Know Your RIghts | Rise Magazine

Clearing Your Name After an Investigation: How to Seal and Amend Your Record

December 11, 2020 by Rise

States track records of parents who have been investigated by child protective services and accused of neglecting or abusing their children. A parent can be “indicated” for maltreatment even if they have never been charged with a crime or faced a judge. Nationwide, millions of parents – disproportionately Black and Latinx parents – experience employment barriers due to a child abuse registry record, even when there is no child safety concern.

Here, Washcarina Martinez Alonzo and Jeanette Vega explain how these records impact hundreds of thousands of Black and brown parents—and how you can get your record sealed and amended so it is not a barrier to employment.

What Parents Need to Know: School Reports to CPS, Communicating with the School, and Advocating for Your Child

December 03, 2019 by Rise

Throughout Rise’s series on schools and child welfare, parents describe how school reports to child protective services took them by surprise. Sometimes, the calls were made without sufficient cause. Other times, problems at home escalated when schools were not willing or able to adequately address a child’s behavior problems. Even for families who got help, the trauma of child welfare involvement far over-shadowed the benefits.

Here, Asia Piña and Crystal Baker-Burr, a social worker and an education attorney at The Bronx Defenders, warn parents that some schools may call in reports far more quickly than others. They suggest ways parents can navigate challenges and improve their relationship with their child’s school to avoid unnecessary reports.

How to Get School-Based Supports for Your Child

November 21, 2019 by Rise

Many parents at Rise have described how their child’s school denied their child testing for educational disabilities or supports to help a child learn in school, even when the child was clearly struggling. Then, when problems escalated, the schools called child protection.

There are organizations and people who can help parents get the help they need, when they need it. In NYC, Advocates for Children provides advice and legal aid to ensure that low-income families have access to quality education for their children. Promise Project helps low-income families properly evaluate their children for learning disabilities and get the services they need.

We spoke with Maggie Moroff, special education policy coordinator at Advocates for Children; Lillian Murphy, senior project manager at Promise Project; and Lorenzo Torres, supervising education coordinator at Promise Project to find out about children’s rights and the IEP process.

Careena Farmer of Rise to NYC City Council: “Parents aren’t aware that their rights are being violated, which is causing unnecessary removal of children.”

November 01, 2019 by Rise

Careena Farmer, Rise contributor and child welfare system-affected parent, testified at the October 31, 2019 hearing of the General Welfare Committee.