CPS news — the stories agencies don’t publish.
Father’s Advocacy Network tracks child protective services across all 50 states: wrongful removals, deaths and abuse in foster care, caseworker misconduct, family court judges, lawsuits and audits. Updated every day.
Records, court filings, audio or a story that needs to be told — confidentially.
Latest CPS news
Ex-Indiana DCS Caseworker Forged Parents’ Signatures, Faked Visits. He Got 10 Days.
Todd Click logged home visits that never happened and signed parents’ names on DCS forms, investigators say. Five families and 11 children were affected. His sentence: 10 days behind bars.
Maine Mother Ordered to Take Drug Tests to Get Kids Back Says Collector Assaulted Her
A Hancock County mother was taking court-ordered drug tests to get her children back from state custody. Police say the man watching her sample assaulted her. Maine DHHS says oversight isn’t its job.
Federal Judge Orders Georgia to Stop Billing Parents for Kids No Longer in Foster Care
A Kennesaw mother who lost six daughters after becoming homeless was billed for years, even after the state’s case was over. A federal judge says Georgia must stop.
Georgia DFCS Admitted ‘No Immediate Danger,’ Then Took a Grieving Mother’s Kids Anyway
A month after her son’s suicide, Georgia DFCS took Dayshundra Wilson’s children with no hearing, despite its own paperwork saying they weren’t in immediate danger. Now the state Supreme Court is weighing in.
Texas CPS Took Grieving Parents’ Toddler Using an Autopsy Report That Didn’t Exist: Suit
Days after their infant son died, Texas CPS removed Chelsea and Timothy Ragland’s daughter. Their federal lawsuit says the case rested on an autopsy report that was never written.
NPR: Children With Disabilities Are Dying in Foster Care the State Promised Would Help
Christian Williams’ parents gave up custody to get him mental health care. He died in an Arizona DCS group home without insulin. NPR says he is not alone.
Riverside Foster Parent Who Fostered About 90 Children Charged With Sexual Abuse
Riverside police say Edward Sepulveda fostered about 90 children over the years and sexually abused at least four of them. Investigators believe there may be more victims.
Evansville Mother Sues Foster Parents After Medically Fragile Son, 3, Dies in Care
Leon was 3, had a trach and a feeding tube, and needed round-the-clock care. Days after Indiana placed him in foster care, his mother says, that care failed.
Washington Pays $25M in Starvation Death of Adopted Teen Karreon Adams-Franks
Karreon Adams-Franks weighed 61 pounds when he died in a state-subsidized adoptive home. Now Washington and a school district will pay more than $49 million.
Louisiana Foster Child, 6, Dies of Meth Intoxication; Foster Mother Charged
A 6-year-old in Louisiana foster care died of methamphetamine intoxication in August. The foster mother is now charged with negligent homicide, and the state has explaining to do.
$4 Billion, and Still Counting: Inside the Largest Child Sexual-Abuse Settlement in U.S. History
LA County approved a $4 billion settlement for thousands abused as children in its foster shelter and juvenile halls – the largest of its kind in U.S. history.
Marks “Consistent With Compression”: Washington Documented a Foster Child’s Abuse for Years — and Left Her There
Washington social workers documented a foster child’s neck marks, bare room and removed bed – then left her in the home for years, a 2026 lawsuit alleges.
What we cover
Child protective services agencies — called CPS, DFCS, DCS, DHS, DCF or Children’s Division depending on the state — have the power to remove children from their homes, often before a judge has heard a single word from the parents. Most of that power is exercised behind closed doors. Our reporting brings it into public view.
- Wrongful removals and due process: children taken without warrants, hearings or real evidence.
- Harm in state custody: abuse, neglect, drugging and deaths in foster homes, group homes and shelters.
- Caseworker misconduct: falsified records, faked visits, coerced “safety plans.”
- Family court: judges, guardians ad litem and the hearings that decide whether children come home.
- Accountability: lawsuits, settlements, state audits and the laws that follow.
Why CPS news matters
According to federal data analyzed in FAN’s research, about three out of four children removed from their homes are classified as neglect — not abuse — and poverty is increasingly identified as the driver. Families need resources, not removal. When agencies get it wrong, the public deserves to know.
Browse by topic: Foster care · CPS / DFCS · Family court · Caseworker misconduct · Deaths in care · False drug tests · Judges
Browse by state: Georgia · Minnesota · Mississippi · Oklahoma · Texas · California · Florida · West Virginia · Missouri · Indiana
Every story is sourced
Each article links to its sources — court filings, government reports and published news coverage. Allegations are labeled as allegations. If you see an error, tell our newsroom.
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