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65°
Wednesday, jun 24
Tag:
Foster Care
News
Once Too Heavy To Walk, Sweetie The Pittie Is Ready To Spend Her Golden Years Loved
A pit bull named Sweetie arrived at the Bergen County Animal Shelter in November 2024. She weighed 97 pounds and was unable to walk on her own due to her weight. Two women brought Sweetie to the shelter in the back of a car and told staff they had found her in Glen Rock, according to shelter manager Meg Tedeschi. Because she was so heavy, shelter officials said they used a towel as a sling behind her hind legs just to help her walk and get inside. After about a year with a foster family, a structured diet, and thyroid medication, Sweetie now weighs 68 pounds, officials said. While she is an…
News
2-Month-Old Infant Thrown Six Feet By PA Man Suffers Severe Brain Bleed, Spine Injuries: DA
A New Kensington man is accused of throwing a two-month-old child onto a couch, leaving the infant with severe brain and spine injuries, the Westmoreland County District Attorney’s Office announced on Tuesday, Oct. 7. Jacob Alexander Piontek, 25, was arrested after investigators said he admitted to tossing the child from five to six feet away while “playing,” according to the release. Emergency responders were called to a Stewart Street home in New Kensington at 2:24 a.m. on Sunday, Sept. 22, for a report of a baby in cardiac arrest, authorities said. Later that day, a social worker at UPMC…
Lifestyle
New England Genealogist Reunites PA Woman With Childhood Best Friend Separated By Foster Care
A New England genealogist has helped reunite two women who were separated by foster care while attending elementary school in Abington in the late 1980s. Elizabeth Crompton, who grew up in Abington, shared on Facebook that she had been searching for her childhood best friend for decades. The two attended Glenside Weldon Elementary School just outside of Philadelphia, where Crompton, then known as Liz, spent nearly every day with her best friend. “She was the sweetest girl ever, red curly hair and the warmest smile,” Crompton wrote, recalling how her friend’s social worker once gave her litt…
News
NJ Woman Killed In Crosswalk; Driver Cited, But Not Charged In PA Crash: Police
A Pennsylvania woman was fatally struck while crossing the street in Lansdale, but the driver behind the wheel won’t face criminal charges, police announced on Friday, June 13, 2025. Diane Kopena, 71, died days after being hit by a vehicle at Columbia Avenue and Richardson Avenue on April 24, according to the Lansdale Police Department. She succumbed to her injuries on Thursday, May 1. The driver remained on scene, rendered aid, and called for help, the police explained. Following a joint investigation with the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office, investigators found no signs of re…
News
PA's Foster Care System Ranked In Nation's Bottom Half, New Study Says: Here's Why
Northeast and mid-Atlantic states showed wide disparities in foster care quality, with some ranking among the nation's best and others falling behind, according to a new study. SmileHub released its 2025 list of States With the Best Foster Care Systems on Tuesday, April 29. The study analyzed every state using 19 key foster care metrics, from adoption timelines and high school graduation rates to monthly stipends. The ranking used a weighted scoring system across three categories: foster youth baselines, community environment and support systems, and legal support. …
News
PA Foster Mom Admits To Strangling Infant
A North Whitehall Township foster mother has been sentenced to state prison for asphyxiating and strangling a 1-year-old girl in her care, Lehigh County District Attorney Gavin P. Holihan announced on Wednesday, Feb. 26, 2025. Brenda Broadwater, 49, pleaded guilty to aggravated assault of a victim under 13 and endangering the welfare of children during a hearing before Judge Robert L. Steinberg on Dec. 3, 2024. Both charges are felonies. She was sentenced to serve 18 to 48 months in state prison. The charges stem from a call to Pennsylvania State Police on Jan. 26, 2024, reporting a child i…
News
Nine Puppies Abandoned In Box At Park Rescued By PA SPCA
Nine four-week-old puppies were found abandoned in a box at Merion Gateway Park in Montgomery County earlier this week, Pennsylvania SPCA officials announced. The puppies, left out in the cold and unable to fend for themselves, were reportedly caked in feces, suffering from urine scalding, and in desperate need of care, according to a release from the organization. “These puppies were given a heartbreaking start, but they now have a chance at a better life,” the SPCA wrote in a social media post. Upon their arrival at the shelter, the puppies were gently bathed, medically examined, and…
News
Foster Homes Needed For 30 Animals Seized From Berks County Home
Rescue officials are desperate for help after 30 animals were seized from a home in Berks County. The Department of Animal Protection from the Animal Rescue League of Berks County was performing a wellness check when they removed 22 dogs, three cats, five snakes, and two geckos were removed from a home in Womelsdorf on Wednesday, Oct. 9. All appear to be in good condition, and will soon need fosters or adopters, as the ARL said its facility was at capacity for cats and dogs. “While the ARL is fully equipped with the skilled personnel, facilities, and industry expertise to respond to c…
Police & Fire
Foster Parents Charged With Felonies For Years Of Child Abuse: PSP Gettysburg
Two foster parents have been charged with felonies for abusing a young boy in their care for years, the Pennsylvania State Police announced on Wednesday, Feb. 21. Steven Francis Selby, 64, and Kelly Marie Selby, 50, both of Lake Meade Road, East Berlin, Latimore Township were arrested on Feb. 16, Trooper Loder detailed in the release. They are accused of physically assaulting a 13-year-old "over a period of years," as stated in the release. They have both been charged with the following according to their court dockets: Felony endangers the welfare of children whe…
Police & Fire
Philadelphia Social Worker Charged in 3-Year-Old's Death: DA
A Philadelphia social worker faces murder charges after authorities said she failed to report the abuse of a foster child. District Attorney Larry Krasner charged 25-year-old Jendayi Mawusi with third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and child endangerment related to the July death of three-year-old Hope Jones, In a statement released Tuesday, Oct. 11. According to prosecutors, Mawusi had been assigned Jones' caseworker by the city Department of Human Services in November 2020. From then until the child's death on July 12, Mawusi was tasked with monitoring Jones' pla…
Obituaries
Soon-To-Be Adopted Teen Killed In Central PA Drive-By Shooting: Report
Demarao Alexander Gumby Jr. had lived in 30 foster homes just in the past six years. Most recently, he had been living with five new siblings including Shaquille Moore, who was planning on adopting him in the near future, PennLive reports. But Gumby’s bright future with a loving family was shattered when he was shot dead on Saturday, June 18 on North 16th Street in Harrisburg. He was taken to a local hospital where he died from his injuries, police say. The teen's community is already sharing about it's loss of social media. His sister, Iyanna Puglia, writes in part: "We lost s…
News
Former NJ Military Couple Avoids More Prison Time For Horrific Child Abuse
UPDATE: A former New Jersey Army major and his wife avoided more time in federal prison Wednesday when they were resentenced for routinely torturing three adopted children by breaking bones, withholding water and force-feeding them hot sauce, among other cruelties. A federal appeals court had rejected two previous sentencings of Carolyn Jackson and John E. Jackson by U.S. District Judge Katharine Hayden as too lenient. Hayden, however, said Wednesday that she believed more time behind bars would be "more punishment than is necessary" for abusing the children, all of whom were less than 4 y…
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