Rise Magazine
November 19, 2020 by Rise
Rise has been exploring abolition and how community-led approaches can support safe, thriving families and communities, free from child welfare involvement. Rise has also reported that when families need support, schools frequently report parents’ to the state child abuse and neglect hotline, and the harm this causes to families. Nationally, 90% of school-based calls are later deemed “unsubstantiated.”
The Bronx Healing-Centered Schools Working Group has developed a community-led model and process to shift the culture of schools in the Bronx to focus on healing. The working group collaboratively created a Community Roadmap to Bring Healing-Centered Schools to the Bronx.
Here, three members of the working group, Rasheedah Harris, Katrina Feldkamp and Nelson Mar, discuss the vision for healing-centered schools and how this approach will benefit families and keep students safe — without overreporting to CPS or policing in schools. Rasheedah Harris is a Parent Leader and leads the working group’s outreach efforts. Katrina Feldkamp is a Staff Attorney at Bronx Legal Services. Nelson Mar is Senior Staff Attorney at Bronx Legal Services.
Parenting
Two foster mothers helped my daughter and me build a bond.
I grew up in foster care, and I know that not all foster parents care about the children. But my daughter had two foster mothers who helped me stay connected to her.
For the first year my daughter was in care, I didn’t see her because I was locked up. During my first visit with my daughter, I felt like a father again. Her eyes … Read More
Parenting
My daughter’s foster family is still apart of our lives.
When I began visiting my daughter, she was 3 and I had not seen her for 2 1⁄2 years. I was locked up because of my addiction to crack cocaine.
At first, Ebony couldn’t stand my living guts. She was afraid of me and was really not nice. She wouldn’t talk to me, she’d scream when I got near her. She’d sit under the desk for … Read More
Addiction
Negative comments left my children confused and scared.
One day when I was visiting my two youngest children, they asked me, “Mommy, where do you live?”
“Mommy lives in a hospital for now until she gets stronger,” I said. In fact, I was in a drug treatment facility, but I didn’t want my children to know. They were only 6 and 7. I thought they were too young to understand.
Called a ‘Crackhead’
Then, during an overnight visit, … Read More
Handling Your Case
Retired Virginia judge Stephen Rideout explains the legal process for termination of parental rights (TPR) proceedings:
There’s a federal law about how states should handle child welfare cases, called ASFA, which requires that child welfare agencies file for termination if the child has been in foster care for 15 of the past 22 months, unless the agency can provide the court with a valid reason not to do that.
However, each state has its own law … Read More
