NY: The Murder of Thomas Valva: Corrections to my earlier post (Commentary)
Child Welfare Monitor – February 14, 2020
A new report from Eyewitness News has cast doubt on my pieced-together account of the process by which Justyna Zubko-Valva lost custody of Thomas and her other sons. My initial account, relying on reports from other media outlets, suggested that a judge revoked the mother’s custody and gave it to the father in an arbitrary manner without seeking to evaluate either parent’s capability of raising the children. Based on the documents described by Eyewitness News, it appears that this was not the case.
https://childwelfaremonitor.org/2020/02/14/the-murder-of-thomas-valva-corrections-to-my-earlier-post/

NY: D.A. Vance Invests $2M to Create Youth Sex Trafficking Intervention Program (Press release)
Office of the Manhattan District Attorney – February 13, 2020
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus R. Vance, Jr., announced today a new funding opportunity to create a Child and Youth Sex Trafficking Intervention Program in New York City. With a $2 million investment from the D.A.’s Office, the Intervention Program will serve young survivors of commercial sexual exploitation and young people who are at high risk of commercial sexual exploitation. This initiative will provide targeted support through a combination of survivor mentorship, intensive case management, and the provision of emergency and wraparound services.
https://www.manhattanda.org/d-a-vance-invests-2m-to-create-youth-sex-trafficking-intervention-program/

US: AAAA Supports the Protection and Security of Children Through Equality in Adoption and Foster Care (Press release)
Academy of Adoption & Assisted Reproduction Attorneys (AAAA) – February 13, 2020
The current practice of allowing publicly funded adoption agencies to limit adoption opportunities to certain families denies children equal access to loving homes by restricting the resources available to potential adoptive parents and options for the placement of children in need.
https://www.newson6.com/story/41700123/aaaa-supports-the-protection-and-security-of-children-through-equality-in-adoption-and-foster-care

US: OPM, Lawmakers Propose Fixes to New Paid Parental Leave Law
Government Executive – February 13, 2020
The push to ensure that all federal workers have access to the government’s newly enacted paid parental leave law now has bipartisan support, as the White House and lawmakers in both parties have proposed technical fixes to the law.
https://www.govexec.com/pay-benefits/2020/02/opm-lawmakers-propose-fixes-new-paid-parental-leave-law/163115/

US: The Hidden Trauma of “Short Stays” in Foster Care (Commentary)
Marshall Project – February 11, 2020
When most Americans think of foster care, they think of children waiting years in homes or institutions to return to their families or to be placed for adoption. But every year, an average of nearly 17,000 children are removed from their families’ custody and placed in foster care only to be reunited within 10 days, according to a Marshall Project analysis of federal Department of Health and Human Services records dating back a decade.
Also: Article: A Cure Worse Than the Disease? The Impact of Removal on Children and Their Families: https://repository.law.umich.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=3055&context=articles

https://www.themarshallproject.org/2020/02/11/the-hidden-trauma-of-short-stays-in-foster-care

International: Violence Against Children Reaches Highest Rate in Over 10 Years: Report
Global Citizen – February 13, 2020
Children around the world are at the highest risk of violence since 2005, according to a report published by the organization Save the Children on Wednesday.
Also: Report: Stop the War on Children 2020: Gender Matters: https://www.savethechildren.org/content/dam/usa/reports/emergency-response/gender-matters-swoc-report.pdf

https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/save-the-children-conflict-crisis-report/

US: Child Welfare: Increased Guidance and Collaboration Needed to Improve DOD’s Tracking and Response to Child Abuse (Public Announcement)
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) – February 12, 2020
With more than 1.2 million school-age military dependents worldwide, the Defense Department works to prevent and respond to child abuse, including child-on-child abuse. It’s difficult for DOD to track abuse cases from first report to final outcome because the organizations involved track different parts of the process and their databases don’t work together. Our 23 recommendations include expanding DOD’s centralized database and better informing victims’ families.
https://www.gao.gov/products/gao-20-110?source=ra

Canada: AFN’s Federal Class Action Lawsuit Will Fight for Justice and Fairness for Victims of First Nations Child Welfare System (Press release)
Assembly of First Nations – February 12, 2020
The Assembly of First Nations (AFN) has filed a federal class action lawsuit to seek damages and justice for the thousands of First Nations children and families that have been discriminated against by Canada’s child welfare system that incentivized the removal of First Nation children from their families and Nations.
https://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/20/02/n15313903/afns-federal-class-action-lawsuit-will-fight-for-justice-and-fairness-for-victims-of-first-nations

CT: Connecticut secret: Children being bought and sold for sex (Commentary)
CT Mirror – February 12, 2020
Human Trafficking is often thought of an issue that happens everywhere but the United States. It is easier to think about the problem and lessen its severity if you displace the issue to somewhere else in the world and dismiss the fact that it happens here in our backyards and is a growing epidemic.
https://ctmirror.org/category/ct-viewpoints/connecticut-secret-children-being-bought-and-sold-for-sex-megan-auretta/