I lost custody of my daughter after having to make a decision that no parent should ever have to make. Should I fight the termination of parental rights (TPR) or should I “voluntarily” surrender my parental rights with a small chance that I might get visits and pictures and we might be able to write to each other? I was given this choice by the ACS worker when I was going to court—sign the TPR … Read More
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.
Attorney David Lansner explains how children and parents can sue the child welfare system
By Sarah Harris, Shakira Paige, Careena Farmer, Cynthia Zizola and Genesis Pagan, Rise Contributors, and Keyna Franklin, Rise Parent Leader
Many parents feel that what we experienced at
the hands of child welfare was unjust but that there’s nothing we can do about
it. We wanted to find out if that was true, so we interviewed David Lansner, a
family court lawyer in New York City … Read More
NYC parents at risk of child protective involvement or facing an investigation can now access legal representation through family defense organizations in their communities. In October, NYC’s City Council also introduced a bill t would ensure that all parents being investigated by ACS have information about how to access a lawyer and the opportunity to do so, although it hasn’t yet passed. Here, Emma Ketteringham, managing director of The Bronx Defenders’ Family Defense Project, explains the importance of early legal representation and systemic reform to reduce child welfare involvement. The Bronx Defenders has been providing early legal representation to parents facing ACS investigations for 15 years.
Two bills, awaiting Governor Andrew Cuomo’s signature, would help reduce the punitive impact of the child welfare system on kids and their families, writes Rise’s Director Nora McCarthy in The Appeal.
