As New York Legalizes Marijuana, Parent Advocates Push Child Welfare Agencies to Adapt
“It’s always assumed that the reason things are happening in a family is because of the use of marijuana.”
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News
Backfire: When Reporting Domestic Violence Means You Get Investigated for Child Abuse
"Lawyers who represent parents in New York City Family Courts often argue that ACS practices would not be tolerated in communities with money or political influence...It’s a one-size-fits-all, bullying approach."
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New York City Must Provide WiFi to Homeless Families
“The consequences of the city’s failure to address the urgent need for WiFi in shelters extend beyond children falling behind in school.”
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Do We Need to Abolish Child Protective Services?
“They have a lot of say over sending a child home, offering favorable settlement, scheduling visits. These can be used to retaliate against a parent that speaks publicly.”
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NYC Expands Alternative to Child Welfare Investigations, Yet Parents’ Distrust Runs Deep
“If you’re taking notes and documenting things — and that information that can be used at some point against a parent — it’s an investigation.”
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Letter to the Editor re: “Parents’ Little Helpers”
“To be a Black mother is to be in a constant state of alertness when it comes to protecting your family from the government. As a Black woman, mother and lawyer, I am no different in that regard.”
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The Sad Omission of Child Welfare from Mainstream Discussion on Race
“The so-called child welfare system suffers from the same structural racism as the police and destroys Black and brown lives through family separation and government surveillance. Family separation is violence. It’s time to see the similarities between these two systems and the need for change.”
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‘I just miss him:’ Pandemic prolongs NYC mom’s fight to regain custody of toddler…
“We’d reach out pretty far in advance" to ask for more visits, said Molly Turro, Maria’s social worker. “It would be up until the last minute she’d be waiting for an answer, then the answer would be no. It was just devastating for us all.”
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During the COVID-19 crisis, struggling families need support, not surveillance
“This pandemic is undoubtedly most difficult for those living in poverty, and rather than providing material relief or emotional support, child protective services tend to take an accusatory or investigative role. All of the clients that we represent are living in poverty.”
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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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