CPS Reform
The Machine
Justice for Baby Kai: Mississippi CPS Under Fire After Infant’s Death in State Custody
It is being reported that a seven-month-old baby, known publicly as Baby Kai, has died while under the care of Mississippi Child Protective Services (CPS). The child’s death has ignited public outrage and renewed...
The Machine
The System Is Made of Real People and Every One Has a Name
We’ve spent decades blaming the system.
Parents say it. Judges say it. Even the workers inside it say it. The system did this. The system made a mistake. The system took the child. But the...
Know Your Rights
When Poverty Becomes a Punishment: Families Losing Children Instead of Getting Help
All across this country, families are being punished for struggling. Instead of being met with help, they’re being met with handcuffs, court dates, and case plans.
When the rent is behind, the refrigerator is empty,...
Testimonials
Hope in the Fire: What They Couldn’t Burn
They took my child. And for a while, it felt like they took everything.
My breath. My balance. My name. The way people looked at me. The way I looked at myself.
I remember sitting in...
The Machine
They Called. Nothing Happened. A Dothan Woman Is in Jail. A Five Year Old Is Hospitalized
A five year old is hospitalized with life threatening brain trauma. A woman from Dothan is behind bars. And Alabama’s child welfare agency is once again facing questions about why it failed to act despite reported warnings.
Sunday Spotlight
The Ones Still Waiting
Sunday Spotlight
There is a particular kind of silence that settles over a family when the system takes a child and then leaves nothing behind. No updates. No court date. No word. Just silence.
It is...
The Machine
Opinion | Almost Twenty Years Later, Nothing Has Changed
*** Watch the full clip here ***
Seventeen years after Nancy Schaefer’s warning, families are still fighting to be heard. The system hasn’t changed. It has simply gotten better at hiding.
In 2007, State Senator Nancy...
The Machine
Placed Despite Red Flags: When Foster Care Overload Costs a Child’s Life
A chilling tragedy in Philadelphia reveals how systemic overload and ignored warnings can lead to preventable loss.
On April 15, 19-month-old Sy’vir Hill was found unresponsive in a bathtub at his foster home in the...