At any given time, there are thousands of kids in Southern Nevada who can’t go home. Maybe they have a parent who is ill, incarcerated or just in a bad spot.
In every state, governments charge parents for the cost of foster care when children are taken away. When that happens, NPR found, poor parents can't make ends meet, so families are kept apart longer.
Los Angeles County plans to ensure foster youth who get Social Security can use the money later, going against the common practice of child welfare agencies nationwide to use benefits to pay for care.
The former employees allegedly sat on Cornelius Fredericks' chest and legs for about 12 minutes. When he became unresponsive, employees at the home waited another 12 minutes to call for help.
Guy Bryant has fostered dozens of children over the past 12 years. At StoryCorps, he told one of his foster kids that he wants them to pass on what they've learned from him.
Camp Mariposa in Dayton, Ohio, is designed just for them. The program lets these children share their experiences, learn coping strategies and, most importantly, get to be kids.
Unaccompanied minors cross the border without family or support. "Any kid that's in my house is, at least while they're here, safe," says one foster mother, Christi.
Attorney General Dana Nessel reached a settlement with the ACLU. It requires agencies not to discriminate against gay people who want to adopt or foster children referred by the state.
Foster children can have extraordinary health needs. Some states are testing a coordinated approach to care to keep these kids from slipping through the cracks.
Infants do better with their parents, studies find, as long as parents have support to get and stay sober. This program starts during pregnancy, to rally and train a strong family support network.
Early findings on infants born with neonatal abstinence syndrome are reassuring, and doctors are optimistic that normal development can continue. Making sure parents are treated for addiction is key.
A special court in Sacramento, Calif., aims to keep families together by getting treatment for parents who have substance abuse problems, instead of sending off their kids to foster care.
The judge reportedly told the couple that myriad studies have proved children are better off with heterosexual couples. State officials say they will try to get the order changed.
Roughly 265,000 U.S. kids entered foster care last year — the highest number since 2008. Officials say the abuse of heroin or prescription painkillers by more parents is one reason for the increase.
The laws are intended to reduce inappropriate prescribing of powerful antipsychotics to children and teens in foster care. Public health nurses will monitor medical records.
Under the Affordable Care Act, former foster youths get Medicaid coverage until age 26. Many of them aren't aware of that, and getting that information to them isn't always easy.
Pediatricians need to do more to get the right health care for children in foster care, according to the American Academy of Pediatrics. Those children often miss out on both routine and acute care.
