FAN Research Desk
The research they don’t want you to read.
Evidence-based reporting on the child welfare system — what it costs, who it harms, and how it fails the families it is supposed to protect. Because parents making life-changing decisions deserve facts, not assumptions.
From FAN’s own case files
694Documented issues in our case files
170Legal deadlines missed by agencies
Live from our case platform, including closed cases.
All reports
Twelve reports on a system that keeps failing families
Research & DataChildren in Foster Care Are Dying at the Same or Higher Rate — The Data No One Wants to ShowA data-driven comparison of child mortality in foster care vs. the general population. With ~25–50 deaths per 100,000 children in foster care compared to ~27 per 100,000 overall, the system is not demonstrably safer — and may be more dangerous.6 min read · Read the report →
Research & DataChildren in Foster Care Face Higher Abuse Risks — What the Data Actually ShowsResearch reveals children in foster care are significantly more likely to experience abuse and neglect than those in the general population. Explore the data, root causes, and what families need to know.6 min read · Read the report →
Policy & FundingThe Real Cost of Foster Care Per Child — Where Billions in Taxpayer Money Actually GoThe U.S. spends over $30 billion annually on foster care. Explore the per-child cost breakdown, where taxpayer money actually goes, and why family preservation programs cost a fraction as much.4 min read · Read the report →
Systemic IssuesMedical Kidnapping in America — When Hospitals and CPS Tear Families ApartWhat happens when a parent seeks medical help and CPS takes their child? Explore the pattern of medical kidnapping, landmark cases, and how families can protect themselves.4 min read · Read the report →
Research & Data75% of Foster Care Removals Start as 'Neglect' — Not Abuse — and the Data Shows Poverty Is Driving ItFederal data reveals 3 out of 4 children removed from homes are classified as neglect — not abuse. Research increasingly shows poverty, not parental unfitness, is the primary driver.4 min read · Read the report →
Systemic CrisisSex Trafficking in Foster Care — When the System Loses Children, Traffickers Find ThemAn estimated 60–70% of child sex trafficking victims have history in the child welfare system. A Senate probe found 410 foster youth in one state were likely trafficking victims. This is a systemic crisis.7 min read · Read the report →
Accountability CrisisCPS Workers Exposed: Falsified Records, Destroyed Evidence, and Zero AccountabilityOver 800 Georgia DFCS workers disciplined in six years. Caseworkers in Colorado, Texas, and Washington caught falsifying records and lying to courts. A nationwide investigation into unchecked CPS power.11 min read · Read the report →
Systemic CrisisFalse Positive Drug Tests Are Tearing Families Apart — And the System Doesn't CareDrug-free parents are failing state drug tests and losing their children. From Georgia's lab scandals to a $1.3M DOJ settlement, the child welfare drug testing system is broken. Here's the evidence.6 min read · Read the report →
Insider AccountsFormer CPS Employees Speak Out — What They Saw Inside Will Shock YouFormer CPS investigators, caseworkers, and whistleblowers reveal the inconsistencies, incentives, racial biases, and systemic failures families face — in their own words.6 min read · Read the report →
Family DestructionHow CPS Turns Parents Against Each Other — And the Real Harm It CausesCPS uses triangulation, coerced safety plans, and divide-and-conquer tactics to pit parents against each other — destroying families from the inside. Here's how it works, what the research shows, and what families can do.7 min read · Read the report →
Justice DeniedPublic Defenders Are Failing Parents in CPS Cases — And Families Are Paying the PriceOverworked, underpaid, and often indifferent — public defenders in child welfare cases routinely tell parents to 'just comply' with CPS instead of fighting. Here's the data, the stories, and what families can do.8 min read · Read the report →
Judicial CrisisFamily Courts Are Factories — And Your Judge's Wiring Decides Your Family's FateFamily court hearings last minutes, not hours. Judges process families like products on an assembly line. And whether your children come home may depend entirely on how your judge is psychologically wired. Here's the data — and what the Core Values Index reveals.10 min read · Read the report →How we put this research together
Every report on this page pulls together public reporting, court records, audits and federal data on the child welfare system, and names its sources at the end. We update reports when new data comes out and correct them when we get something wrong.
It sits alongside what FAN sees in its own case files — the families who come to us for help. Those numbers are live below, and they include cases that have since closed.
451Families helped
694Documented issues in our case files
170Legal deadlines missed by agencies
309Children in the cases we track
Live from FAN’s case platform. Includes closed and archived cases; “families helped” adds families FAN served before the platform launched.
Read our editorial standards, or send a correction to our corrections desk.
Keep exploring
Go deeper on the issues
CPS NewsThe latest investigations into child protective services.Case HelpFacing CPS right now? Start here.Expose CPSHow families document misconduct — with evidence.Family CourtJudges, GALs and due-process failures.Why Does CPS Fail?The incentives behind bad decisions.TrackersDeaths, abuse, payouts and false tests — tracked.
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