February 28, 2013 — Today the National Center for Youth Law released a new report, "Ending Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children: A Call for Multi-System Collaboration in California."
Worldwide, human trafficking is a $32 billion industry, involving 100,000 children in the U.S. The FBI has determined that three of the nation's thirteen High Intensity Child Prostitution areas are located in California. Studies estimate that between 50 and 80 percent of commercially sexually exploited children (CSEC) are or were formally involved with the child welfare system.
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February 22, 2013 -
The National Center for Youth Law, together with Santa Cruz County Human Services Department, Santa Cruz County Office of Education, and the Superior Court of California, County of Santa Cruz, Juvenile Division, launched FosterEd: Santa Cruz County today.
The project, part of the national FosterEd Initiative (www.Foster-Ed.org), will improve the educational outcomes of the hundreds of school-age children in foster care living in Santa Cruz County.
The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) invites you to participate in a campaign to end the inappropriate and harmful sedation of tens of thousands of foster children. High doses of psychotropic “antipsychotic” drugs produce lethargic, “zoned out” children, preventing their normal development. Medical guidelines do not sanction such sedation. The year 2012 may be the year that federal and state governments act to curb excessive drugging of our nation’s foster children.
May 4, 2012 - The National Center for Youth Law (NCYL) won a major victory today on behalf of foster children in Clark County (Las Vegas), Nevada. The Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit overturned a lower court’s dismissal of the foster care reform case brought by NCYL on behalf of Clark County's abused and neglected children, ruling that these children have a constitutional right to safety and adequate medical care. The appeals court also said that the county, and county and state officials, are liable if they fail to ensure that those constitutional rights are protected.
Program Modeled on National Center for Youth Law's Foster Youth Education Initiative
May 15, 2012 - The Indiana Department of Child Services (DCS) has announced the creation of FosterEd: Indiana, a statewide program to improve the educational success of children in foster care. The DCS program will employ 16 education specialists and a statewide manager to ensure foster children receive the educational opportunities they need to succeed in school, and in life.
By Bryn Martyna
For 40 years, class action litigation has been used to address difficult and long-standing problems in state and county child welfare systems. A new publication brings together a series of papers authored by 22 top experts to address the factors that make system reform litigation successful.
More than a year of negotiation with the State yields a collaborative agreement to suspend litigation and build a framework for reform of the mental health system for children on Medicaid.
Two state agencies and several advocacy groups have reached an interim agreement to develop a framework for reforms in the Washington state mental health system for children and youth enrolled in Medicaid. The agreement temporarily suspends litigation in a class action lawsuit filed against the Department of Social and Health Services and the Health Care Authority. View press release
A small group of organizations and advocates, including NCYL, have formed an ad hoc workgroup to help ensure that the children and families served by the child welfare system are not lost in the shuffle of “realignment” of state program responsibilities and revenues to local governments.
Foster children won two important victories in federal appeals court last year. In a pair of child welfare reform cases, courts upheld longstanding federal consent decrees that mandated crucial reforms to child welfare and foster care systems in Baltimore and Washington, D.C.
Foster children will continue to benefit from the re-negotiated final settlement agreement between the Department of Social and Health Services and legal counsel for the Braam Plaintiffs.
For First Time in Decades, Washington State Passes Bill to Address Legal Representation of Foster Youth
California Center for Research on Women & Families (CCRWF) has produced this new publication which is available on the CCRWF website. Printed copies are also available through the resource center for family focused practice (contact information available on the CCRWF website).
NCYL, in collaboration with Children's Rights Inc. and with support from Cornerstones for Kids conducted a review of efforts to strengthen the child welfare workforce through litigation in 12 jurisdictions across the country.
A Guidebook for California Foster Youth, Former Foster Youth, and Those Who Care About Them.
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S.F. Chronicle Editorial Campaign on Foster Care Reform
The National Center for Youth Law has been working with the San Francisco Chronicle on its ongoing editorial campaign to reform foster care, providing data and other information.
 - Photo: Marilyn Nolt
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