Courier-Journal - Feb 03, 2012 -- Deaths of children from neglect or abuse probably are vastly undercounted in many states, including Kentucky, a representative from the National Conference of State Legislatures told a legislative panel Thursday.

Tampa Bay Times - Feb 03, 2012 -- The nine deaths, said Mike Carroll, DCF's Suncoast regional director, "were the driving force to change lead agencies." He said DCF and Eckerd would immediately began reviewing "every single child" under supervision in Hillsborough County, about 2,500 children.

Tulsa World - Feb 03, 2012 -- State and court officials are grappling with an eight-year-long Delaware County custody case involving a boy who is believed to have a rare dwarfism disease in which children fail to grow due to neglect.

Richmond Times Dispatch - Feb 03, 2012 -- A bill to protect a private adoption agency's right to refuse placement based on religious beliefs has advanced to its final reading in the House of Delegates today, where it is all but certain to pass.

New York Times - Feb 03, 2012 -- If the Archdiocese of Milwaukee has its way in court, as many as 95 percent of the claims could be dismissed.

Associated Press - Feb 02, 2012 -- Legislation that spells out the duties and deadlines of college coaches and other professions to report evidence of child abuse and increases punishment for those who don't received a House committee's unanimous blessing Thursday.

The Commercial Appeal - Feb 02, 2012 -- Called "Born Addicted," the pilot program will suspend criminal prosecution of the women's drug charges while they participate in an 18-month Drug Court Treatment Program involving substance-abuse counseling, monitoring and education.

The Florida Independent - Feb 02, 2012 -- The Florida House has moved to eliminate the $3.4 million in federal grant money for child abuse prevention and maternal care home visiting that advocates fought hard for last year.

Iowa City Press-Citizen - Feb 02, 2012 -- Sue Freeman, director of the Broadway Neighborhood Center, is accused of not reporting allegations of child abuse levied against a teacher in the Head Start Program, a program Freeman oversees. The spokesman for the Department of Human Services said no one in that office can remember another case of someone being charged for failing to report allegations of child abuse when required to by law.

Clarion Ledger - Feb 02, 2012 -- The Mississippi House has overwhelming approved a bill that reinforces mandatory reporting of suspected child sex abuse and places additional restrictions on abortion providers.

Daily Nebraskan - Feb 02, 2012 -- Sen. Annette Dubas' LB 926 is a bill designed to establish a minimum base rate for foster care payments and cut out the middle man of private agencies and subcontractors in the payment process. At the bill's hearing Thursday afternoon with the Health and Human Service Committee, Dubas said the state's average payments to foster parents, which vary for each agency, are among the lowest in the nation.

Newsday - Feb 02, 2012 -- More than $60,000 has been recouped from duplicate or overlapping payments by Nassau's foster care program, county Comptroller George Maragos has announced.

Associated Press - Feb 02, 2012 -- In the wake of a child sex abuse scandal that rocked Penn State University, lawmakers in Oregon are considering a new requirement for coaches and other university employees to report child abuse to authorities.

Chicago Tribune - Feb 02, 2012 -- In Illinois, foster youths have had the option to remain in care until age 21 for several years. Illinois did that without federal assistance.

The Virginian-Pilot - Feb 02, 2012 -- Football coaches, day camp counselors, college professors and others who may work with children could be added to the list of people required by law to report suspicions of child abuse, and may also face new criminal penalties for failure to do so, under proposals making headway in the General Assembly.

Sydney Morning Herald - Feb 02, 2012 -- Helen and Brian MacDonald believe the children they have raised for the past 6.5 years are the 'best two foster kids in Australia'. But they have decided they will not look after them any more because the state government has cut payments to foster carers of 16- and 17-year-olds, from January 1. In most cases households will be $214 a fortnight worse off.

The Telegraph - Feb 02, 2012 -- A senior watchdog last night admitted mistakes in the inspection of adoption services.

MyHealthNewsDaily - Feb 01, 2012 -- The findings reveal the financial burden of child abuse is just as high or higher than that of costly health conditions, including Type 2 diabetes.

Geneva Republican - Feb 01, 2012 -- Last year, about 25 percent of court cases involving abused or neglected children in Kane County ended in adoption, according to CASA Kane County.

The Baltimore Sun - Feb 01, 2012 -- Advocates for Maryland's abused and neglected youths said Wednesday that the state's second-largest foster care placement company failed the children in its care by allowing the qualification assessments of the homes they live in to lapse.