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child welfare

11 movies and shows

Spider Baby

Spider Baby

Sun, 24 Dec 1967

In a dilapidated rural mansion, the last generation of the degenerate, inbred Merrye family lives with the inherited curse of a disease that causes them to mentally regress from the age of 10 or so on as they physically develop. The family chauffeur looks out for them and covers up their indiscretions. Trouble comes when greedy distant relatives and their lawyer arrive to dispossess the family of its home.

Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story

Heart of a Servant: The Father Flanagan Story

Tue, 08 Oct 2024

Father Edward J. Flanagan is a familiar name to many Americans, often for the Oscar-winning 1938 film starring Spencer Tracy about Flanagan’s groundbreaking child welfare organization. But the story extends far beyond that, to a man whose name and legacy are still well-known as far as Germany and Japan. Flanagan gained influence and admiration over the course of his life from Presidents, CEOs, celebrities and more, but none mattered more to him than that of the children for whom he tirelessly worked. A sobering reminder of this was during WWII, as Flanagan saw droves of former Boys Town citizens go off to war. In fact, so many former Boys Town boys named Flanagan as their next of kin that the American War Dads Association named him as America’s No. 1 War Dad.

Where's Foster?

Where's Foster?

Fri, 01 Jan 2021

Social workers dispel myths about why children are removed from their biological parents, breaking down their overwhelming workload. Lawyers uncover the harsh reality of young children navigating the legal system. Advocacy organizations try to keep children safe and away from predators. An eclectic array of interviews from foster care alumni explore their connections (or lack thereof) with social workers, the fragile bond with each foster home, how trust can fall apart, and how those unable to adapt spent time in group homes. The film concludes with alumni success stories, working to remove the stigma of foster care.

For Love

For Love

Wed, 21 Sep 2022

In this searing documentary, Indigenous people share heartbreaking stories that reveal the injustices inflicted by the Canadian child welfare system.

Dawnland

Dawnland

Thu, 14 Jun 2018

They were forced to assimilate into white society: children ripped away from their families, depriving them of their culture and erasing their identities. Can reconciliation help heal the scars from childhoods lost? "Dawnland" is the untold story of Indigenous child removal in the US through the nation's first-ever government-endorsed truth and reconciliation commission, which investigated the devastating impact of Maine’s child welfare practices on the Wabanaki people.

Cotton Wool

Cotton Wool

Tue, 10 Oct 2017

A single mother suffers a devastating stroke leaving her teenage daughter and 7-year-old son to care for her, testing the family's strength to hold things together as their roles are reversed.

The Undertaker's Children

The Undertaker's Children

Invalid Date

Inspired by real events, a reclusive undertaker is forced to take in the children of a deceased distant relative. When the older sister uncovers her sinister plan to get rid of them, she contacts a child welfare nurse, pleading for help. As things escalate, the girl has no choice but to escape with her brother before helps arrives, unleashing an evil that knows no bounds in the process.

My Friend Henry

My Friend Henry

Fri, 20 Aug 2004

When 12-year-old Elsi Björkman and her mother Paula return from a week's holiday abroad, Elsi immediately notices that someone has been in her room. She tells her mother about it, but she does not believe her. At the local supermarket Elsi meets Henry, who seems to spend his time returning shopping trolleys. Elsi does not know anything about the boy, who has an irritating habit of appearing from out of nowhere, only to disappear again, as if into thin air. Nevertheless, the children become friends.

Day 1

Day 1

Thu, 08 Aug 2024

In the big city of Bengaluru, schools are reopening after 2 years of virtual classes due to COVID-19. A little girl named Sukhi is still asleep without a care in the world however her mother is insistent that she be on time on her first day.

Taken - Children of the State

Taken - Children of the State

Fri, 09 Sep 2022

On June 12, 2019, the Committee to Investigate Violence in Youth Care presented its final report. The conclusions were startling. Kim Feenstra set out to find out what progress has been made within the Youth Care system since then and ended up in a circle of grief and pain dominated by money, power and powerlessness. In her search, Kim Feenstra spoke to many people involved. The stories can be described as downright shocking. In many cases Youth Care appears to act as a revenue model that is exploiting parents and children. The complex system has only one entrance, but the exit is obstructed by all stakeholders who want to maintain their revenue model. The people who really matter, the parents and children, encounter a power block of inhuman proportions. A system dominated by money, power and powerlessness.

Tough Love

Tough Love

Wed, 31 Dec 2014

Fighting to reunite with their children, 'Tough Love' chronicles the lives of two parents with cases in the United States child welfare system as they attempt to prove to the courts and the system that they deserve a second chance to be a parent and have a family.