March 4, 2024
Teen Suicide and the Limits of Sociology
“No one, it appears, was free to just parent as they wanted to parent—free of the web of social ties that both gave their lives meaning and set firm constraints around expected behaviors.” This observation from a new book about the town of Poplar Grove—the fictional name for a real, wealthy community where there have…
March 1, 2024
How the Children’s Bureau Lost Its Way
“It’s definitely very empowering when you get involved. Like anytime I finish a pair of beaded earrings. I feel like, wow, I just did that.” This message of empowerment through beading was tweeted out by the federal Administration for Children and Families recently. It’s one of a series of head-scratching messages offered by the agency…
November 11, 2023
Why is NYC Telling Teachers to Not Keep Kids Safe?
When you see something, should you say something? According to the Office of Children and Family Services, it depends on the race of the victim. New guidance released last month for New York City teachers offers some unusual bits of advice. Rather than reporting suspected cases of abuse to the Administration for Children’s Services, teachers should actually…
November 2, 2023
How Churches Can Make a Difference in the Lives of Children Who Need Foster Care
Who is willing to foster a child? It’s a question that has vexed policymakers and civic leaders for decades. Most states have experienced a chronic shortage of foster families. Public service announcements tout the need, with the most recent theme being, “You don’t have to be perfect to be the perfect parent.” But fostering a…
October 23, 2023
Teach Your Children Well
A few years ago, David Brooks wrote a column in which he took a friend without a high school degree to a sandwich shop. “Suddenly,” he recounted, “I saw her face freeze up as she was confronted with sandwiches named ‘Padrino’ and ‘Pomodoro’ and ingredients like soppressata, capicollo and a striata baguette. I quickly asked…
October 10, 2023
New White House Proposal to Further Alienate Religious Foster Parents
“All young people in foster care, including those who happen to be LGBTQ, deserve affirming, supportive environments to call home,” said Kasey Suffredini of the Trevor Project, as she and other advocates applauded the recent announcement from the White House proposing rules to require training for foster parents in how to care for these youth. The rule might…
October 10, 2023
Judge Erik Pitchal’s Warped Mindset Led to Baby Ella Vitalis’ Death
Ella Vitalis was only three weeks old when her parents brought her to the hospital with two broken ankles, a fractured skull and a brain hemorrhage. The couple, who had been visited by police after a domestic-violence incident, offered no explanation for their daughter’s injuries. After an investigation, the Administration for Children’s Services took Ella and her brother,…
October 5, 2023
DCS Has Failed Children It Was Supposed to Protect, This Lawsuit Shows Why
What should anger us most about the life of Kimberly F., a 15-year-old Indiana girl in the custody of the state’s Department of Child Services? That she was repeatedly sexually abused by at least three men? That those responsible for her allowed the abuse to continue? That the state repeatedly kept her in the care…
September 26, 2023
Former Foster Kids Need More Than Higher Education
When I tell people that I write about child welfare and the foster care system, the question I am most often asked is “What can we do about the problem of kids aging out?” “Aging out” is what happens when these teens and young adults — about 40,000 each year — leave foster care without being adopted…
September 25, 2023
As NYC Reels from Fentanyl Day Care Tragedy, Child Care Overdoses Are More Common Than We Think
“He had so much love,” Zoila Dominici said of her 1-year-old son Nicholas who died last week from fentanyl exposure after his home-based day care in The Bronx, Divino Nino, was found to be doubling as a drug den. Three other toddlers were hospitalized when the fentanyl fumes were absorbed into their lungs. Unfortunately, cases like this are…