Wednesday, March 29, 2023

Play

Banking woes send consumers looking for safer alternatives, some Indiana communities resist a dollar chain store "invasion," and a permit to build an oil pipeline tunnel under the Great Lakes is postponed.

Play

Republicans say it is premature to consider gun legislation after the Nashville shooting, federal officials are unsure it was a hate crime, and regulators say Silicon Valley Bank was aware of its financial risks.

Play

Finding childcare is a struggle everywhere, prompting North Carolina's Transylvania County to try a new approach. Maine is slowly building-out broadband access, but disagreements remain over whether local versus national companies should get the contracts, and specialty apps like "Farmers Dating" help those in small communities connect online.

In Durham, A Push for Social Services Reforms Away from Foster Care

Play

Tuesday, November 15, 2022   

There's a nationwide effort to reform child welfare systems, and in North Carolina, Durham advocates said the retirement of the county's longtime social services director offers an opportunity to consider new approaches to strengthen kinship ties and limit the painful impact of involuntary family separation.

Elizabeth Simpson, strategic director and attorney for the group Emancipate NC, has spent the past year interviewing foster and biological parents, attorneys, social workers and others involved.

She explained evidence shows separation is deeply traumatic for children, and added when it is possible and safe, offering supports to keep the integrity of the household intact improves outcomes for families.

"There's a growing consensus nationwide that our child welfare system has focused too much on removing children from their homes," Simpson contended.

Strict restrictions placed on visitation also pose challenges for family reunification. Simpson noted when cases take years to close, kids grow up estranged from biological family. She described cases when a new mother is only able to visit with her newborn one or two hours a week.

"And that's really not giving a mom an opportunity to bond with her baby," Simpson asserted. "Or really treating the case as if it is genuinely going to be a reunification case. "

Simpson pointed to a need to allocate federal funding directly into homes with problems, with the goal of improving parents' ability to care for a child, rather than pouring money into institutions or the foster-care system.

"Use that federal money to provide resources for parents that need it to make sure they have stable housing, have access to food counseling, whatever resources they need to make that home more stable," Simpson urged.

According to federal data from last year, the number of children in foster care continues to drop, with an estimated 400,000 children in the system in 2020.

Disclosure: Emancipate NC contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Criminal Justice, Human Rights/Racial Justice, Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
California is home to banks of all sizes, including 36 Minority Depository Institutions and 111 Community Development Financial Institutions. (Syda Productions/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

The recent collapse of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank has put a spotlight on the safety and stability of the U.S. financial system. Now…


Environment

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has announced an 18-month delay in permitting a controversial oil-tunnel construction project under the Great Lakes…

Health and Wellness

The Iowa House has passed a measure to establish a licensing board for midwives. Iowa is one of 15 states currently without such a program, often …


Author Jazmin Murphy said, "We maintain our historical love for the natural world today, though for some, it may be buried under racial stereotypes imposed upon us." (Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

By Jazmin Murphy for Yes! Magazine.Broadcast version by Brett Peveto for North Carolina News Service reporting for the Solutions Journalism Network-…

Health and Wellness

March is Sleep Awareness Month and health experts say Americans are not getting enough of it. United Health Foundation data found more than 32% of …

Social Issues

This month marks 160 years since the first Medal of Honor was awarded by President Abraham Lincoln. More than a dozen of the 65 recipients alive …

Social Issues

160 years ago, Civil War soldiers were awarded the first Medals of Honor. Now, a Medal of Honor Monument will soon be built on the National Mall in …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021