Surely there are few hardships worse than being unfairly separated from your own flesh and blood. It sounds like plenty of families in Washington State have suffered that fate; a report [pdf] from the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman indicates that the local government authorities have too often given custody of children to the foster care system rather than to the kids' relatives without good reason. The office is in charge of investigating complaints about government agencies' actions involving children at risk for abuse or people involved with child protection and child welfare services. more ›