Family Rights and Child Abuse News

Foster kids 'aging out' too soon?

by Zachary Reid

The 19-year-old woman in the middle of the second row of the history class looks like any other college student. But she is also a survivor with horror in her past and an uncertain future.

From pysch wards to group homes to a brief stint living on the street to her current placement in an independent-living program, Benson has struggled. At times, the struggle has been for something as simple as her safety. She would be sexually abused by her father and abandoned by her mother.

Richmond Times-Dispatch

November 15, 2009

Oklahoma organizations: Children need help when parents cover up abuse

by Zack Stoycoff

Families are deeply responsible for reporting domestic child abuse even if they risk a child being removed from a home, experts said.

"There's a belief that if we involve child welfare, they're going to take the children away," said Roy Van Tassell, a clinical supervisor for the organization, which specializes in counseling families to prevent child abuse and neglect. "Families are often surprised to find that they're just given treatment and training."

tulsaworld.com

March 5, 2012

New Social Network Aims to Fill Void Left by Foster Care System

by Zoe Fox

The Camellia Network, a social network launched over the summer, wants to provide young people who age out of the foster care system with the support and resources of a family.

When foster children turn 18 (or 21 in a few states), the system stops providing them housing if they have not been permanently adopted by a family. This adds up to roughly 30,000 teens and young adults being kicked out of their homes each year, with slim or no resources to get on their feet and begin adulthood. One-quarter will end up homeless, one-quarter will be incarcerated, just 3% will earn college degrees, and 60% will have children within four years, who will be twice as likely as their parents to end up in the foster care system.

mashable.com

September 10, 2012

Tips for Not Appearing Crazy on the Internet

by Zombie

Do crazy people have a right to be heard? I think they do - as long as they're American.

But even with crazy people's well known infiltration of the internet - appearing in any blog or news comments section or online forum they can access - they still have a lot of trouble getting people to listen to them. Crazy people used to have to try to spread their views through poorly photocopied newsletters with weird font choices that no sane person would read. But on the internet, crazy people can put their opinions right next to those of sane people. If they can just use a little self-discipline to not immediately identify themselves as cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs, they might actually get their ideas read.

pajamasmedia.com

June 17, 2011

Community rallies in the wake of infant death

by \

FORT EDWARD -- A rally in memory of 3-month-old Brett King drew more than 50 people to the sidewalk outside Washington County Municipal Center on Wednesday evening, including several who

Gary Carpenter II, whose 5-year-old son was killed by the child's mother's boyfriend, and Lisa Younes, whose boyfriend will stand trial in the death of her 15-month-old son, took part in the rally, with friends and family members at their sides. Both parents spoke of Brett King being the third child in 18 months to die in similar circumstances. Some of those attending the Hands Across New York rally carried laminated signs that included pictures of the slain infant, who Fort Edward Police believe was killed Sunday by his father, Kevin, in their apartment.

poststar.com

August 14, 2013