A parent in a private group complained their children were returned to them after five years of abuse in foster care. Below is my reply, in the hopes that you may some of the information useful if your search for justice includes any similar circumstances.
I am not a lawyer and this is not legal advice.
Abuse while in foster care is a....
Possible cause for a federal civil rights action under:
> 42 U.S. Code § 1983 - Civil action for deprivation of rights
> https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/42/1983
> [not] "being able to feel safe and get help if needed!"
Sounds like the basis of a lawsuit for intentional infliction of emotional distress.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/intentional_infliction_of_emotional_distress
Were the authorities informed of the abuse in foster care and failed to take action to stop it promptly? Were they blind to the abuse?
That sounds like depraved indifference.
> To constitute depraved indifference, the defendant's conduct must be 'so wanton, so deficient in a moral sense of concern, so lacking in regard for the life or lives of others, and so blameworthy as to warrant the same criminal liability as that which the law imposes upon a person who intentionally causes a crime.
> https://definitions.uslegal.com/d/depraved-indifference/
Did they know of the abuse in foster care and fail to properly report it?
That may be a crime.
> A person who, while engaged in a professional capacity or activity described in subsection (b) of section 226 of the Victims of Child Abuse Act of 1990 on Federal land or in a federally operated (or contracted) facility, or a covered individual as described in subsection (a)(2) of such section 226 who, learns of facts that give reason to suspect that a child has suffered an incident of child abuse, as defined in subsection (c) of that section, and fails to make a timely report as required by subsection (a) of that section, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 1 year or both.
> 18 U.S. Code § 2258.Failure to report child abuse
> https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/2258
State child support, parenting time, and child protection are all primarily funded under federal law Title IV-D and Title IV-E. Consider filing complaints.
> HHS Office of Inspector General
> Phone. 1-800-HHS-TIPS (1-800-447-8477)
> https://oig.hhs.gov/fraud/report-fraud/contact.asp
> HHS Office of Civil Rights
> https://www.hhs.gov/civil-rights/filing-a-complaint/index.html
Department of Justice Civil Rights
> The Civil Rights Division of the Department of Justice, created in 1957 by the enactment of the Civil Rights Act of 1957, works to uphold the civil and constitutional rights of all Americans, particularly some of the most vulnerable members of our society. The Division enforces federal statutes prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, disability, religion, familial status and national origin.
> https://www.justice.gov/crt
Anyone may report federal crimes to the FBI.
> (202)324-3000
> http://tips.fbi.gov/
I wish you the best of luck in your search for justice.
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