Aggravating Circumstances

As Oregon reverses years of progress on child fatalities and Washington reviews find most cases involved families already known to CPS, a new report from Professor Sarah Font calls for federal guidance under [...]

The federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act provides a minimum definition of child maltreatment that includes imminent risk of serious harm. Yet, in practice, many state and county child welfare jurisdictions impose [...]

In a major victory for child protection, the Michigan Supreme Court has ruled that the state is not required to attempt reunification with a parent who trafficked her child. This landmark decision, In re Barber/Espinoza, affirms Congress’s intent in the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which intentionally allows states to forgo reunification when children suffer extreme physical or sexual abuse.

On Wednesday, May 7 at 11:30 a.m. ET, the Michigan Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the case of In re Barber/Espinoza—a case that will determine whether a woman who trafficked her 9-year-old daughter can still claim parental rights.

U.S. House Committee on Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Wednesday, April 9, 2025, at 10:30 a.m. 2358-C Rayburn House Office Building Chairman Aderholt, Ranking Member DeLauro, [...]

Chairman Aderholt, Ranking Member DeLauro, and Members of the Subcommittee: My name is Brad Galbraith, and I serve as Policy Director at the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, a nonprofit organization [...]

In a searing new memo released today, Lives in the Balance: A Bold Plan to Fix America’s Broken Child Protection System, the Center for the Rights of Abused Children lays bare an unflinching truth:

Strengthening Child Welfare by Reauthorizing Title IV-B of the Social Security Act to Provide Traditional Counsel for Children The Center for the Rights of Abused Children supports H.R. 8810 to encourage states to [...]

Requires the preservation and protection of federal benefits that belong to a child in the care of the children’s division. These benefits include those that are administered by the Railroad Retirement Board, Social [...]

Requires the court to appoint an attorney to represent a child who is the subject of a child abuse and neglect proceeding and allows for the optional appointment of a guardian ad litem. [...]