rio spotlight too much for youngest drum corps queen

(Newser) - In the end it wasn't the angry child welfare advocates or the family court judge that hampered seven-year-old samba queen Julia Lira from carrying out her controversial role at the Rio de Janeiro carnival: It was Lira herself. Lira broke down in tears just 10 minutes into last night's parade,...

Study Finds Sharp Drop in Child Abuse

Public awareness campaigns credited with helping abuse drop 26% since '93

(Newser) - Cases of child abuse and neglect have fallen sharply since the early '90s, according a huge federal study. A total of 553,000 children suffered physical, emotional, or sexual abuse in 2005-6, the study found, down 26% from the 743,200 abuse victims in 1993. Cases of sexual abuse were...

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