Model Reforms

Dear Members of the Interim Study Committee on Courts and the Judiciary: As you consider improving permanency outcomes for children in foster care, the Center for the Rights of Abused Children (Center) invites [...]

The Problem Under federal law, many foster children are owed survivor benefits (including social security and veterans benefits) if their parents died, or if they have a disability (social security income). Many states apply [...]

The Problem Federal law mandates states provide children a representative to 1. obtain a clear understanding of the situation and needs of the child, and 2. make recommendations to the court concerning the [...]

Frequent and unnecessary delays in the court cases of Arizona’s foster children add years to a child’s time in state care. Each court continuance delays permanency for a child up to four months. [...]

BACKGROUND By every educational achievement measure, Arizona’s children in foster care place near last among other at-risk student groups – including those experiencing homelessness, those in poverty, and those who speak English only [...]

PURPOSE The pandemic has tattered the safety net for our nation’s vulnerable children. History tells us that economic downturns lead to increases in child abuse cases and increases in the number of children [...]

The adoption process can be slow, sometimes taking longer than a year. This largely administrative activity swallows precious time that foster children, especially older kids, don’t have to waste. Older kids are among [...]