Rachel Blustain

Rachel Blustain (Rachel Blustain is the editorial director of Rise, a publication written by and for parents involved in the child-welfare system.)

articles/2016/10/03/doctors-said-they-shook-their-baby-to-death-they-didn-t/160925-Blustain-shaken-baby-syndrome-tease_qedz70

EVERY PARENT’S NIGHTMARE

Doctors Said ‘Shaken Baby.’ It Wasn’t.

When Jarayha and Jonathan’s baby boy died, they had no idea they’d be blamed for shaking him to death. Three years later, their names were finally cleared.

Rachel Blustain

FOREVER FAMILIES

The Adoption System’s Lost Children

Few cities and states keep track of the number of ‘broken adoptions’—where kids re-enter the foster system when adoption just doesn’t work out—but legal experts say they’re seeing a serious problem.

Rachel Blustain

Meds

Medical Consensus or Child Abuse? Moms on Methadone Caught in the Middle

It can be a Catch-22 for new mothers addicted to opiates—doctors treat them with methadone while child-welfare caseworkers report them for continuing to use drugs. Rachel Blustain reports.

Rachel Blustain

When Child-Abuse Charges Are Wrong

Parents should get more protection before we remove their children, writes Rachel Blustain.

Rachel Blustain