Rise Magazine

A new bill introduced in the NY State Legislature would replace anonymous child abuse and neglect reports with confidential reports, requiring callers to the State Central Registry to provide identifying information when making a report.

Many parents at Rise have shared their stories of how perpetrators of domestic violence wield the child welfare system as a weapon to further dynamics of power, control and abuse. VOW (Voices of Women) has been working to address the issue of false and malicious reports of child abuse and neglect through their Rights of Children Campaign. Here, Raquel Singh, executive director of VOW, and Johnnie Lee Fielder, domestic violence advocate, discuss how replacing anonymous reporting with confidential reporting could make a difference.

The child welfare system needs to have a policy to fight false allegations, and their workers need to be trained to detect them. Right now, false reports are simply tools for perpetrators to continue controlling their victims even when those victims have succeeded in going on with their lives. ACS becomes puppets of our abusers and our children suffer.

Recognizing the impact of the pandemic on families and the child welfare system, Representative Gwen Moore of Wisconsin proposed legislation to extend federal timelines for reunification without financial penalties to states. Here, Rep. Moore explains what the proposed bill would change, why it is important and how parents can support it.

Soon after Amber Wilkes-Smith’s niece was born, she was placed in foster care in Buffalo, New York. Amber was not notified by the child welfare system, in violation of her family’s rights and child welfare requirements. By the time she found out her niece was in care, her sister’s parental rights had been terminated. Amber filed a petition through the court to try to get custody. When her petition was denied, she appealed the decision. Although Amber lost the appeal, she is sharing her experience to raise awareness of these issues, help other families and push for change.

Here, Amber and Michael Steinberg, Amber’s lawyer in the appeal, explain the appeal process. They discuss violations of parents’ and families’ legal rights and systemic injustice in the child welfare and family court systems.

When faced with the trauma of the child welfare system removing their children, many parents prefer that their children be cared for by a family member or someone they know and trust, rather than by strangers. Research shows that children benefit from being placed with family members rather than non-relatives, and states are required by law to prioritize placement with relatives. Unfortunately, this isn’t always what happens in practice. In NYC, the child welfare agency, ACS, invested in coaching and training so that more children are placed with kin.

Here, Lavern Harry, VP Foster Care, Adoption and Preventive Services, and Nosa Omoruyi, Director Foster Parent Recruitment, Development and Support, talk about practices that have increased use of kinship care at Graham, an agency in New York City. Ms. Harry and Mr. Omoruyi discuss the rights of parents and family members, as well as some of the challenges of kinship care. They also suggest what parents can do if their children are removed to make it more likely that they will — or won’t — be placed with particular family members.