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Follow the money: how $1 billion in federal bonuses built an incentive to separate families

- by Michael Phillips - Leave a Comment

Since 1997, the federal government has paid states over $1 billion in adoption incentives, encouraging adoptions instead of family reunification. While foster care numbers declined, adoption assistance payments surged by nearly 43% in recent years, highlighting a troubling financial structure favoring permanent separations over reunifications.

Follow the money: how $1 billion in federal bonuses built an incentive to separate families Read More
Child Custody / Child Custody / Child Protective Services / Child Support / Child Welfare / Family Court / Foster Care

We Just Marked World Children’s Day — And Children’s Grief Awareness Day. America Failed Both.

- by Michael Phillips - Leave a Comment

World Children’s Day and Children’s Grief Awareness Day highlight the rights and emotional wounds of children. The 1959 Declaration underscores rights like family and protection, yet American systems often violate them, creating system-created grief. Children face trauma from separations and ineffective court processes. Urgent reforms are needed for healing and accountability.

We Just Marked World Children’s Day — And Children’s Grief Awareness Day. America Failed Both. Read More
Accountability / Advocacy / Anne Arundel County / Baltimore City / Baltimore County / Child Custody / Child Protective Services / Child Trafficking / Child Welfare / Civil Rights / Civil Rights / Family Court / Family Court Reform / Foster Care / Maryland / Maryland Watch / Montgomery County

Maryland Admits Nearly 1,000 Foster Children Missing Since 2020 — Most Are Teenage Girls

- by Michael Phillips - Leave a Comment

Maryland’s Department of Human Services confirmed that 990 children in state foster care have gone missing between 2020 and 2025. Most are teenage girls, raising concerns about the classification of cases as “runaways.” Advocates argue this lack of transparency masks deeper issues in a failing foster care system, demanding federal oversight and accountability.

Maryland Admits Nearly 1,000 Foster Children Missing Since 2020 — Most Are Teenage Girls Read More