For a month after my first court date, I did not begin any of theservices, did not visit my son or go to court, and fell deeper into my addiction to crack cocaine. I felt hopeless. I believed that I could trust no one to help me.
A friend convinced me to visit my son and stop feeling sorry for myself. After I saw my son, I went to the next court … Read More
Child welfare leaders, frontline workers, parents and advocatesgathered in New York City on March 16 for a forum about the impact of the Parent Advocate Initiative, a two-year project to support six NYC foster care agencies in hiring and training eight parent advocates. Parents whose own children were once in foster care now work at 22 of the private foster care agencies in New York City, as well as the city’s child welfare … Read More
Five years ago, my sister told me that the Department of Children and Family Services in Los Angeles was having a meeting for parents who had been through the system and reunified with their children. I was thinking, “What do they want from us?” But my sister and I went together.
The social workers asked us, ”What did you go through? Can you tell us how you felt?” My children were in … Read More
Chris Gottlieb, co-director of the Family Defense Clinic at the New York University School of Law, explains Camreta v. Greene, a caseheard by the Supreme Court in March:
The case Camreta v. Greene involves parents’ and children’s rights in child welfare cases. The case started when a mother in Oregon sued child protective services because of what they had done to her daughter. The child protective services (CPS) worker in the case … Read More
About 10 years ago, I was going through a bad time in my marriage. One night when my husband abused me, I called the police and theytook my children and me to the hospital for an examination.
Child protective services (CPS) did a quick assessment and decided to take my three children. They never let me take my kids home from the hospital or even say goodbye. I was lost.
If … Read More
