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FAMILY RIGHTS. PUBLIC RECORDS. ACCOUNTABILITY.

Protect families.
Follow the money.
Put the facts
on record.

The systems entrusted with our children and our rights should be open to scrutiny. We examine the paper trail—and help families build one of their own.

Submit a lead, tip or evidence Know your rights

Independent advocacy · Public sources · Human editorial review

COURTS & JUDICIAL CONDUCTCHILD WELFARE & DCSPUBLIC FUNDINGFAMILY PROTECTIONS

START HERE / KNOW YOUR RIGHTS

Protect your family.
Understand your next step.

You don’t have to know the law already. Find a starting point before agency contact, during a case and after it closes.

01 / BEFORE A CASE

When an agency contacts you.

Understand consent, ask about authority, keep the paperwork and find legal help early.

Start with first contact →02 / DURING A CASE

Take part. Keep a record.

Learn about notice, counsel, hearings, orders and the deadlines that need immediate attention.

Prepare for the process →03 / AFTER A CASE

Know what comes next.

Check closure orders, preserve available records and distinguish complaints from legal review.

Plan your next step →
Know your rights · Select your state →Trace funding & accountability in your state →

Plain-language legal education with source links. State laws, court orders and deadlines matter; this is not individual legal advice.

01 / FOLLOW THE FUNDING IN YOUR STATE

A national picture.
Built one state at a time.

Find your state, explore the research desk and contribute a source. Every proposed entry begins with private editorial review.

STATE RESEARCH DESK

Choose a state

Know your rights in this state →
Contribute research

START THE PAPER TRAIL

  1. Identify the entities. State agency, court administration, pass-through organization and service provider.
  2. Find the source records. Budgets, contracts, award notices, payment records, audits and nonprofit filings.
  3. Match the period and amount. An award ceiling, invoice, payment and revenue figure describe different things.
  4. Keep the open questions. Record missing agreements, conflicting figures and the next document needed.
Download a funding register ↓

FINDINGS & LEADS

No approved findings posted yet.

This state has a research desk, but no submitted material has been represented as verified or approved for publication.

Each desk covers the state being researched. The directory does not imply wrongdoing in every state. New contributions require review. Explore national findings →

CONTRIBUTE TO YOUR STATE’S RECORD

A source-first
research worksheet.

Enter one funding record or research lead at a time. Identify the primary state being researched and any other states involved. The worksheet prepares an email for review, or a text file you can keep.

No name or account is required by this worksheet. Your email app will share its normal sender address if you send the draft.

Your draft is not saved by the website.

Entries stay in this tab until you leave or reload. Download a copy before leaving. Do not enter children’s names, case files or sensitive personal information.

02 / THE RESEARCH DESK

Questions worth
putting on the record.

Traceable sources. Reproducible calculations. Clear limits on what the documents establish.

FUNDING & OVERSIGHTRESEARCH DRAFT

When a funding description
needs a second look.

Reading a nonprofit’s financial disclosures can reveal questions that deserve a documented answer. The first study examines government-grant revenue reported by Clark County Youth Shelter & Family Services.

6consecutive fiscal years in the reviewed analysis
Government grants exceeded 60% of reported revenue.

Main research home: Indiana’s desk →

Prepared analysis dated November 5, 2026. These are filing classifications, not findings of fraud or a legal determination about public-record access.

NATIONAL RECORDS / STATE CONNECTIONS

Established findings.
Clear boundaries.

Each brief identifies its source, evidence status and limits. State desks link to the same record. These selections are a documentary review, not a certified financial audit or a survey of every state.

CRIMINAL FINDINGS / HISTORICAL

PENNSYLVANIA · JUVENILE JUSTICE

Kids for Cash

A historical prosecution connecting juvenile placements, private facilities and concealed financial benefits.

Pennsylvania research desk →
CRIMINAL FINDINGS / HISTORICAL

OREGON · FOSTER-CARE FUNDS

When funds intended for care were diverted

A documented theft from a foster-care organization and the financial controls investigators examined.

Oregon research desk →
FEDERAL OVERSIGHT EVALUATION

NATIONAL · RESIDENTIAL FACILITIES

Who can see patterns across state lines?

HHS OIG’s 2024 review identified gaps in residential-care monitoring. Recommendation follow-up is included.

Find your state’s research desk →
Turn a concern into a question that can be tested.

Compare the funding source, authority, service, invoice and actual payment. Separate a documented fact from a financial inference or an unresolved lead.

Take the billing checklist ↓

03 / THE FAMILY FIELD GUIDES

You don’t need to know everything.
You need a place to start.

Practical habits for documenting events, finding public information and making a growing record useful.

01

PRESERVE / BEFORE YOU INTERPRET

Build the record from day one.

Keep original files, dates and context together. Separate what happened from what you think it means.

02

INVESTIGATE / FOLLOW EACH TRANSFER

Follow the funding, one document at a time.

Match entities, fiscal periods, award identifiers and payment types before adding figures together.

03

ORGANIZE / WHEN THE FILE GETS ENORMOUS

Turn the document pile into an evidence index.

Stable document IDs, searchable copies and a timeline keep the important pages within reach.

04

COMMUNICATE / MAKE THE NEXT STEP SPECIFIC

Give a reviewer a path through the facts.

A short overview, issue table and selected exhibits can make an extensive record approachable.

These guides teach research and record organization. They do not determine legal rights, filing requirements or deadlines in an individual case.

04 / TAKE THE TOOLS WITH YOU

Structure turns information
into something useful.

Blank templates you can download and keep. No account, document upload or personal information required.

CSV / SPREADSHEET

The evidence index

Document ID, date, source, page, issue, confidentiality and verification status.

Download template ↓CSV / SPREADSHEET

The funding register

Trace agencies, awards, recipients and reported amounts without double-counting.

Download template ↓TXT / CHECKLIST

The reviewer’s packet

A one-page overview, issue-to-evidence map and selected source list.

Download checklist ↓
TXT / AUDIT CHECKLIST

Check the billing trail

Eleven tests for authorizations, services, billed days, payments, adjustments and supporting records.

Download checklist ↓CSV / SPREADSHEET

The payment reconciliation

Track invoices, denials, payments, credits and unresolved differences as separate entries.

Download template ↓CSV / SPREADSHEET

The relationship register

Date each board role, ownership interest, contract and disclosure. Keep inference separate from the record.

Download template ↓

A QUICK RESEARCH CHECK

What share of revenue
is reported as government grants?

Use amounts from the same entity and fiscal period. A percentage describes a filing; it does not establish wrongdoing or legal status.

Enter both amountsCalculated in your browser. These entries are not sent to us.

WHY FAMILY RIGHTS LEDGER EXISTS

Institutions hold power.
Families deserve answers.

Family Rights Ledger is an independent advocacy and public-record research project focused on child welfare, DCS, juvenile courts, judicial accountability and the funding behind programs that affect families.

Our purpose is to strengthen family protections, scrutinize documented concerns and teach people how to preserve and communicate a record—even when the questions extend beyond a courtroom.

Source the claim.Protect the child.Show the limits.Correct the record.

CONTINUE THE RESEARCH

More eyes on
child-welfare accountability.

Explore another resource for research into CPS, DCS, juvenile courts and accountability in the systems entrusted with protecting children and families.

EXTERNAL RESOURCE / CAS.NEWS

CPS Accountability System

A complementary source of information for readers following the records, institutions and oversight questions behind child-welfare systems.

Visit CAS News (opens in a new tab)

05 / HELP BUILD THE RECORD

A lead. A tip.
Evidence worth examining.

Know of a funding connection, oversight gap or concern involving child welfare, DCS, CPS or juvenile courts? Help us identify what deserves a closer look.

  1. Start small. Tell us the state, the agency or organization, what happened and when.
  2. Point to the record. Include public links, document titles and exact pages when you have them. A tip is welcome even if a source is still needed.
  3. Send for review. Open the email draft, check it and press Send in your email app. You choose what may be considered for publication.
Have supporting documents?

Attach a small selection of permitted, redacted copies in your email app. Keep the originals. For a large archive, send a short index first so we can discuss the relevant records.

Before sharing sensitive material

Leave out children’s names, birth dates, home addresses, passwords, identity documents and sensitive medical details. Do not send sealed or restricted records. Check that redactions actually remove underlying text and identifying metadata.

Ordinary email is not an anonymous or confidential whistleblower channel. Your email app shares its normal sender address. This site is not an emergency service or a court filing portal.

Tracing funding? Use the state research worksheet →

PRIVATE REVIEW FIRST

Share what you’ve found.

No signup or name field. This prepares an email; it sends nothing until you press Send in your email app.

These fields stay in this tab and disappear on reload. You can also write your summary directly in the email draft.

Open submission email

Then review the draft, add any permitted attachments and press Send.

Every submission begins as an unverified lead. Sources, privacy and publication permission are reviewed before anything is posted. Replies and publication are not guaranteed.

FAMILY RIGHTS LEDGER / FIELDNOTES