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…
August 14, 2023
What ‘Earth Mama’ Doesn’t Tell Us About Foster Care
There are plenty of movies that start in the middle of the story. But typically the director will eventually go back and tell you what happened at the beginning. This is not true of “Earth Mama,” a recently released film by first-time director Savanah Leaf. The story is about a pregnant woman, Gia, whose two…
August 12, 2023
Why Ending Child Services Is the New Defund the Police
Can you imagine if the New York Police Department invited Defund the Police activists to train their officers? That’s what the New York State Family Court and the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) are doing. In a June webinar for almost 400 ACS workers, parents, child attorneys and family court judges, advocates who want to…
June 2, 2023
America’s Failing Child-Protection System
In her recent Pulitzer-Prize winning novel, Demon Copperhead, Barbara Kingsolver describes the situation of a young boy whose father dies before he is born. His mother struggles with addiction, but Demon manages to get by somehow—mostly with the help of his next-door neighbors. His situation goes south quickly, though, around the age of 10, when his…
May 31, 2023
Children Are Dead Because Activists Say It’s Racist for ACS to Act
When a child is found dead with bruises on her wrists and torso, the first question is always: Were there warning signs? In the case of 6-year-old Jalayah Eason, the answer is undoubtedly yes. It wasn’t just the upstairs neighbor who heard the child “screaming for her dear life” and yelling, “Stop, stop, stop!” Who told…
May 30, 2023
Parenting While High
Last month, Albuquerque police launched an investigation into how they handled the case of a seven-month-old baby who died in 2022 of asphyxiation. The death was ruled accidental—the child fell between a couch and a windowsill—even though he also had methamphetamines in his system. Three other children in the home also tested positive within a few days,…
May 27, 2023
How Newborns Are Becoming Victims of Legalized Marijuana Use
The Administration for Children’s Services has engaged in “pervasive discriminatory practices,” according to a lawsuit filed by Chanetto Rivers in federal court last week. Rivers, who is black, claims that the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) removed her newborn baby from her custody as part of the agency’s “disparate treatment of Black families” which “cause[s]…
April 4, 2023
Why Foster Children Are Sleeping in Offices and What We Can Do About It
Key Points Read the PDF. Introduction Across the country, child welfare systems are struggling to find placements for children and youth in foster care—especially those who are older and have higher levels of need. While bed shortages have long plagued child welfare systems, a confluence of issues has caused the problem to metastasize into a crisis. These issues include…
December 6, 2022
Fixing Our Child Welfare System to Help America’s Most Vulnerable Kids
Every day, more and more children in America lack a safe, permanent, and loving home. Evidence increasingly shows that child welfare agencies and family courts aremuch more concerned with adults’ needs and sensibilities than with children’s safety.While reform must come from many different corners of this field, Congress should committo creating a stronger and smarter…