Arizona child safety department agrees to federal oversight

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona's department of child welfare has agreed to increased federal scrutiny after failing to provide proper translation services for families whose first language is not English. The state Department of Child Safety has entered into a voluntary settlement with federal officials and has...

Plan to split Alaska Department of Health draws criticism

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — A proposal to split the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services into two organizations has been criticized by health care workers, social service organizations and tribal governments. Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced the reorganization plan Dec. 22, saying the...

The buck stops here: Dutch govt quits over welfare scandal

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his entire Cabinet resigned Friday to take political responsibility for a scandal involving investigations into child welfare payments that wrongly labeled thousands of parents as fraudsters. In a nationally televised speech, Rutte said he...

Dutch media report Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government is resigning over scandal involving child welfare fraud probes

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — Dutch media report Prime Minister Mark Rutte’s government is resigning over scandal involving child welfare fraud probes.

HHS leaders: No evidence of child abuse surge amid pandemic

NEW YORK (AP) — Top officials overseeing child welfare at the Department of Health and Human Services say they’ve seen no solid evidence to bear out warnings that serious forms of child abuse would surge during the coronavirus pandemic. Lynn Johnson, HHS assistant secretary for children and...

Ex-Fremont police officer gets prison for child sex assault

FREMONT, Neb. (AP) — A former Fremont police officer has been sentenced to more than two years in prison for sexually assaulting a child. Austin Williams, 35, was was sentenced Wednesday in Dodge County District Court to 30 months in prison, the Fremont Tribune reported. Williams was convicted of...

GOP proposal to elect judges by zone advances by single vote

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A legislative panel on Wednesday narrowly approved a proposal to amend the Pennsylvania Constitution to elect state appeals court judges by zone, a movement largely motivated by Republicans' anger over recent rulings from the Democratic-majority state Supreme Court. The House...

Lawsuit: Regulation illegally blocks business serving kids

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A New Orleans woman says in a federal lawsuit that she’s being unconstitutionally denied the right to run a business providing care to special needs children. The suit was filed Tuesday on behalf of Ursula Newell-Davis, who said she wants to run a business providing...

Sri Lankan court acquits ex-rebel lawmaker of murder charges

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — A Sri Lankan court on Wednesday acquitted a rebel-turned-lawmaker of charges that he was involved in the killing of an ethnic Tamil legislator at the height of the island’s long civil war. The court in the eastern town of Batticaloa released Sivanesathurai Chandarakanthan,...

Kansas House Dems move to oust member over issues with women

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kansas legislators on Tuesday began the process to oust a newly elected lawmaker over multiple issues that include the 20-year-old’s rhetoric on Twitter and allegations that he harassed and threatened girls and women. A formal compliant filed in the House by Democratic members...