Britney Spears investigated by Child Welfare, Due in court in January
December 5, 2007

After what's undoubtedly been a long year for Britney Spears, Britney is back in the news after Tuesday's release of previously sealed court documents that reveal Spears is still being investigated for allegations of "multiple child abuse and neglect," according to the Associated Press. According to the latest report, child welfare investigators are reviewing the allegations while the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services expressed concerns over the welfare of Spears' and Kevin Federline's two children, Jayden James and Sean Preston while in the custody of Spears.

The latest news surrounding an investigation into Britney Spears and her custody battle with former husband Kevin Federline stems from the release of 300 pages of previously sealed court documents that were released on Tuesday by County Commissioner Scott Gordon. As People.com reports from the legal filings from one of the documents, "The Sensitive Case Unit ... is currently investigating multiple child abuse and neglect referrals concerning the above-referenced parents and their family... The referrals are for general neglect and substantial risk." Backing up the reports of the investigation, People.com also reveals an excerpt from a document dated on October 25, which states, "Based on its investigation to date, it should be noted that DCFS has concerns of its own regarding the safety and welfare of the children if the children are left in the mother's care."

According to the Associated Press, aside from the latest Spears investigation revelation, the recently released documents also include a wide variety of detailed information that pertains to the Britney Spears, Kevin Federline custody battle, such as professional background detail and names of the evaluators, prior court rulings, Spears' and Federline's income statements, expense reports, and more.

Last month, in November 2007, the DCFS applied to have access to the sealed documents while rumors circulated that Britney might have failed one of her random, court-ordered drug tests while during the same week reports indicated that Spears ran a red light with her kids in the car, which was apparently caught on video. All of that came after a judge admitted that he was concerned about Britney Spears' driving behavior. If that wasn't enough for the month of November, rumors were sparked by a story in In Touch Weekly that suggested the custody-challenged Britney Spears might be pregnant, which turned out to be false.

Adding to the ongoing chaos, all of the recent troubles come at a time when Britney is trying to kickstart her music career. Spears was recently slated to shoot the video for "Piece of Me", but kept director Wayne Isham and dancers waiting at the Social Club in L.A. while Britney stayed home with her kids. Instead, Isham and crew turned their attention to artist Samantha Jade and used the set to make sure it didn't go to waste.

According to the now widely-reported-upon documents, the DCFS did assert the investigation is still ongoing, as one document reveals, "However, although DCFS has interviewed the parents and several witnesses regarding the allegations in the referrals, the investigation is not complete."

For most of 2007 (if not all), Britney Spears has beem mired in controversy, a rollover from 2006 when she parted ways with former hubby Kevin Federline. Currently, given all of Britney's recent troubles and her failure to comply with the court ordered random drug testing, Kevin Federline has temporary custody of Jayden James and Sean Preston while Britney has been awarded supervised visitation with her children.

Britney Spears and Kevin Federline are due in court on January 23 to continue their custody battle.