All posts tagged "Childwelfare"

Embrace Families, the lead agency for foster care in Central Florida, is being sued by a contractor that says the nonprofit owes it more than $1.3 million for services it provided, including for children who had to sleep in the contractor’s offices because space was not available in foster homes. An unexpectedly high number of children needing care have “overwhelmed” the foster care system during the past couple of years, prompting a crisis, according to the complaint filed last month in Orange County Circuit Court by Children’s Home Society of Florida. The nonprofit is alleging that Embrace F......

CHICAGO — Two former child welfare workers declined to testify Friday in their trial on charges they failed to protect 5-year-old A.J. Freund before his death at the hands of his mother in Crystal Lake in 2019. Carlos Acosta, a former investigator for the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services, and his supervisor, Andrew Polovin, both declined to tell their side of the story, as is their right. Each man is charged with endangering the life or health of a child and reckless conduct. Prosecutors rested their case Thursday. AJ died in McHenry County, so the case is being heard there,......

SEATTLE — Malie the kitten was living in a foster home on Maui when the deadly fires forced her foster mom to evacuate, leaving her unable to care for the 10-month-old cat. The brown-haired, hazel-eyed kitty was flown with dozens of other felines from Hawaii to the Seattle area, to be taken in by multiple organizations. Just days after her trip, Malie is now in her new home, as are most of the Maui cats who arrived at Seattle Humane last week. All 17 were adopted over the weekend or are pending adoption, the animal organization said Tuesday. As Maui residents fled wildfires this month that kil......

As a kidnapped American nurse and her child marked their 11th day in captivity in Haiti on Monday, the United Nations’ leading child-welfare agency says it is seeing an alarming spike in the abductions of women and children in the Caribbean nation. Nearly 300 cases have been reported in the first six months of this year, UNICEF said. The number is close to the total documented in 2022 and is close to three times more than what was recorded in 2021. In Haiti, most kidnappings are at the hands of armed gangs, whose warfare has worsened since the 2021 assassination of the country’s president, Jov......

The long-time medical coordinator of the now-closed Agape Boarding School was behind bars Friday after his arrest on allegations of kidnapping and four sex crimes. Scott Dumar, 46, was arrested by Bolivar police at 8:20 p.m. Thursday in southwest Missouri. He was being held in the Polk County jail, according to a booking document. No bond was listed. The alleged crimes on the booking information are second-degree sodomy, second-degree kidnapping and three counts of second-degree sexual misconduct. There are no details of what led to the arrest. “At this moment, I’m preparing charges,” Keaton A......

Contractors in charge of handling foster care in Kansas have been investigated dozens of times during the past three years, in some cases leading to changes to protect children they serve. Records obtained by The Star show that in multiple situations foster children’s mental health needs were not met and contractors fell short in ensuring some kids were placed in appropriate homes or facilities. The records, which detail complaints investigated by the Department for Children and Families’ licensing unit, offer a rare glimpse into reported problems at the state’s four contractors. And they prov......