I love when I get to share good news on my blog, and I have some good news to share this morning. According to this article, the number of children living in foster homes has dropped dramatically across several states. The article states that the number of children in foster care in New York City has dropped from almost 28,000 in 2002 to under 16,000. Hooray!

The article further states that, as of 2008, the number of children in foster care nationwide has dropped 11% since 2002, from 523,000 foster children in 2002 to 463,000 foster children in 2008. While my heart breaks for the high number of children who still have no forever family, I am thrilled see the numbers moving in the right direction.

I am deviating from my usual Trauma Thursday format to cover breaking news … Russia has suspended adoptions by Americans pending reaching an agreement on adoption procedures. You can read the fully story here.

The suspension was prompted by adoptive mother Torry Hansen’s decision to return her seven-year-old adopted child Artyom Savelyev to Russia. You can read my blog entry here for the details. In short, this is one big, fat mess for any American who is currently in the process of adopting a child from Russia.

According to the Associated Press article, Russian authorities were “incensed” that the seven-year-old boy was flown back to Russia unsupervised by his adoptive family with nothing but a note explaining why he was being returned to his country of birth. The article goes on to state that the Russian authorities are “outraged” that the United States has not filed charges against Ms. Hansen or her grandmother. Under current laws, the Russian government has no way to prosecute either woman.

Here is a depressing thought to consider at the close of the year – child abuse fatalities are on the rise. According to a report posted on the Every Child Matters website, 10,440 children died from child abuse and neglect from 2001 through 2007. That is a sobering statistic.

Here are more disturbing statistics from the same report: In 2001, 1,300 children died from child abuse or neglect in the United States. In 2007, the number rose to 1,760. Seventy five percent of the children were under age four, 13% were 4-7 years old, and 11% were 8 or older.

It gets worse. In thousands of these cases, people had contacted child protective services because they were concerned about the children being in danger. Unfortunately, thanks to tight budgets and staff that is stretched too thin, these children’s lives were not saved.

According to this report, these numbers might actually be low. The report states:

The U.S. Supreme Court has declined to hear a case appealed from the Fourth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals that ruled in favor of protecting the rights of adoptive parents under the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA). Bottom line – This is good news for adoptive families who plan to adopt internationally or out of foster care. You can read a detailed description of the facts here and the Fourth Circuit’s decision here.

Jim Dotson was a salesman for a pharmaceutical company called Pfizer. Dotson and his wife decided to adopt a child from Russia, which requires two trips. Dotson kept his employer apprised of his plans. Soon after Dotson returned from Russia with his adopted daughter, Aselya, he was fired.

The parties disagree as to the reason for the firing. According to Pfizer, Dotson gave the orphanage unauthorized samples of Zithromax (an antibiotic uses to treat infections), which violated company policy. However, two of the people involved in firing him knew about his plan to donate the samples, made no effort to stop him, and were not disciplined afterward for their inaction.

Dotson asserts that he was illegally fired for asserting his rights under the FMLA. Pfizer claimed that:

FMLA does not provide for the type of intermittent adoption-related leave that he took. ~ Dotson v. Pfizer