News of the week in the child welfare world.
November 20 is International Children’s Day!
The Biden Administration is still looking to nominate an assistant secretary for the Administration for Children and Families and a Commissioner of the Children’s Bureau. Any ideas who might be up for that?
An Adoption & Foster Care Task Force in Michigan just released a long report recommending improvements to the system. A good summary of its findings is in this article.
Mischa Martin, Director of Arkansas’ Division of Children and Family Services, is making significant efforts to recruit and retain staff. Read about it here.
Virginia’s new Children’s Ombudsman, Eric Reynolds, is also on the job!
Here and here are a couple of stories highlighting the facts that in a number of states, calls to child abuse hotlines dropped during the pandemic and foster care numbers have not always “surged” as some expected when schools resumed in-person classes.
Although I haven’t heard of it before, a publication called “Next City” has two interesting articles out about kinship care. You should read them here and here.
Finally, foster parents in Watertown, NY feel they were retaliated against for advocating on behalf of their foster children, siblings with mental health needs. The agency removed the children. If true, this is part of a dangerous trend seen in many agencies that view foster parents as adversaries rather than partners in keeping children safe and protected.
As always, your tips, feedback, and contributions are appreciated!