The New York Community Trust’s Post

Mind you, we are still in the data analysis phase; however, the intersection of domestic violence and increased surveillance from child welfare officials is an issue that was prevalent among many of the mothers that I've recently interviewed. Often, they felt increased victimization wherein they thought that they’d receive help. This is one of the many examples of how misogyny and paternalism invades our systems and adds another layer of complexity to the issue of discrimination and stigma for families involved in the family policing system. #reproductivejustice #intersectionality #familypolicing #healthdisparities

Urge the United States Congress to act immediately to stop the reprehensible practice of forced family separation which affects hundreds of thousands of children and families annually. Not only do these families lose their vital connection to each other, they face ongoing trauma and abuse from the ‘System‘ that separated them. Call and write your United States Congress Members to demand that federals reforms are enacted to the US Child Welfare System to make state care a safe, nurturing, supportive, healthy, and happy environment. The trauma inflicted by The Child Welfare System on children and families is so impactful, it is passed down through generations affecting the mental health and outcomes of the victims‘ descendants for generations to come. https://lnkd.in/eciS2BZX #ChildWelfare #FosterCare #REFORMSNOW #Advocacy #GetInvolved #ChildAbuse #Trauma #ChildNeglect #ChildTrafficking #CPS #FamilySeparation #ChildrensRights #ParentsRights #FamilyPreservation

Parentification is common in children raised by narcissistic mothers and fathers (it happens in other familial dynamics as well) and is known as role-reversal, whereby the child becomes the regulatory object (emotional caretaker) for the other parent. Sadly many child welfare professionals do not fully understand how harmful this dynamic is, especially when it presents alongside other signs of abuse. Read more about it on my blog https://lnkd.in/eUJTCxMy #knowthesigns #narcissisticparent #Parentification #childpsychology #emotionalabuse Reposted from @the.holistic.psychologist

Repeal CAPTA Coalition was in FULL FORCE at the Capitol yesterday, January 31, 2024, to mark the beginning of the end of the 50 year reign of what Prof. Dorothy Roberts calls the “benevolent terror” of “child protective services/CPS” - more accurately termed the Family Police. The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, with its system of mandated reporting, investigation, prosecution, child removal, and “treatment” , institutionalized the multi-billion dollar, child commodification, family destroying foster, adoptive, and child welfare “treatment/services” industry. #ShiningTheLight “Separating children from their families and making them wards of the state is far more profitable for governments and their private industry partners than reunification with the children’s families. The commodification of Black children generates a steady stream of open-ended funding from federal taxpayers’ dollars to state and local governments and agencies that are rewarded for removing children from their families, prolonging their stay in state custody, and terminating parental rights. In just under fifty years since the enactment of CAPTA in 1974 with an authorization of $86 million to be spent over three years, the child abuse and neglect industry has grown into a multi-billion-dollar conglomerate.” https://lnkd.in/gR93Ky_F #RepealCaptaNow

Check out our latest report on the federal, state and local laws and regulations that encourage collaboration between local law enforcement agencies and Los Angeles County’s child protective services agency, the Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), written by my brilliant colleague Leah Zeidler-Ordaz!! The report finds that law enforcement and DCFS collaborations could lead to harmful outcomes for families. Federal, state, and local laws create information-sharing schemes that enable law enforcement and child protective services agencies to collect and share vast amounts of data, which can lead to family separation or criminalization. In reaching these and other findings, the report relies on narratives from individuals who are impacted by the child welfare system, data about cases referred to both DCFS and law enforcement, and analysis of federal, state and local laws. Read it here: Bit.ly/DCFSCollabs 

The Family Centered Treatment Foundation (FCTF) joined over 1100 organizations in urging Congress to reject a full-year CR that would cut appropriations to Non-Defense Discretionary (NDD) programs which would impact vital child welfare and family well-being programs among others. Over the past weekend, Congressional leaders in both Chambers agreed to adopt a bipartisan funding framework for FY24, essentially like the bipartisan Senate funding bill proposed early last summer. We will continue to support the passage of the new legislation and urge haste to avoid any federal government shutdown. Family Centered Treatment (FCT) is a home-based, family trauma and family preservation treatment used in the juvenile justice, mental health, and child welfare systems to address trauma and family disruption. #NDDUnited #supportfamilywellbeing #fundvitalprogramsAmericansrelyon

Despite forming a Child Welfare & Domestic Violence task force in part because of the CFRT recommendations, after the first public Zoom meeting, the facilitators updated the group's guidelines. Incredibly, in direct conflict with the report’s recommendations, CDHS facilitators called parental alienation a distraction from its purpose. Why did that happen? Because a group of man-hating feminists lied to the facilitators and claimed the PA wasn’t real. Then, the facilitators betrayed the public trust by falsely claiming to have “reviewed all available information.” Not only did they lie but they also refused multiple offers to help from Dr. Jennifer Jill Harman, an internationally recognized expert on PA, CSU Associate Professor, and Colorado resident. BTW, the man-hating feminists used their tried and true strategy of false allegations to have me removed from the task force. It’s disgusting that what’s SOP on the frontlines in family court and CPS is also condoned at the policy level. More of the story here https://lnkd.in/gNKJBsps The failure of CDHS/CPS policies and practices to recognize, assess for, and intervene appropriately to prevent this form of child psychological and emotional abuse allows for and enables more child harm than it prevents. Register for our email updates at ColoradoResilience.org. #ChildAbuse #DomesticViolence #FamilyViolence #ParentalAlienation #CPS #FamilyCourt Colorado Resilience Colorado Department of Human Services Madison Welborne

When a child has a medical problem, they need a doctor; when a child has a legal problem, they need an attorney to advocate for them in the courtroom where key decisions about their life are made. That's why NACC started #Counsel4Kids, a campaign dedicated to ensuring that children involved in child welfare cases have the right to an attorney. Learn more about our campaign: https://buff.ly/3qgz6Hk #NACC2024 #kids #children #representation #childwelfare #legalrepresentation

As a family recovery model, Miriam’s House helps break the cycle of addiction for future generations. Learn more about the benefits of family-centered recovery homes from the National Center on Substance Abuse and Child Welfare. https://lnkd.in/dSFnqJnY #soberliving #community #Keepfamiliestogether  #familyfirst

If you don’t have any personal experience inside the child welfare system, you might think that the professionals always hold the moral high ground. I would probably think this too except that I was a Child Protective Services case worker for ten years prior to being investigated myself. While investigators are not always wrong, there are times when they exhibit the same troubling behavior as the people they serve. However, we conceptualize this very differently. An example: When I was investigated, the lead detective’s initial theory was that I caused the injury in a crowd full of people at a fundraiser for a children’s shelter, but nobody saw this or intervened. I was given access to the case file, and there are no facts or statements to back this up. The detective conjured it from his own imagination and conducted an entire investigation around it. When an officer or social worker uses their imagination to create a narrative not based in reality, we call them “intuitive.” When a suspect tells an outrageous story not based in reality, we call them unreliable. You can read my essay on this topic at www.andreaverbanic.com (link in bio). I wrote a book about my experience because I feel so strongly that I have a moral obligation to share my story. Sign up for alerts on my website so that you can stay informed about my book publication date later in 2024. #cps #childprotection #childprotectiveservices #kansas #police #renegadeagency #memoir