"A historic number...record increase...startling phenomenon."

These were some of the words that accompanied recent news articles about increases in the number of Hispanic children in foster care in the United States. The increases are real. Data from the Annie E. Casey Kids Count Data Center show that...

During the oral arguments of the adoption case before the U.S. Supreme Court this week, I heard lawyers working hard to explain what is in a young child's best interests. This is unusual. Family law issues like this rarely come before the court. Justice Scalia noted that the last time...

Sequestration is a scary word. Outside of Washington, D.C., it has the sense of seizing property or isolating juries. But the D.C. definition -- a general cut in funding -- carries a real likelihood of danger. Danger to children.

Many programs that keep children safe, educated and healthy are supported...

After the shootings in Newtown, many leaders have called for solidarity in keeping children safe. President Obama said it. Republicans and Democrats have said it. And most importantly, the American people are saying it.

The question remains: What will be done?

In 2011, roughly 681,000 children across America were...

The New York Times reported this week on the apparent increased use of psychotropic medications to help poor children do better in school. In an echo of what we found last year in the foster care system, it appears likely that doctors and parents, recognizing that...

For many children, back-to-school season is a time of new opportunities: schedules to figure out, new teachers to get to know, friends to be made. Last week a neighbor of mine proudly showed off a photograph of our neighborhood children waiting with lots of smiles for the bus to pick...

The two presidential candidates mentioned children 30 times in their acceptance speeches. For the most part, it was simple hopeful rhetoric. Both candidates told us they want to do something for our children's future! Good enough. But the only specific policies mentioned were 1) Obama: recruit 100,000 new math and...

Data doesn't have to lie to ignore the truth. In the case of the annual adoption and foster care report issued by the federal government, ignoring the full truth is unfair to foster youth.

Although all foster youth are waiting for a more permanent home, the phrase "waiting children" generally...

Headlines recently proclaimed that the number of American children in foster care has dropped for the sixth straight year, falling to about 400,000 compared to more than 520,000 a decade ago. Unfortunately, this much-repeated headline significantly understates the size of today's foster care population. The number in the...

The child sexual abuse scandal at Penn State has sparked a nationwide conversation about how to recognize, report and prevent the sexual abuse of children. This is as it should be. Almost no one believes they would allow harmful sexual behavior to continue to if they knew for sure that...

The Louis Freeh report on the child sexual abuse incidents committed at Penn State University makes for chilling but important reading. Released on July 12, the thorough 162-page report by the Special Investigative Counsel, drives home one startling and terrible conclusion: "the failure of Penn State's most powerful...

Last week, the United States Supreme Court found the Affordable Care Act to be constitutional. The decision was cause for much dissent around the country. Many people celebrated the ruling. Many others expressed their anger and dismay.

People can have a legitimate disagreement about the wisdom of the health care...

Look for online facts about fatherhood, and you'll find most of the statistics are about the absence of fathers in their children's lives. Search the internet for fatherhood projects and you'll find several, including the National Fatherhood Initiative, the National Responsible Fatherhood Clearinghouse, Project Fatherhood, Golden Dada, and...

Those of us who work and volunteer with children in the foster care system know only too well how domestic violence and sexual abuse can shatter a family and destroy the foundations of a child's life.

Children who are exposed to domestic violence are in danger. They are more...

It's easy to become confused by the budget debate between the White House and Congress, but most of us have faith that somehow cooler heads will prevail and enough money will be allocated to protect abused and neglected children.

After all, children are the most vulnerable...

"I'm not bipolar. I'm just naughty."

In the past few days, we have all had the honor of getting to know a remarkable young man from Texas named Ke'onte Cook. He has appeared on ABC's 20/20 and World News, testified before Congress and for...

"Every child thriving in the safe embrace of a loving family." It's one of the five critical pledges the National CASA Association has made to abused and neglected children. And this month -- this Saturday in particular -- is a time to celebrate one way children can find...

Should we be hopeful? Or should we despair?

I have been moving between these two emotions as I read the flurry of new research released in the
past few weeks.

There are reasons to be concerned for the children in our country. 16.4 million children

As another season of graduation celebrations comes to a close, the sights of caps, gowns and diplomas bring to mind the significance of graduation as one of life's great milestones, and the opportunities and challenges that await new graduates. I often wonder how many of them truly are prepared and...

The decision to remove a child from his or her home and parents should never be taken lightly. While a living situation may be fraught with abuse, drugs or neglect, families still maintain cultural, racial and social values that often define a child's sense of identity.

The forced separation of...