Foster Care Sexual Abuse Lawyer in Kansas

Children who are assigned to the care of the foster system are at a high risk of sexual abuse and assault. Sadly, foster homes that are meant to provide safe havens for children in need are often the source of sexual crimes that will impact a victim for life. Here at DRZ Law, we are passionate about helping foster care abuse survivors tell their stories. We can help you fight for justice against the child welfare system that failed to keep you or a loved one safe. For a free, confidential case evaluation in Kansas, please contact us today.

Sexual Trauma Has Long-Term Impacts on Child Victims

Child sexual abuse is a monstrous crime that is committed against thousands of foster children each year. It can have devastating physical, psychological and emotional consequences for foster kids. Research shows that sexual trauma at a young age can have long-term effects, such as depression, anxiety, PTSD, substance abuse disorders and suicidal tendencies. Examples of foster care sexual abuse include: 

• Unwanted sexual behaviors
• Inappropriate touching, kissing or hugging
• Groping or molestation
• Taking pornographic photos of children
• Exposure of sexual organs in front of a child
• Rape, statutory rape or attempted rape

While nothing can ever make up for the enormous crimes committed against foster children, sexual abuse survivors can seek justice in the form of civil lawsuits. Criminal cases may be able to bring individual perpetrators – such as foster parents or foster siblings – to justice, but they do not hold the institution accountable. A civil lawsuit, on the other hand, can hold the foster care system responsible for its failure to protect children in its care.

Foster Children in Kansas Are Vulnerable to Sexual Abuse

You will often hear foster care referred to as a broken system, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry published some of the general, systemic problems here. Significant issues on a foundational level have created a system that consistently fails to protect vulnerable children from being abused by foster parents. Child welfare offices lack the technology to cross-check foster parents and sexual assault complaints, for example, leading to many instances of children being placed with known abusers and sexual predators. Failing to properly vet foster home applicants also contributes to incidents of foster child sexual abuse and assault.

In addition, foster children themselves are easy targets for sexual abuse. Poor oversight by the foster care system leaves many foster kids to fend for themselves, with few check-ins by child welfare officers. Foster children are in a vulnerable position, with nowhere to go and no one to turn to for assistance. Foster children may be too frightened of their abusers, of rehoming, of being separated from their siblings or of being accused of lying to come forward. If a foster child does accuse someone of abuse, he or she may be let down by a system that ignores cries for help, covers up complaints and fails to report abuse to the authorities.

Taking on the Child Welfare System Is a Legal Specialty at DRZ Law 

Not just any personal injury lawyer has the ability to go up against an institution such as the child welfare system for sexual abuse. You need a foster care sexual abuse attorney with experience in the legal specialty of institutional abuse. Our team of DRZ Law has extensive courtroom experience specific to child sexual assault and trauma. We have dedicated our practice to helping survivors and parents of survivors change things on an institutional level so that sexual violence and abuse do not happen again. We can help you get the justice that you deserve for foster care abuse, shedding light on the dark realities of the child welfare system in Kansas.

We Offer Free & Confidential Case Evaluations for Foster Care Sexual Abuse Survivors

As a survivor of foster care sexual abuse yourself or the loved one of an abused child, you have the right to hold the institution responsible for failing in its duty to protect children. You need a foster care sexual abuse lawyer by your side who understands this complex area of the law. At DRZ Law, we have decades of experience representing clients in all types of child sexual abuse and assault cases. We can help you go up against the foster care system in Kansas to demand justice and accountability. Find out how we can help you with a case today. Request a free case consultation online or by calling (913) 400-2033.