Good day, everyone! First, a shameless plug. I’m speaking at the Institute for World Politics tomorrow on a favorite topic of mine: just culture in child welfare. The talk is called “From the Challenger Disaster to the Oxfam Scandal: Creating an Organizational Culture that Protects Children from Abuse and Exploitation.”
And now, the news:
A Michigan judge has ruled unconstitutional a state law requiring that newborns undergo blood tests for certain diseases and medical conditions, stating that the “search” of the infants’ blood violates the children’s Fourth Amendment rights. Query how that legal position might affect the requirements of federal law that states develop specific plans of “safe care” for infants born drug-exposed. Many hospitals test newborns for substances of abuse as part of their neonatal care.
Continuing the trend of self-criticism sessions in the child welfare field, Prof. Jane Spinak — a well-respected attorney and scholar at Columbia University on juvenile court and child welfare issues — has a new book out: The End of Family Court. From its Amazon.com blurb:
The End of Family Court rejects the foundational premise that family court can do good when intervening in family life and challenges its endless reinvention to survive. Jane M. Spinak illustrates how the procedures and policies of modern family court are deeply entwined in a heritage of racism, a profound disdain for poverty, and assimilationist norms intent on fixing children and families who are different. And the court’s interventionist goals remain steeped in an approach to equity and well-being that demands individual rather than collective responsibility for the security and welfare of families.
I’ve already got my Kindle version.
I apologize for being late to this story: Medicaid unwinding is resulting in thousands of children being dropped from the insurance plan. During the pandemic, Medicaid simplified its requirements to temporarily eliminate the need for families to regularly recertify their financial eligibility for Medicaid. WABE’s report raises the prospects that many of the children may still qualify but were removed for procedural reasons. That’s bad news not only for those children’s healthcare but also for the medical providers who rely on Medicaid coverage. (Well, maybe I’m not that late. Just after I wrote this, the AJC came out with its own coverage of the issue).
There’s been much debate about the effects of the Covid shutdown on society’s ability to protect children. Child abuse reports plummeted, and there has been some suggestion that abuse rates actually fell. From the UK’s Guardian comes a report suggesting that the shutdown merely delayed the reporting of abuse and that officials in the UK are now seeing those cases come to light.
Lots of stories regarding the need for foster homes, including this one in North Carolina. Agencies will find that they reap what they sow — if you want to recruit and retain good foster parents, you have to treat them with dignity and respect.
South Carolina has experienced a spike in foster children who have no placement and must sleep in state DSS offices.
In international news, here’s a report on how Russia’s war on Ukraine is affecting children.
The Imprint reports that, in line with an agreement between the federal government and Pennsylvania, child welfare agencies can no longer prohibit individuals taking medication for substance use disorders from becoming foster parents.
The debate over whether schools should notify parents of a child who wishes to be recognized as a different gender is creating legal and regulatory battles in California and New Jersey.
In Illinois, a new law removes a prior requirement that limited the ability of parents to obtain medical records for their children aged 12 and above.
A new foster care ombudsman for Minnesota should be appointed soon.
That’s all for today!