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A New York State “child welfare” agency can curb one family policing horror with the stroke of a pen. Do they have the guts?

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

Among the worst things they do is tear children from the arms of parents – usually mothers – whose only crime is to, themselves, have survived domestic violence. Mostly that means interference that makes nothing better and sometimes makes things worse, as with their support for what should be called sugar-frosted foster care.

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If there’s another foster-care panic in NYC, it’s on The New York Times

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

So the public was primed to scapegoat family preservation when Nixzmary Brown died in January, 2006 – leading to a foster-care panic , a sharp sudden increase in the number of children torn from everyone they know and love and consigned to the chaos of foster care. The panic was welcomed by the Times. So did The Imprint.

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Massachusetts pilots the most promising reform in child welfare. Guess who’s trying to undercut it.

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

This is the model that’s proven so successful in New York City – where a comprehensive evaluation found that it reduced time in foster care with no compromise of safety. Cara, who asked to keep her last name private, said she had already been in touch with a domestic violence organization about her ex.

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NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending September 26, 2023

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

(Note that you need to register for each separately You can register for the first event here and the second event here.) ● The head of the family police agency in Missouri is bragging that they have reduced foster care. The Philadelphia Inquirer reports on what happened next.

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NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending Jan 11, 2022

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

The Western New England Law Review has a superb summary of the research showing the enormous harm to children caused when they are taken from domestic violence survivors (on grounds that the parent “allowed” the child to “witness domestic violence”). Foster-care panic is like a fire.

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NCCPR news and commentary round-up, week ending December 19, 2023

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

The Imprint also has a story on that new lawsuit that attempts to stop the family police agency in New York City from harassing domestic violence survivors and their families. Another Imprint story looks at recommendations from a foster youth and alumni organization. They want to “decriminalize being in foster care.”

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Pushing back on a child welfare poll full of loaded questions

NCCPR Child Welfare Blog

Have a look: The only good news for the family police came from the fact that, apparently, only a minority of respondents agreed with the statement “Overall, the foster care system harms more than helps the children in its care.” But while Gallup reveals how many agreed with the statement, it doesn’t say how many disagreed.