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• ‘I Was Denied the Right to Keep My Family Intact’ – Black families like mine have been separated for generations

  Black Lives Matter! A rallying cry to address the unjustifiable killing of people of color and the public’s disregard and avoidance of the reasons this issue remains rooted in our society. Media outlets are primarily reporting on police brutality,... Read More

• Rise Stands in Solidarity with the Black Community

  Rise acknowledges the pain and grief that black people are experiencing right now and stands in solidarity with the black community.

• Push Continues for Minnesota’s African American Family Preservation Act

  Last year, Rise interviewed Kelis Houston, a family advocate and child welfare policy consultant in Minnesota, about Minnesota parents and allies fighting to address racial bias and violations of parents’ rights by the child welfare system. Rise spoke to... Read More

• The Color of Hope: Race can affect whether parents get the support to overcome.

  My child welfare story (Shrounda) began when I moved into a neighborhood high in drug use and poverty. I was an African-American woman in my mid-30s, married with two children. I was arrogant—I thought I could control my drug... Read More

• Race to the Top – Paying attention to race in child welfare is a first step to system change.

  This issue of Rise is dedicated to looking at why families of color have higher rates of investigations, higher rates of foster care placement, and longer stays in care than White families, even when White parents and parents of... Read More

• Like The Sky Being Blue – When I started working in child welfare, I was shocked by the institutional racism.

  Before I began an internship as a social work student at the Child Welfare Organizing Project in East Harlem, I had no idea what the words “child welfare system” even meant. I grew up in Westchester County, New York.... Read More

• First You Have to Gain Our Trust – Parents’ prescriptions for keeping kids of color out of foster care.

  The Birth Parent National Network, coordinated by the Children’s Trust and Prevention Funds, connects parent leaders nationwide. Here, BPNN members Jeffrey Mays, parent partner at the Public Children Services Association of Ohio in Cleveland; Shrounda Selivanoff, parent advocate at... Read More

• Brokering Change – Parents and community leaders are key in reducing Black children in foster care.

  In Fresno, Calif., “parent partners” and “cultural brokers” specially trained to build connections between the child welfare system and the Black community have helped bring down the number of Black children in foster care. Here, Deputy Director for Child... Read More

• Black, Male, Addicted–and Underestimated – The child welfare system assumed I didn’t belong in my children’s lives.

  Child welfare came into my life in 2000. At the time, I was married with three children, ages 14, 11 and a newborn. I was also an addict.

  I used anything that got me high: glue, coke, heroin, valium. I... Read More

• Order of Protection – Free legal services before removal can keep poor children safe at home.

  As a parent advocate working in the child welfare system, I have seen cases where a little assistance in fixing housing repairs or helping a mother take out an order of protection could’ve kept a child safe. The problem... Read More

• ‘Let All That Is Indian Within You Die’ – Recognizing America’s brutal legacy with Native American families.

  Judge William Thorne as told to Antoinette Robinson

  Shortly after I started working as a tribal judge, one of my cases involved whether to remove children from their family. I didn’t know much about the child welfare system and I... Read More

• The Courage to Tell Their Stories – In South Dakota, Native Americans organize for change.

  In 2005, Native Americans in South Dakota reached out to human rights lawyers because more than 700 Native American children in South Dakota were taken from their families every year. Here, Chase Iron Eyes, South Dakota counsel... Read More

• At the Table – Involving parent advocates before removal can help prevent unnecessary placements.

  Around the country, a number of child welfare agencies are beginning to partner with communities to keep kids of color out of foster care. In 2007, NYC’s Administration for Children Services partnered with the parent advocacy organization Child Welfare... Read More