Danville superintendent wants failure-to-report Charges Thrown Out
Editor’s note: This article is by Todd Wellington of The Caledonian Record, in which it was first published Oct. 9, 2013. Danville School Superintendent Martha Tucker wants the court to throw out the...
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Senate panel to probe DCF after 2-year-old’s death
A panel of seven senators will attempt to discern whether policy changes could help prevent child deaths like that of 2-year-old Dezirae Sheldon in Poultney last week, Senate Pro Tempore John Campbell...
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Errors discovered in criminal record of slain toddler’s mother
Windsor County State’s Attorney Michael Kainen testifies Wednesday before the Senate Review Panel on Child Protection. Agency of Human Services Secretary Doug Racine (second from left) also attended....
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DCF not responsible for second toddler death, commissioner says
DCF Commissioner Dave Yacovone. VTDigger file photo The Department for Children and Families is not to blame for the deaths of two children in its caseload that occurred less than two months apart, the...
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Shumlin announces steps to strengthen DCF
In the wake of the homicides of two toddlers in the Department for Children and Families caseload less than two months apart, Gov. Peter Shumlin announced Wednesday measures to protect vulnerable...
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Mother of slain Winooski toddler pleads not guilty to second degree murder
Nytosha Laforce, 28, of Winooski pleaded not guilty to second degree murder in Chittenden Superior Court in Burlington on Wednesday. She was charged in the death of her 15-month-old son, Peighton...
View ArticleCyrus Patten: Vermont kids deserve better
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Cyrus Patten, who is a licensed social worker and executive director of Campaign for Vermont, a nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy organization. He lives in Monkton....
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No conflict of interest seen in Rutland DCF appointment
Lynne Klamm, who has been tapped to straighten out the Rutland office of the Department for Children and Families is married to the county’s top juvenile prosecutor, but that connection is not a...
View ArticleRobert Luce: Protect children by supporting families
Editor’s note: This commentary is by Robert Luce, who is a trial lawyer at Downs Rachlin Martin and adviser to Vermont Parent Representation Center Inc. The recent deaths of two child abuse victims...
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AG urges more access to child protection proceedings
Dave Yacovone (left), commissioner of the Department for Children and Families, and Doug Racine, secretary of the Agency of Human Services, testify before a committee looking into problems at DCF....
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Child abuse/neglect cases spiked in 2014, data shows
The number of alleged child abuse or neglect cases filed in courts across Vermont last year grew 21 percent from the year before, according to data from the state. In some counties, the number of cases...
View ArticleUniversity of Vermont Children’s Hospital announces changes at ‘ChildSafe’...
News Release — University of Vermont July 1, 2015 Contact: Michael Carrese (802) 847-2886 BURLINGTON, VT – The ChildSafe clinic at the University of Vermont Children’s Hospital/UVM Medical Center...
View ArticleDCF rolls out new policies for people required to report suspected child abuse
The Department for Children and Families is reaching out to mandated reporters of child abuse across the state to inform them of policy changes related to the implementation of Act 60. The new law,...
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State divided over confidentiality rules in child abuse cases
Attorney General Bill Sorrell. Photo by John Herrick/VTDigger Attorney General Bill Sorrell says that limiting confidentiality around family court could improve transparency and accountability in the...
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Gathering explores keys to child abuse prevention
Gov. Peter Shumlin speaks Thursday at an event focusing on child abuse prevention. Photo by Elizabeth Hewitt/VTDiggerGov. Peter Shumlin identified opiate addiction as the greatest challenge to the...
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Suit claims DCF failed to protect children from years of abuse
Vermont Department for Families and Children offices in Waterbury. Google Street View The grandparents of two children are suing the state’s Department for Children and Families for ignoring what they...
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Abuse case tied to former Vermont photographer closes without criminal charges
The Washington (D.C.) Hebrew Congregation has been sued by a group of parents over alleged child sex abuse. Congregation photo A child abuse investigation in Washington, D.C., involving former Vermont...
View ArticleChild abuse reports drop, raising alarm
VTDigger posts regular coronavirus updates on this page. You can also subscribe here for daily coronavirus news. Please send your Covid-19 questions to coronavirus@vtdigger.org At first glance, the...
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Under state pressure, Kurn Hattin gives up license
A sign outside Westminster’s Kurn Hattin Homes for Children notes its founding in 1894. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger After a yearlong investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct and...
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‘Culture of abuse’ alleged at Kurn Hattin over 80 years
The original building of Kurn Hattin Homes for Children in Westminster. Photo by Kevin O’Connor/VTDigger Growing up on the family farm in North Walpole, New Hampshire, Carolyn Blake Bradshaw lived on...
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