Henri Cauvin is reporting over at the Washington Post that more than 100 employees were laid off today from D.C.'s Child and Family Services Agency. The layoffs were "prompted by citywide budget cuts and plans to restructure some jobs" at CFSA. more ›

Banita Jacks, the D.C. woman who was convicted of murdering her four daughters in one of the most gruesome cases in this city's history, has been sentenced to 120 years in prison, the Washington Post is reporting.

In sentencing her yesterday, [D.C. Superior Court Judge Frederick] Weisberg, who has been in the bench for more than 30 years, said the case occupied his mind in the past two years like no other in his career.

Susie Cambria, via her excellent Budget & Policy Corner blog, reminds us that there are 900 D.C. foster children who are hoping to get Christmas presents this holiday season, and the Child and Family Services Agency needs D.C. residents to help. If you're able to purchase a few gifts for some needy local foster kids this year, you can find more details on this flier. Just tell CFSA how many children you can buy gifts for, and they'll give you the age, gender and sizes for each child. Delivery dates for gifts for specific kids are Dec. 7 & 8, while general toy donations can be dropped off on Dec. 14 or 15. Also on the flier are details on how to put together a Thanksgiving dinner basket for a CFSA family. more ›

Susie Cambria reports that amid Tuesday's busy legislative session, the D.C. Council voted to confirm the appointment of Roque Gerald, who up until then had been serving as interim director of the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency. Gerald replaced Sharlynn Bobo after she resigned in the wake of the Banita Jacks case. Previously, Gerald served as CFSA deputy director. more ›

The Post has a story up about the death of Sharlynn Bobo, the former director of the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency who resigned last year in the wake of the Banita Jacks case. Bobo died on Saturday due to complications related to pancreatic cancer, which she was diagnosed with only in November. She resigned from her position last summer. Her sudden death has shocked her former colleagues. Bobo was a graduate of D.C.'s McKinley High School and attended George Washington University and Howard University. more ›

The Examiner has word of the death of another child who had been recently brought to the attention of the District's troubled Child and Family Services Agency. A 6-year-old girl, identified only by her initials, DHB, swallowed a handful of antidepressants prescribed to her father. She was taken to a hospital last week, and later died. Two weeks before, someone called the city’s child welfare hot line and reported the family was having “a housing issue,” Interim Attorney General Peter Nickles told the paper. A social worker assigned to the case, but who never saw the child, has been suspended and might be fired. more ›

Over at City Desk, they've obtained an internal letter from the Child and Family Services Agency's new interim director, Dr. Roque Gerald. In the letter, addressed to "CFSA Colleagues," Gerald responds to revelations that he was sued over 20 years ago by a suicidal patient with whom he had sex. "Twenty years ago, I made an error that I recognized, regretted, and admitted immediately. I have continued to regret it ever since. That one-time lapse was a painful lesson, but it strengthened my commitment to the high standards I lived before and have upheld every day since." The entire letter is posted here. more ›