Displaying 1 - 10 of 39
Abstract
The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic brings new worries about the welfare of children, particularly those of families living in poverty and impacted other risk factors. These children will struggle more during the pandemic because of financial pressures and stress placed on parents, as well as their limited access to services and systems of support. In this commentary, we explain how current circumstances reinforce the need for systemic change within statutory child welfare systems and the benefits that would accrue by implementing a continuum of services that combine universal…
Abstract
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued a public health order on March 20, 2020, restricting people seeking asylum in the United States, as well as unaccompanied non-citizen children attempting to cross into the United States, from accessing legal protections guaranteed to them under U.S. and international law. Under the order, such individuals are instead immediately expelled from the country in an effort to protect border facilities and the citizenry of the United States from COVID-19. As the order reasons, these immediate expulsions minimize the…
This series of articles from Rise Magazine shares parents’ perspectives and recommendations for strengthening families without surveillance and through community. "Too often, when families are struggling, school personnel, doctors and police are quick to call a hotline instead of connecting us to resources and support," says the introductory article.
This series—which begins with a focus on schools— exposes the harm of punishing parents instead of addressing the root causes of child welfare involvement in the U.S. The series provides information that parents can use to advocate…
Abstract
Critics call it “legal kidnapping,” a somewhat derogatory term that refers to the alleged overreaching that Child Protective Services (CPS) effectuates by improperly removing a child from its parent(s), seemingly without sufficient cause. Does it really happen often? If it is occurring, what can attorneys do to address it? We asked these questions of four experienced attorneys who have litigated many child protection cases.
In this editorial in the South African Journal of Psychology, Ann Skelton (a member of the Law Faculty at the University of Pretoria) writes about the recent family separation policy enacted at the US border with Mexico in which children of all ages arriving to the country with their parents or other family members were separated and placed into detention facilities.
Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, senior fellow in the Global Economy and Development program and Center for Universal Education at Brookings submitted this statement on behalf of the Scientific Advisory Group, Early Childhood of the Bezos Family Foundation. The statement has been released in light of the policy of family separation of immigrant families at the U.S. border with Mexico and outlines the harmful impacts of the toxic stress of family separation on children's brain development and physical wellbeing.
This stress makes the amygdala, the hub of the fight or flight response, …
ABSTRACT
The question of care and what it means both conceptually and practically in the designated arena of child and youth care is a vexing one in the 21st century. Without a doubt, there are increasing numbers of young people who are either demonstrably in need of care or perceive themselves to be either lacking adequate care or simply existing outside those social spaces where care is available. Perhapsthere is no better exemplar of the contested set of relations that is contemporary childhood than those young people traversing national borders. Some of these young people travel with…
In this opinion piece for NBC News's Think, Shanta Trivedi, a clinical teaching fellow at the Georgetown University Law Center, argues that "if we’re serious about protecting Black families as a whole, we cannot limit the conversation to the police alone. We need to transform the child welfare system, too." In the article, Trivedi shines a light on the "lesser-known police-to-foster care pipeline that is often the starting point for the destruction of families and horrific long-term outcomes for children, particularly Black children."
The author describes how, in the United…
In this piece for the Chronicle of Social Change, Vivek Sankaran writes about personal experience as a family defense lawyer and witnessing the racial disparity in the U.S. child welfare system, particularly in the racial bias in the discretion of child protective services (CPS) caseworkers. "More than 60% of the cases CPS caseworkers investigate involve only 'neglect.' State laws usually define neglect as lack of adequate food, clothing and shelter. While a few of those cases might involve parents who intentionally withhold those material items from children, the vast majority will…
This opinion piece from The Hill discusses the "the rising wave of children who will enter the foster system" as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdowns put in place to curb its spread. "Critical institutions, like schools, social services and community programs, that served as some kids’ only safety net no longer have the ability to catch them. And thousands of children locked at home with abusive, neglectful or unstable caregivers will invariably end up swept into the system," says the author.