Five adopted Black children who allege they were abused and neglected by their adoptive parents receive a $4.4 million settlement from the state of West Virginia, according to reporting from multiple outlets. The children had been living with the adoptive parents before authorities became involved.
The cases center on claims that child protective services (CPS) failed to act appropriately. One report says some of the children were forced to live in a shed without running water or a bathroom until they were found in 2023. Other coverage describes the allegations more broadly, including claims of severe mistreatment and exploitative labor on the adoptive parents’ property.
The outlets differ mainly in emphasis and wording, with one focusing on the conditions in which the children lived and the timeline of authorities discovering them, and the other describing additional allegations related to forced labor. Both accounts tie the settlement to alleged CPS failures rather than disputing that the children were adopted and that the abuse and neglect allegations are central to the claims.
