The Ocean S. lawsuit alleges that L.A. County fails to provide “safe and stable” homes for older foster youth, pushing many into homelessness.

Minnesota lawmakers have directed $15 million to fund the African American Family Preservation and Child Welfare Disproportionality Act.

Christopher Baker-Scott says education is the path to success, but that doesn't have to mean college. Click the link below to listen to more from this discussion on The Imprint Weekly Podcast.  https://imprintnews.org/podcast/the-sun-keeps-rising-with-christopher-baker-scott

As family homelessness hits record highs, a few school districts offer parking lots as safe sites for students and their families to sleep at night.

On this episode of The Imprint Weekly Podcast, Sixto Cancel talks about the loss of culture many youth in foster care experience. Click the link below to listen to the full episode now.  https://imprintnews.org/podcast/fashion-forward-experience-foster-youth-sixto-cancel-sharon-mcdaniel

Youth Services Insider: States that opt into the Trump administration’s A Home for Every Child initiative can now compete for up to $3 million in federal rewards.

Seven former foster youth are suing a former pediatrician for sex abuse and a California county for covering it up.

On billboards, online and in newspapers, Georgia gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson sums up his life story: “Foster care to billionaire.” 

The plight of the teens in the Scottsboro Boys case began nearly a century ago, but it still reverberates today, writes Liz Ryan in this Imprint op-ed. 

The pending MN Foster Youth Bill of Rights details protections for young people in government care, including the right to “appropriate travel bags.” 

A California bill would assist former foster youth on food stamps when federal benefits are restricted. Read more below. Reporting by Jermey Loudenback. 

The Imprint is excited to share that one of our New York reporters, Susanti Sarkar, has won a New York Press Club journalism award for her child welfare reporting. Congratulations, Susanti!

New York social services law and resistance by the state child welfare agency have hindered a city watchdog from exercising “meaningful, comprehensive oversight” of ACS, a new report states.

Researchers have found that students involved with the child welfare system missed the most days when transitioning in and out of foster care.

A lawsuit against Washington state's child welfare department alleges the agency flouts its duty to protect the best interest of immigrant children.

OPINION: Child welfare policy in the United States is being shaped by incomplete and inconsistent data, write Michael Cull and Elizabeth Riley.

In a new partnership with the Global Indigenous Reporting Network and The Associated Press, The Imprint reports from Colorado for the National Day of Awareness for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People

On this week’s episode, we're joined by Sixto Cancel, founder and CEO of Think of Us, and Sharon McDaniel, founder and CEO of A Second Chance.  Tune in now. This episode is sponsored by iFoster.

Sponsored by Georgia Appleseed, the See Me project has helped foster teens in group homes turn their lived experience into paintings, poems and sculpture.

Nanette Star recently stepped into her new role as the director of Tribal Relations for Washington state's Department of Children, Youth, and Families.

Minnesota counties back a new child welfare law to reduce foster care disparities but say more funding, staffing and guidance are needed to implement it safely.

OPINION: AB 2126 recognizes that some of the people best equipped to guide our youth are the ones who’ve walked in their shoes.

As Santa Clara County grapples with the death of another foster child, the firm representing parents in child welfare courts is folding.

In an interview at his Manhattan office, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson outlines a vision to create more equitable outcomes for New York families.

For two years, Washington lawmakers have failed to pass bills addressing housing instability among young adults in extended foster care.

Two former foster youth have received yearlong fellowships from the Center for Native American Youth to continue their advocacy work.

In a survey of attorneys in child welfare and juvenile justice systems nationwide, about 19% said they “never or rarely” represent children who have been commercially sexually exploited.

Alex Adams, Trump's top child welfare official, reflects on the difference between leadership at the state and federal level. Listen to this week's podcast episode now: https://imprintnews.org/podcast/recent-trump-administration-action-alex-adams

“We have an opportunity, not only to save a child from losing a parent forever, but also an opportunity to help the parents become the parents their kids so need and deserve.” — MN District Judge Jeffrey Kritzer

What happens today when a youth dies at a juvenile justice facility? Click the link below to listen to more of this discussion from The Imprint Weekly Podcast.

The Imprint is an #INNYs2026 finalist for Best Investigative Journalism and Breaking Barriers Award for Sara Tiano’s “State-Sponsored Abandonment,” earning both nominations.

Breaking news: After four years, the Department of Children and Family Services director will leave his post by Aug. 1, the Imprint has learned.

The First Lady joined lawmakers to build support for the Chafee legislative package that aims to expand access to existing housing, education and career programs. 

A new report details the potential harms of probation for young people, from the perspectives of those with experience.

L.A. protesters rally against proposals that limit childhood sex abuse survivors' ability to sue.

OPINION: We must stop designing reform as though every system is facing the same problem, writes Channing Collins.

A class-action suit alleged that youth cycled in and out of emergency placements like shelters & offices. Progress has been slow, but is improving, lawyers said. https://imprintnews.org/top-stories/six-years-after-landmark-settlement-new-mexico-makes-limited-progress-on-child-welfare-reforms/273759

Minnesota counties received $2.79M in foster youths' benefits in 2022. Advocates want to end this “quiet extraction” of this money, meant to benefit children directly.

Human Rights Center Senior Director Julie Freccero discusses a novel model for keeping sexually exploited youth safe in foster care — and why it works. 

On this week’s podcast, The Imprint’s Nancy Marie Spears sits down with Suzette Brewer to discuss her recent series examining the use of sterilization on Indigenous women.  https://imprintnews.org/podcast/dark-past-sterilization-bright-future-birth-justice

Today is #LocalNewsDay — a national day of action to support the local news. Sign up for one of The Imprint’s regional newsletters to stay up-to-date on local child welfare reporting in California, Georgia, Minnesota, New York and Texas.  Subscribe: https://imprintnews.org/the-imprint-newsletters

State lawmakers voted Tuesday to place full-body scanners in New York’s state-operated juvenile detention facilities. Read more below. 

In seven states, facilities reported detaining children “removed from their homes for abuse or neglect” because they lacked appropriate foster placements.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is expected to soon name the city's child welfare commissioner: Rebecca Jones Gaston.

OPINION: Trump child welfare leader Alex Adams describes his goals for the pilot test of a new approaching to state program improvement plans.

Data shows some Fostering Independence Grants recipients have graduated from their post-secondary institutions at higher rates than their peers nationally.

A comparison of four countries with histories of settler colonialism has found they all place Native children in foster care at higher rates than non-Indigenous children.

Thousands of children in the throes of mental health crises are turned over to foster care each year, according to a database created by The Imprint.

The latest installment of Crisis Confidential follows a mother’s effort to reunite with her children after she was shot by her  husband and they were removed by CPS while she was in the hospital.