Kimberly: All of us are parent leaders in Washington State. We’re “veteran parents”—parents who are veterans of the child welfare system. I got involved 8 years ago. CPS had taken my daughter. When I got her back, they asked me to get involved in implementing the first Parent-to-Parent program. Now I’m a social worker at the Office of Public … Read More
Updates
Rise reports on the child welfare system with a goal of highlighting efforts to improve policies and practice and spotlighting effective practices.
Mothering the Mother – How foster parents and staff can strengthen mother-child bonds.
September 01, 2015 by
The Ackerman Institute’s Center for the Developing Child and Family in New York has partnered with New York City Children’s Services to train foster parents and staff at mother-child residences, and is beginning trainings in Washington D.C. Here, Martha Edwards, the Center’s director, explains how staff and foster parents can support the mother-child bond:
After a baby is born, staff and foster parents sometimes look at moms struggling and find it easier to just take over. … Read More
The Color of Hope: Race can affect whether parents get the support to overcome.
September 01, 2015 by
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 use and that my surroundings wouldn’t affect me. Instead I found myself in the depth of an ever-evolving addiction. I went from using alcohol and cocaine to using crack daily. I desired so much out of … Read More
Race to the Top – Paying attention to race in child welfare is a first step to system change.
September 01, 2015 by
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 color are facing similar allegations.
Inequality isn’t just in child welfare. It’s in the rundown playgrounds in our neighborhoods, the supermarkets without fresh food, the liquor stores on every corner, and the schools and hospitals that are … Read More
Like The Sky Being Blue – When I started working in child welfare, I was shocked by the institutional racism.
September 01, 2015 by
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. The families I knew had the means to deal with issues like substance abuse and domestic violence behind closed doors.
Listening to families in CWOP’s support group quickly opened my eyes to the reality that for families … Read More