Category: Child Welfare System
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Should ‘Visitation’ be Changed to ‘Family Time’ For Kids in Foster Care? (Pt 1)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recently released a memo to all State, Tribal, and Territorial Agencies that oversee child welfare, addressing the issue of visitation for foster kids. Currently, most children in foster care whose parents aren’t a direct threat to their wellbeing, get time to visit with their parents. Sometimes (usually)…
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A New House Bill Could Reform Michigan Child Welfare Laws
House Bill 4706, which was introduced by House Rep Matt Hall, would make small but significant changes to how child abuse allegations are handled right after the first report is made to CPS here in Michigan. Current law says that any form of child abuse and neglect, or suspected child abuse and neglect, (including exposure…
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How The Indian Child Welfare Legal Challenge Could Change Foster Situations For Tribal Children (Pt 1)
There was a time in US history where the number of tribal children removed from their homes and sent to boarding schools around the country as a government-sanctioned part of their “re-education”. They were forbidden to speak their native languages, forbidden to practice their native beliefs, and forbidden from wearing their native clothing, or engaging…
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Are States in The US Complying With CAPTA Laws For Kids Not in Foster Care? (Pt 2)
Welcome back and thanks for joining us again. We’ve been looking at the CAPTA laws (which if you remember from the previous article are the federal laws governing how US child welfare agencies handle kids who aren’t in the foster system) and discussing whether or not local agencies are actually following them. As we shared…
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What do You Want For Christmas? Probably Nothing From CPS, Right?
What does the holiday season mean to you? Do you exchange gifts with loved ones? Maybe you get together with family or snuggle up with your kids to watch a marathon of Christmas movies on Netflix. Perhaps you bake cookies, get together with others who share your faith, or even volunteer in your community. Whatever…
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Child Welfare in Michigan is STILL Under The Watchful Eye of The Court!
CPS in Michigan has a long history of screwing up, not meeting goals, and falling short of the mark. Over the years there seems to have been an endless string of scandals, law suits, audits revealing gross oversights, and agency-wide failures to follow their own policies. It’s a mess. And it’s been going on for…
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Foster Families Face Unique Issues That Many Biological Families Don’t Encounter (Pt 2)
Welcome back and thanks for joining us again. We’ve been looking at some of the challenges that foster families face that biological families usually don’t encounter. In the previous article we looked at two very common issues, namely the behavioral and medical issues that foster kids often suffer as a result of trauma, and the…
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Cultural Misunderstandings Can Lead to CPS Interventions in Michigan. (Pt 2)
Welcome back and thanks for joining us. We’ve been discussing the difficult subject of CPS interventions, but with the added spin of how they affect immigrant and refugee communities. As we mentioned in the previous article, many of these people arrive here from other cultural backgrounds having suffered incredible tragedies and losses. They have very…
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Federal Funding Available For Legal Representation in Michigan CPS Cases
Battling CPS can be a nightmare. They seem to have all the aces up their sleeves, while Michigan families are left in the dark, trying to understand policies that make no sense and workers that don’t have to answer for their actions. Not to mention, fighting CPS is a long and expensive battle. Many families…
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Should The Public See Child Death Investigation Results From The Ombudsman?
Right now in Michigan, the only people who are allowed to see the results of an investigation into the death of a child conducted by the Ombudsman are those who can file complaints with the agency. In other words, the parents and guardians of the deceased children, their attorneys, and other mandated reporters or legislators.…