NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending June 16, 2026

● In The Imprint, Charles Zeanah of Tulane University School of Medicine and Carole Shauffer, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the Youth Law Center discuss the mountain of research showing that the real problem with group homes and institutions is that they are group homes and institutions. They write: 

The promises to improve protocols and procedures that follow each new revelation of abuse [in group homes and institutions] are not only inadequate, they may be worse than nothing at all. By creating the illusion of progress, these never-ending “reforms” legitimize an intrinsically damaging institution. 

● Unfortunately, lawmakers don’t seem to get the message. In Minnesota, The Imprint reports, in the wake of abuse allegations that dogged a residential treatment center since it opened, the state finally suspended its license. But legislators and state officials seem more concerned about losing a place to institutionalize children than they are about what happens to the children once they’re institutionalized – because the state promptly reached an agreement to allow the place to stay open. Presumably, they promised to improve protocols and procedures. [UPDATE JUNE 17: And sure enough ...]

● The Imprint also has two stories on the issue of drug testing and consent in New York. One story reports on inaction by legislators: 

A legislative fix in New York was first introduced seven years ago. The state attorney general has investigated. Lawsuits have been filed. And some hospitals in the state have changed their rules. 

But birthing mothers and their newborns are still routinely tested for drugs without consent, triggering CPS investigations and removals at the most tender of bonding times. And as this year’s legislative session ended Friday, the Maternal Health, Dignity and Consent Act — a bill to ban the practice — once again failed in Albany. 

● The other story reports on action by litigators. They’re suing to stop a policy that would allow judges to “ask” parents to submit to instant on-the-spot drug testing. Technically, the tests are voluntary, but … 

“When saying ‘no’ means unlawful separation from your child, that is coercion,” Trisha Trigilio, the [Bonrx Defenders’] director of impact litigation said in a press release. “Judges should not leverage the power of their offices to extract consent and circumvent the law. If the court wants a drug test, it can follow the law and issue a warrant based on probable cause.” 

● Things are far worse in New Mexico, where that state’s Supreme Court refused to stop a confiscation-at-birth directive issued by the Governor. I have a blog post about it. 

● Kentucky Lantern reports on another bizarre turn in the saga of former Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin’s failed adoption of Jonah, a child from Ethiopia.  As the story reminds us: 

Jonah, who alleges he was abandoned by the Bevins at age 17 in an abusive facility in Jamaica, is seeking support and help in completing an education. 

Now, according to the story, an email that sounds like a Trump social media post … 

blasts lawyers for his estranged son, Jonah Bevin, for making “FALSE STATEMENTS” to the media and accuses Jonah of trying “TO SHAKE HIS PARENTS DOWN FOR MONEY.” 

The two-page email, mostly in capital letters, repeats attacks on Jefferson Family Court Judge Angela Johnson, who oversees the case in which Jonah, 19, seeks support from his divorced parents. It calls her an “ACTIVIST JUDGE” who “INSISTS ON MILKING THIS CASE PUBLICLY FOR THE MEDIA ATTENTION THAT IT BRINGS HER.”… 

The email statement is not signed by Bevin and the sender did not reply to multiple requests from the Kentucky Lantern for confirmation that the email was from him or respond to questions about its content.