A seperated family in need needs our help.
Support Bianca Clayborne and Deonte Williams in their efforts to reunite their family of seven after the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services unjustly and forcefully separated them from their children after a racially-motivated traffic stop.
“It is an unacceptable abuse of power for state officials to rip five children away from their parents over a misdemeanor possession charge when DCS cannot even take care of the kids they … Read More
In honor of National Reunification Month, Lindsay Reilly, a parent impacted by the family policing system, discusses her experiences with peer support both during her ACS case and since she reunified with her two youngest children last year. She also shares her message to parents working to reunify their families. Lindsay will graduate from the Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program in June.
In honor of National Reunification Month, Jeanette Vega, assistant director at Rise, discusses how Rise supports reunification of families separated by the foster system, explains how this work connects to our goal of abolition and highlights Rise resources by and for parents impacted by the system. She also shares a message to parents working to reunify with their children.
Happy Reunification Month to all the families who have reunified! You did it! Congratulations!
This 2020 Reunification Month video was developed collaboratively by the ACS Workforce Institute, NYC Parent Advocates Council and Rise leaders. It is for child welfare-impacted parents, by parents who have had similar experiences.
This June, we are celebrating Reunification Month against the backdrop of COVID-19. Many in-person visits have been suspended, services have shuttered and courts remain closed, creating additional barriers to reunification.
It always requires extraordinary stamina, resilience and hope for parents to believe that the system that separated their family will allow them to reunite. This year, parents face higher stress and uncertainty, losses and pain.
Now it’s even more important to replace the current dynamics of child welfare interventions—threat, coercion, punishment, and lack of privacy and self-determination—with approaches that strengthen parents’ power.
