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What One Tennessee Boy’s Case Reveals About America’s Child Welfare System for Children With Disabilities
When a child is removed from their home, the goal is straightforward: protect them from harm.
For children with disabilities, however, protection means more than placing them in a safe house. It means maintaining therapies, preserving routines, supporting communication, providing appropriate medical care and ensuring caregivers understand the child’s unique developmental needs.
The recent case of Matthew Floyd, a Tennessee boy with autism, has raised difficult questions about whether America’s child welfare system is prepared to meet those responsibilities.
Matthew, who has level-two autism, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and additional developmental needs, was removed from his parents by the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services after concerns were reported involving the family. His two teenage sisters were also removed from the home. According to court records and an investigative report by Nashvi…
