News

June 1, 2023

Another Try for Legislation In New York Giving Parents ‘Miranda’ Rights During CPS Investigations

"The system claims that they want to help families, but they push back on providing parents their rights,” said Jennifer Feinberg, litigation supervisor for government and policy affairs at CFR.

May 15, 2023

Video of NYPD officer pushing father with toddler raises questions about police use-of-force when a child is in harm’s way

Andrew Zahnd, a staff defense attorney at the Center for Family Representation, commented on how, once a parent is arrested, police can often make their own judgements about a child’s presumed safety under their care.

May 1, 2023

CFR Presented with a $10,000 Grant

“Funding from the New York Bar Foundation enables CFR to provide free legal and social work services to vulnerable families to address issues that disrupt their stable housing and public benefits, impacting their ability to keep their families together.”

March 24, 2023

Top New York City Law Firm’s New Head Vows to Fight for Families

Tehra Coles, CFR's new Executive Director, discussed some of her top priorities and how she plans to serve some of the most vulnerable families in New York City with The Imprint.

February 17, 2023

NYC Parents Rally Against Mandated Reporting Policies for Educators

Teyora Graves-Ferrell, a parent advocate at CFR, is quoted in this piece about a rally calling for New York State to eliminate mandatory reporting practices in "child welfare."

December 29, 2022

Family Miranda law gains traction, advocates call out racist ACS practices

Ari Chiarella, a social work supervisor and co-director of CFR's Queens family defense practice, and Teyora Graves, a parent advocate supervisor at CFR, were interviewed for this Amsterdam News piece on Family Miranda and an internal ACS audit that revealed racially-biased practices.

December 12, 2022

Opinion: Stop tearing America’s families apart

CFR Executive Director Michele Cortese—along with leaders from the Bronx Defenders, Neighborhood Defender Service, and Brooklyn Defender Services—wrote an op-ed for the Daily News about the harms of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA).

December 2, 2022

NYC children’s agency buries report that details racial bias in its ranks

Ysmerlyn Murshed, a social work supervisor at CFR, and Teyora Graves, a parent advocate supervisor at CFR, were interviewed for a Gothamist piece about an ACS internal audit that revealed that workers themselves feel the agency’s mandate to ensure the welfare of the city’s children is severely undermined by systemic racial bias.

November 29, 2022

Report: ACS Knows It Has Pervasive Racial Bias

The New York City Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) has a racial bias problem, and it is one that is so obvious that the organization was outed by one of its own reports. Included is a quote from Michele Cortese, Executive Director of the Center for Family Representation.

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Common Terms We Use

Learn more about the common terms we use at CFR and why we choose to use certain language like the family policing system instead of the child welfare system in order to accurately reflect the reality that thousands of Black and Brown families experience every day.

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Common Terms We Use

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