PITTSBURGH — The Justice Department has been scrutinizing a controversial artificial intelligence tool used by a Pittsburgh-area child protective services agency following concerns that the tool could lead to discrimination against families with disabilities, The Associated Press has learned. The ...
Read More »Child welfare algorithm faces Justice Department scrutiny
Tennessee children services agency seeks $26M to curb issues 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — The Tennessee agency that has faced heightened scrutiny for failures in oversight of the state’s most vulnerable children is requesting a quick influx of $26.6 million, aimed at keeping youth from having to sleep in administrative state ...
Read More »Church of England refuses to back same-sex marriage 
The Church of England said Wednesday it will allow blessings for same-sex, civil marriages for the first time but same-sex couples still will not be allowed to marry in its churches. The decision followed five years of debate and consultation ...
Read More »8 dead in Utah murder-suicide after wife sought divorce 
ENOCH, Utah — A Utah man fatally shot his five children, his mother-in-law and his wife and then killed himself two weeks after the woman had filed for divorce, according to authorities and public records. Police also revealed during a ...
Read More »Mississippi increasing pace of adoptions from foster care 
JACKSON, Miss. — Mississippi’s foster care system is on pace for more adoptions during the current budget year than the previous one. Department of Child Protection Services Commissioner Andrea Sanders told lawmakers last week that judges finalized adoption of 644 ...
Read More »Judge suspended for anonymous letters related to divorce case 
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Alabama judge has been suspended from the bench after a panel said he violated judicial ethics in 2020 when he mailed an anonymous letter to news outlets and others regarding the behavior of several local officials. ...
Read More »US men’s soccer coach admits kicking future wife in 1991 
NEW YORK — The U.S. Soccer Federation revealed Tuesday it is investigating men’s national team coach Gregg Berhalter for a 1991 confrontation in which he kicked the woman who later became his wife. The federation said it learned of the ...
Read More »Gender self-determination to be granted in Spain, Scotland 
Spain’s lower house of Parliament Thursday passed a law that allows people over 16 years of age to change their legally registered gender without any medical supervision. Under the Spanish law, drawn up by the center-left coalition government, minors ages ...
Read More »Ugandan court charges US couple in case of foster child 
An American couple has been charged by a Ugandan court with child trafficking in a case that might see them serve life in prison if convicted. According to the charge sheet presented by the state prosecution before Buganda Road Court ...
Read More »Tennessee audit: Agency failed to protect vulnerable kids 
NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Tennessee has repeatedly failed to thoroughly investigate sexual abuse allegations in the facilities that house the state’s most vulnerable children, according to a sweeping audit released this month that outlines multiple deficiencies inside the Department of Children’s ...
Read More »