Parent-led advocacy and parent input in child welfare reform is essential to better addressing the root causes of family crises; meeting the service needs of high-risk families; reducing disproportionate placements and disparate treatment of families of color; changing the adversarial relationship between child welfare systems and poor communities; improving court practices; and ensuring that foster care placement is used as sparingly as possible so that children are more likely to grow up safe with their families.
Illustration by Karolina Zaniesienko
I am a parent advocate at the Center for Family Representation (CFR) in New York City. CFR provides parents in child welfare proceedings a lawyer, social worker, family advocate, and parent advocate to support them.
Parents whose children were removed and put in foster care often feel like they can’t trust anyone. Many parents are victims of childhood abuse or domestic violence; some use drugs to deal with their pain. They’re … Read More
art by Rosa Perin
Story as told to Lynne Miller
When I was locked up, I left my son with family, but he was removed from their home because of neglect. It was two months before I found out where my son was. It was four months until I heard his voice again. In prison, most of the time there’s no one to help you with a child welfare case. If you don’t know your rights, … Read More
If you’re a parent reading Rise, chances are you’ve been affected by the child welfare system. But do you know how child welfare gets funded, or how that funding affects you as a parent?
Right now a new bill before Congress could dramatically change the way child welfare is funded, and make a lot more money available for preventive services. As parents affected by the child-welfare system, it’s important to understand how … Read More
On Aug. 4, the executive director of the Child Welfare Organizing Project, Sandra Killett, a parent activist in New York City and mother whose son was placed in foster care, and Rosalina Burton, an intern with FosterClub and a former foster youth from California, testified before the Senate Finance Committee about a bill, The Family Stability and Kinship Care Act, that would increase federal funding for preventive services. (Click here to watch their … Read More
Dominique Arrington, Jeanette Vega, Lakisha Johnson, Teresa Bachiller, Robbyne Wiley and Commissioner Gladys Carrión (clockwise from upper left)
Rise’s Parent Leadership Team met with ACS Commissioner Gladys Carrión June 22 to present results of conversations with 40 parents about their experiences and priorities for change.
Read their recommendations here.
Discussion focused on parents’ need for information about the foster care process, access to parent advocates and peer support, transparency around the process of addressing concerns about children’s … Read More
