Lives Cut Short
@LivesCut
Lives Cut Short is a project dedicated to greater transparency and improvements in how we collect and release data about deaths due to abuse and neglect.
"A recent paper in the journal Child Abuse and Neglect found that, according to national data, children who have been reported anonymously are more likely to be re-reported to authorities than those reported by social service workers — and also more likely to end up in foster…
Another baby overdosing on Methadone. Just because a parent is in drug treatment doesn't necessarily mean they are safe to parent. nj1015.com/toddler-opioid…
Despite broad support, child welfare commissioner expresses concerns about bill to end anonymous reporting, saying it could deter legitimate reports of child abuse. imprintnews.org/top-stories/to…
"Adams told members of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee that Idaho’s efforts are working. He said he regularly reminds his staff that the goal should be to have 'families waiting on kids not kids waiting on families.' He said his goal is to have 150 families for every 100 kids…
"A relative called 911 and told police the mother was having a mental episode, left home with her baby, and went to the beach" intending to kill herself and her child. cbsnews.com/chicago/news/m…
"This wasn’t a case of families squeezed by bureaucracy or overwhelmed by poverty. These were intentional acts—trafficking masks, cover-ups, and outright cruelty. Child welfare agencies didn’t create this danger—they responded to it. They removed children from a situation most…
"After Niindonis died and manslaughter charges were filed against her mother, a reunification plan with “active efforts” was created for her 7-year-old sister. According to court records obtained by Safe Passage for Children of Minnesota, these efforts included paying for her…
"Prompted by a Right to Know (RTK) request filed by the Center for Children’s Justice (C4CJ), the Shapiro Administration publicly disclosed the names of 19 individuals invited to undertake this “comprehensive effort to improve” Pennsylvania’s child welfare system. Notably absent…
She was raped and murdered by a man who himself experienced the failure of the child protective system. "[Her] family had declined requests from child protective services for help, and the state did not press the issue. About the only kindness she experienced in her short life…
"They were arrested in May after a hospital reported that their 2-month-old infant had a traumatic head injury, the result of a nanny at the home violently shaking the baby, Arcadia police said. The child was not taken to the hospital for another two days."…
"detectives searched the apartment, and 'numerous pieces of narcotics paraphernalia, much of it stained with suspected narcotics residue, as well as pills, methamphetamine, and black tar heroin, were located inside the apartment,' police said. Many of the items were found on the…
They left their eight children, all 12 and under, alone while they went to gamble at a casino. One of them died. They got probation. wafb.com/2025/07/09/pro…
Our second post in two days about a child murdered by a family member they were placed with after being removed from their parents. Many will claim that kinship care is in every way better for children than licensed foster care, but in many states children are significantly more…
"PICC does not control the number of babies who are placed at PICC— DCYF does. The beds were available, the hospitals were calling with referrals, but DCYF was choosing not to place infants whose care was already paid for." komonews.com/news/local/was…
When you hire someone for her ideological commitments, you shouldn’t be surprised if she is bad at her job. My latest in @CityJournal city-journal.org/article/casa-l… @AEI @IWF
"According to court records, Tolbert told police she thought her children were possessed by the devil." Hard to believe such serious mental illness went without notice by social services for all these years. wgntv.com/news/chicagocr…
"Casados acknowledged CYFD did not follow its procedures for reviewing a family’s safety plan in at least one case in which a child died. A worker did not regularly visit the home of the Albuquerque infant who died last month, she said. Authorities have said the baby was born…