Foster Care Negligence Lawyer in Westwood, Kansas
Children are placed into foster care with the promise that adults and agencies will protect them when they can't protect themselves. When that promise is broken, the consequences can follow a child and their family for years.
Foster care negligence can leave children injured, traumatized, or worse, and families often feel powerless when they realize warning signs were missed or ignored. If you’re dealing with the aftermath of foster care negligence, you may be searching for answers, accountability, and a way forward.
You don’t have to face those questions alone. At Steven A. Ediger, I practice in Westwood, Kansas, and serve clients throughout Kansas and Missouri. For decades, I’ve focused on helping individuals and families harmed by serious injury and negligence. In recent years, much of my work has centered on foster care cases, representing children and families affected by breakdowns in a system meant to keep them safe. If you believe foster care negligence played a role in your child’s injury or loss, contact my firm to discover your options.
Why Does Foster Care Negligence Happen?
Foster care negligence often happens when basic responsibilities aren’t met. Agencies, contractors, and caregivers all have duties to monitor placements, respond to concerns, and provide appropriate care. When those duties fall short, children can be exposed to unsafe conditions that cause serious harm.
Specific behavioral changes, unexplained marks, or troubling reports can be brushed aside or delayed. In other situations, children may be placed into homes or facilities without adequate screening or follow-up.
Negligence isn’t always about a single mistake. It’s often a pattern of missed opportunities to protect a child. Legal action can help uncover where those failures occurred and why they weren’t corrected in time.
Seek the Help You Need
How I Help Families Impacted by Foster Care Negligence
When you contact me, my first priority is listening. Every foster care negligence case begins with understanding what the child experienced and how the system responded. Families are often overwhelmed, and my role is to shoulder the legal burden so you can focus on the child’s needs.
I help clients pursue foster care negligence claims by carefully reviewing records, placement decisions, and agency actions. These cases may involve state agencies, private foster care providers, or others responsible for a child’s safety. I assist families during foster care negligence cases by:
Reviewing the case in detail: Examining foster care files, medical records, and prior complaints.
Identifying failures: Pinpointing where policies, supervision, or care fell short.
Filing civil claims: Seeking compensation for medical treatment, therapy, and future care.
Providing clear guidance: Explaining each step so you know what to expect throughout the case.
Foster care negligence cases can take time, but careful preparation and persistence matter. My focus remains on accountability and the child’s long-term well-being.
Negligent Foster Care Placement and Supervision
One of the most common forms of foster care negligence involves placement and supervision decisions. Children may be placed in homes or facilities that aren’t equipped to meet their needs or that pose known risks. Ongoing supervision is meant to catch problems early, but that doesn’t always happen.
Negligent placement or supervision can allow unsafe conditions to continue unchecked. In many cases, records show missed visits, incomplete background checks, or ignored concerns raised by teachers, doctors, or family members. Examples of negligent placement or supervision include:
Unsafe homes: Approving placements with prior complaints or safety issues.
Missed monitoring: Failing to conduct required home visits or evaluations.
Overcrowded facilities: Placing children in environments without adequate staff.
Delayed responses: Taking too long to act on reported concerns.
When these failures lead to injury, families have the right to seek accountability. Addressing negligent placement and supervision can also help prevent harm to other children in care.
Severe Harm and Loss Caused by Foster Care Negligence
Some of the most serious foster care negligence cases involve extreme harm, including abuse and loss of life. These situations are devastating for children and families, especially when the damage could have been prevented if agencies or caregivers had acted responsibly.
Foster Care Abuse Linked to Negligence
When proper screening isn’t completed, supervision is lax, or early warning signs are ignored, abuse can continue unchecked. Children may suffer serious physical injuries or lasting emotional trauma while those responsible fail to intervene.
In these cases, accountability isn’t limited to the individual who caused the harm. It also includes the systems and agencies that allowed unsafe access to the child or failed to respond after concerns were raised. Foster care abuse connected to negligence may include:
Physical abuse: Injuries caused by violent behavior or inappropriate discipline.
Emotional harm: Repeated mistreatment that damages a child’s mental health and development.
Sexual abuse: Exploitation by caregivers or others with access to the child.
Ignored reports: Failure to investigate or act on complaints or visible signs of harm.
Civil claims can help families obtain resources for counseling, medical care, and long-term support. They also force agencies to confront the consequences of overlooking serious risks.
Foster Care Wrongful Death Caused by Negligence
The death of a child in foster care is a profound tragedy. Families are left grieving while trying to understand how such a loss occurred under state supervision. Foster care wrongful death claims arise when negligence contributed to conditions that led to a child’s death.
These cases focus on identifying where safeguards failed and why intervention didn’t happen in time. Negligence may involve unsafe living conditions, inadequate supervision, or failure to meet urgent medical needs. Circumstances that may lead to foster care wrongful death claims include:
Severe neglect: Failure to provide adequate food, supervision, or medical care.
Dangerous environments: Unsafe housing or missing basic safety protections.
Ignored risks: Prior warnings, complaints, or documented concerns that weren’t addressed.
Delayed intervention: Slow or inadequate responses to medical or safety emergencies.
While no legal action can undo such a loss, pursuing a wrongful death claim can provide financial support and meaningful accountability. These cases can also help prevent similar tragedies by bringing systemic failures into the open.
Foster Care Negligence Lawyer Serving Westwood, Kansas
If your family has been harmed by foster care negligence, help is available. I serve clients in Westwood, Kansas, and throughout Kansas and Missouri. I’m committed to helping families hold foster care systems accountable when they fail to protect children. Reach out to me, Steven A. Ediger, today to discuss your situation.