Collateral Damage: The DCF Chronicles

Broken Bridge: How New York's Foster System Pushed Jade Smith to the Edge

Public filings show 13-year-old Jade Smith was reported missing near the Brooklyn Bridge hours before she was found in the East River. A federal lawsuit alleges that New York City’s child welfare system failed at the moments that mattered, from mental health planning to placement oversight to missing-from-care response. This story follows what the record shows, and what the sealed record keeps from view.

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