Child protection

New Hampshire's Child Protection Act of 1979 envisioned a system that protects children and respects parents. It says every child has the right to protection, and that maltreated children have the right to "care, treatment, counseling, supervision, and rehabilitative resources." It puts the responsibility on the state to provide prevention and intervention services to families.

Because that vision has never been fully realized, many New Hampshire children are being damaged in ways that will challenge them for the rest of their lives.

The Children's Alliance believes that New Hampshire should accredit its child protection system to ensure a high level of quality in its policies and practices and to increase its accountability to the public and to the Legislature.

May 10, 2005
Children's Defense Fund posts fact sheet on child welfare spending in N.H. (PDF)

August 27, 2004
Children's Alliance Issue Brief: A safe home for every child. Links to related reports and recommendations.

January 31, 2004
Division for Children, Youth and Families (DCYF) releases accreditation report required by the Kassidy Bortner Child Protection Accountability Act.

November 14, 2003
New Hampshire fares poorly in federal Child and Family Services Review (HTML or PDF)