Opponents of a bill that would require all foster parents in California to “affirm” the chosen gender identities of children in their care have called the proposed legislation an attack on constitutionally protected religious freedom and parental rights. State Sen. Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), who introduced the proposed legislation, Senate Bill (SB) 407, told the…

On Jan. 17 a federal class action lawsuit was filed against the state of Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) over inadequate prescription oversight of psychotropic drugs for children in the foster care system—putting them in danger of overdoses and serious side effects. According to the lawsuit, recent DHS data shows that at least 72.1 percent of children in…

Tennessee’s Department of Children’s Services (DCS) put hundreds of children sleeping in state office buildings amid a staffing shortage of nearly 500 case managers and persistent turnover, according to a recently released audit (pdf) from the Tennessee Comptroller’s office. “The Department of Children’s Services is struggling to provide support services to Tennessee’s most vulnerable children…

In recent years, San Diego County’s foster care system has exploded with new cases. Over a thousand children enter the system annually. From 2020 to 2021, 60 percent of those children were 5 years old or younger. Organizations like Angels Foster Family Network have been working to connect young foster children to “resource families,” also…

A couple in Minnesota adopted six siblings after they had been taken into Child Protective Services (CPS) several years ago due to neglect. Ruby Celada, 38, and her husband, Armando Ayala, 48, signed the adoption papers in Minnehaha County Courthouse late March. The happy moment was captured on camera—the six siblings, all smiles, pictured with…

When Irene Clements and her husband, Billy, decided to create their family through foster care and adoption, they threw themselves into what became a lifelong labor of love. Irene and Billy fostered 127 children over the many decades of their marriage. They adopted four children, including sweet Melissa who is a special-needs member of the…

When Tom Monaghan was 4 years old, his dad passed away. His mother couldn’t handle raising two little boys by herself, so she dropped them off at the orphanage, and set out to try to rebuild her life. Tom and his brother spent their formative years with the Polish nuns at the orphanage. It was…

When Tom Monaghan was 4 years old, his dad passed away. His mother couldn’t handle raising two little boys by herself, so she dropped them off at the orphanage, and set out to try to rebuild her life. Tom and his brother spent their formative years with the Polish nuns at the orphanage. It was…

More families were breaking down during the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus pandemic as lockdowns brought job losses and exacerbated poverty and mental problems, figures from the UK’s largest children’s charity suggested. Barnardo’s published an urgent appeal on Tuesday, asking people to consider becoming foster carers after the charity was inundated with referrals. The charity…

When Jaimie Rose and her husband Ryan found out they were expecting their second child in January of 2020, they decided to move from Georgia to Florida. Then, before the first trimester was over, COVID hit. “I started to panic,” Jaimie, 33, remembers. “How are we going to have a birth in the hospital?” The…