One of my first blog posts this summer focused on the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ release of its most recent federal review of Nebraska’s foster care system. As a result of the state’s failure to pass the federal review, the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) is required to develop …
An increasing number of children and families find themselves caught in the intersection of our country’s complex – and broken – immigration and child welfare systems. The first goal in these cases should be for the state to provide culturally appropriate services to reunify the family when that is appropriate and can be done safely. …
Special Visas Available to Abused and Neglected Foreign-Born Children Read More »
In June, I blogged about the long-term outcomes for children who “age out” of foster care and the opportunity presented by the new federal Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act to extend foster care to children up to age 21. While a number of important provisions in the Act focus on improving outcomes …
The recent death of a 12 year old boy in Omaha, allegedly at the hands of his mother, who had called HHS seeking information about placing him in foster care, has raised questions about the state’s investigation of child abuse reports. Not only had the boy’s mother called HHS, but family members reported that they …
Child Death Case Underscores Need for Transparency and Accurate Investigations Read More »
Since the formation of the our Child Welfare System Accountability Program in 2003, Nebraska Appleseed has been dedicated to enforce constitutional, federal, and state statutory requirements for providing adequate child welfare services in the State of Nebraska, and using legal advocacy to support needed policy reform initiatives. In particular, we are committed to working on …
Nebraska Immigrant Family Bonds Protected by State Supreme Court Read More »
The Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is a federal and state law enacted in 1978 to curb the practice of state child welfare agencies removing Native American children from their homes and placing them in non-Indian foster and adoptive homes. This practice had become so widespread that, at the time of ICWA’s enactment, 25 to …
The Enforcement of the Indian Child Welfare Act in Nebraska Read More »
It has been five years since I was sworn into my first bar in the state of Wisconsin. In fact, just the other day, I received information in the mail from my law school about our upcoming class reunion. The ABA’s Young Lawyers Division defines a “young lawyer” as a lawyer under the age of …
On Friday, the Nebraska Supreme Court issued precedent-setting decisions in two cases in which Appleseed was involved. In the first case, In re Interest of Angelica L. and Daniel L., the Nebraska Supreme Court determined that the state acted improperly by terminating the rights of a Guatemalan mother to her two children on the basis …
Appleseed Helps Secure Two Child Welfare Victories at the Nebraska Supreme Court Read More »
Statistics on the long-term outcomes for former foster children are, unfortunately, bleak. While some youth “beat the odds”, far more struggle compared to their peers on measures related to educational attainment, employment, poverty, homelessness, health care, early pregnancy, and involvement in the criminal justice system. However, recently enacted federal legislation, the Fostering Connections to Success …
At Nebraska Appleseed, we have a tendency to develop long, drawn-out, flowery titles for our work that don’t lend themselves very well to catchy acronyms. Most Appleseeders credit our founding director, Milo Mumgaard, for this tradition, though it has out-lived even Milo’s tenure. For example, the “Child Welfare System Accountability Program” or the “CWSAP” is …