The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a wide-ranging investigation into abuse and neglect of people with developmental disabilities at Illinois treatment facilities.
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Author ArchiveFlorida’s Children First and Florida Youth SHINE Celebrate Incredible 20-Year MilestoneThis year marks the 20th anniversary of Florida Youth SHINE, Florida’s premiere youth advocacy, empowerment, and leadership group. The group was founded by the award-winning nonprofit organization Florida’s Children First and FCF Board Chair Howard Talenfeld, a lead partner of the Justice for Kids Division of Kelley Kronenberg. To help create Florida Youth SHINE, Howard connected Florida’s Children First with California Youth Connection, a similar organization for youth that he was introduced to while serving on the Board of the Youth Law Center in San Francisco, CA. Illinois DCFS Child Sex Trafficking Case Reveals Systemic FailuresMarch 17th, 2025
 No Comments  Illinois Child Welfare, Illinois Department of Children and Family ServicesThe child welfare attorneys at Justice for Kids, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, regularly review cases where DCFS negligence claims arise from institutional failures in Illinois child advocacy. This particular case exemplifies why legal intervention is sometimes necessary to protect foster care rights and hold agencies accountable. Each year, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) publishes an Annual Report to the Governor and the General Assembly of Illinois, investigating misconduct and violations by DCFS employees, foster parents, service providers, and contractors. In this year’s report, the OIG found that all the caretakers utterly failed a female youth in care, A.Z., who was eventually sex trafficked. Claims Bill Filed to Help Permanently Injured ChildDespite eight prior calls to the Florida Department of Children and Families (DCF) abuse hotline, a young boy was left in the care of his mother and is now catastrophically injured. Having exhausted all legal remedies, a claims bill (HB 6541) has been filed by Clermont Republican Rep. Taylor Yarkosky on behalf of the child, referred to as C.C., who is left with no other option to provide for the care and support he so desperately needs for the rest of his life. Stacie Schmerling of the Justice for Kids Division of Kelley Kronenberg represents C.C., a Florida boy who was left permanently and catastrophically brain injured at just thirteen months old due to overdosing on his drug-addicted mother’s methadone. Understanding Illinois Child Welfare: Frequently Asked Questions About Foster CareFebruary 24th, 2025
No Comments Foster Care, Illinois Child Welfare, Illinois Department of Children and Family Services
The Illinois child welfare system faces unprecedented challenges in protecting our state’s most vulnerable children. As child protection services struggle with systemic issues and DCFS oversight remains under scrutiny, families and advocates need clear information about the foster care system. Here are the most pressing questions about foster care in Illinois, answered by experienced child welfare attorneys. Illinois Daycare Safety Crisis: From Tragedy to Systemic Change in Child ProtectionA Tragic Case Reshapes Illinois Daycare Safety Fifteen years ago, on January 14, 2009, a child’s death in the hands of a daycare led to many questions of child neglect and abuse. The daycare worker, Melissa Calusinski, was working at a daycare in a suburb of Chicago. According to Melissa, late that afternoon, after she put Ben Kingan down on the carpet and he crawled into his bouncy seat on the floor, she noticed something was wrong with the child. He would not wake when she touched him and had orange foam coming out of his nose. Ben was taken to the hospital and pronounced dead an hour later. Justice for Kids Leader Justin Grosz Reaches New Heights for KidsJustin Grosz, a Co-founder and Lead Partner of Justice for Kids, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, recently summitted Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, East Africa. As an advocate and voice for children in need, he also spent time at a local orphanage and sponsored housing for 45 children there. Illinois Child Welfare Crisis: 36 Years of Failed Reform at DCFSIllinois’ child welfare system is in crisis, with child advocacy groups increasingly concerned about systematic failures. Despite a landmark ACLU class action lawsuit filed 36 years ago (B.H. v. Johnson) meant to reform the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), the treatment of children in state care has actually deteriorated rather than improved. Children are still being physically abused, sexually abused and otherwise harmed in the foster care system that is supposed to protect them by the negligence of DCFS. At Justice for Kids, we can help them recover critical resources through a lawsuit and damage award that they will need after they turn 21 and throughout their lives. Your Family Deserved the Truth: Fighting Adoption Agency NegligenceWhen adoptive parents welcome a child into their home, they trust adoption agencies to provide complete and accurate information about their child’s background. Unfortunately, this trust can be broken through adoption agency negligence–a serious legal issue that can have devastating consequences for families and may warrant an adoption negligence lawsuit. Such negligence can include failing to disclose critical behavioral and mental health histories, which has led to instances of physical and sexual abuse within adoptive families who were left unprepared and unsupported in addressing their child’s specialized needs. Justice for Kids Partner Stacie J. Schmerling Recognized in Florida Trend’s Women Leaders in LawJustice for Kids®, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, is pleased to announce that Business Unit Leader and Partner Stacie J. Schmerling has been selected to Florida Trend’s Legal Elite NOTABLE – Women Leaders in Law for 2024. Florida Trend’s editorial review team vetted and selected individual women leaders in law who qualified for inclusion by meeting and exceeding specific methodology and criteria parameters that were put in place for this nomination process. These include making a significant impact in their field, demonstrating leadership in professional organizations and the community, and acting as role models or mentors to others. Recognizing Signs of Child Abuse and Neglect: A Legal PerspectiveAs an attorney in Kelley Kronenberg’s Justice for Kids Division, I’ve seen firsthand how critical early recognition of child abuse can be. The statistics are stark and sobering:
WFSU: The Franklin County sheriff calls out DCF for abandoning kidsAs reported by WFSU, Franklin County Sheriff A. J. Smith is again calling out the Florida Department of Children and Families for failing to serve abused children and neglected kids in his jurisdiction. |
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