Private care centers for foster children face economic crunch, need help. Child abuse charges against two Utah women, both of whom prosecutor claims knew their daughters were being sexually abused by men and did nothing to prevent it from happening again and again. Experts worry a law designed to keep children from falling through the cracks will cause just that. Under a state proposal in Florida, foster care, adoption, and parental counseling would be farmed out to other agencies. Religious communities, with their voluntary associations, broad participation by children and trusting environments, have been easy hunting grounds for pedophiles.
Calls inundate a statewide foster care recruitment line in response to newspaper article.
Those who aren't ready to become foster parents can volunteer as a court advocate for foster children, said Jim Clune, communications director of the Seattle-based National Court Appointed Special Advocate Association. Sports Illustrated has tackled the important topic of child abuse in youth sports and done a wonderful job. Many Floridians trying to report child or elder abuse are hanging up when met by delays of up to 30 minutes. A new child abuse prevention law appears largely responsible for the increased number of calls. In Oregon, fatherlessness is the most common factor among the troubled youth whom Ed Allen sees while volunteering for Court Appointed Special Advocates, a group designed to oversee foster children's cases in court.