RISE MAGAZINE

Poverty

Rise Celebrates Passage of the Child Poverty Reduction Act—And Calls for Community Groups and Impacted Parents to Lead Its Implementation

December 08, 2021 by

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New York Governor Hochul recently signed the Child Poverty Reduction Act into law after it was passed with near-unanimous support from the Legislature earlier this year. This legislation calls for the creation of a Child Poverty Reduction Advisory Council to explore policies, make recommendations, and publish benchmarks, timelines and reports to ensure that NYS reduces child poverty by 50% within the next 10 years.

Parenting

‘On My Own’: I had to rebuild with my son without support.

December 08, 2021 by

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in 2007 when I was 20 years old and he was one and a half. I had run away from foster care and had nowhere to live and no money for food. I was also dealing with depression and trauma—and an abusive partner. I didn’t have support from my family and felt uncared for and alone. 

The family friend lived in a cozy, nice home. She suggested that I leave my son with her and write a statement saying that he would live with her family temporarily, just until I got situated and had my own place. 

I did not want to be without him, but I wasn’t able to provide a home or food. A ball formed in my throat and I wanted to break down and cry, but I agreed to it. If I had access to food, housing, mental health care and emotional support, I would not have made that decision. I didn’t know that my son would end up living there for 10 years. 

Rise Magazine

I Was Pushed to “Voluntarily” Surrender My Rights—and Still Didn’t Get to Visit My Daughter

November 16, 2021 by

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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

Rise Magazine

‘A Call to Action’: New Research Finds Extremely High Rates of Investigations of Black, Brown and Native Families

November 03, 2021 by

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Parents at Rise have long documented how the family policing system affects Black and brown people living in low-income areas of NYC. In July, a team of researchers from Duke University and Rutgers University published the study, “Contact with Child Protective Services is pervasive but unequally distributed by race and ethnicity in large US counties.” As its title suggests, the paper finds that the system impacts the lives of far too many Black and brown families.

Dr. Frank Edwards, an assistant professor at Rutgers University’s School of Criminal Justice who studies race and state violence, policing and family separation, was part of the team that worked on this study. Here, he discusses their findings in NYC and nationally, mandated reporting, investigations and why he is an abolitionist. 

Advocacy

Naashia B’s Testimony to NY State Assembly

October 25, 2021 by

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On October 22, 2021, Naashia B., Rise parent organizer, testified at the New York State Assembly’s Public Hearing on Family Involvement in the Child Welfare System.

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Learn About the Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program and Apply for 2024!

Learn more about the Rise & Shine Parent Leadership Program and how to apply! Sign up for an open house information session.

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