By: Julianna Walo, Esquire The number of foster children being placed with relatives in Illinois has been steadily climbing over the last decade. The passage of a new state law is expected to fuel the trend. Under the Fictive Kin Law, passed in 2015, Illinois expanded the definition of family to include... View Article
As reported by the Oregon Capital Chronicle, the Oregon Department of Human Services has agreed to a settlement in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the state’s foster children. The agreement, which ends five years of litigation, will hold the state agency more accountable for improving the Oregon... View Article
A new Florida law will provide youth in Florida’s foster care system with more support as they become adults. This legislation makes an existing Independent Living support called Aftercare Services available to a population of youth who were placed with relatives, non-relatives, or adopted as a teen. Previously, they were... View Article
As reported by ABC Action News, a group of individuals is accusing their former foster parents, Jacklyn and Jerold Logemann, of abuse. After nine kids in foster care were removed from their home, a criminal investigation was launched regarding allegations from former foster kids and the current living conditions at... View Article
Recently introduced House Bill 3705 amends the Illinois’ Children and Family Services Act to reinforce the Illinois Department of Child and Family Services’ (DCFS) duty to children in foster care as well as its responsibility for placing youth in permanent family homes through guardianship or adoption (as opposed to adoptive homes)... View Article
A Holly Hill man accused of repeatedly abusing at least four foster children will remain in jail without bond, a judge ruled on Monday. Lawrence Henry Williams, 50, was arrested last week on one count of sexual battery and one count of lewd and lascivious molestation. According to the state... View Article
As foster parents licensed by Florida’s Department of Children and Families, my wife and I are directly responsible for meeting critical day-to-day needs of the children in our home. Whether it is getting a child to necessary medical or therapeutic specialists, finding the most appropriate school, or advocating for educational... View Article
Twenty years ago, child advocates from across the state who were individually working on issues affecting Florida’s most vulnerable children came together with the idea that we could collectively make a greater impact. We ran the gamut in perspective — coming from private practice, businesses, law school clinics, and legal... View Article
As reported by WPLG Local 10, “Rashid Bryant was 22 months old when he died in 2020 in Opa-locka. He was in foster care until the Florida Department of Children and Families reunited him with his mother, Jabora Deris, in February. By Nov. 6, Rashid was dead.” Read the entire... View Article
As reported by the Tampa Bay Times, Pinellas Sheriff Bob Gualtieri in November announced a criminal investigation into Eckerd Connects after a child was injured and another overdosed at an unlicensed Largo office where foster children that the agency could not place slept in “deplorable conditions.” Read more here.