NY: The Child Welfare System Is Failing Children, Separating Black and Brown Families (Opinion) (Includes video)

Teen Vogue & Zealous – September 11, 2023

Over the last six and a half years, I have represented over 400 children in Queens County Family Court in New York, where children are removed from their parents for various reasons. The saddest part of my job is having to answer these questions, which are rooted in confusion, fear, and grief. Most children with whom I work love their parents, regardless of circumstance, and want reunification. Of the more than 25,000 children involved in a potential child protection investigation in New York City last year, the vast majority were African American or Latinx. A closer look at the city’s data shows that more than a third of those children’s parents had an active family court case, most of whom, again, were Black or Latinx. Eventually, more than 2,300 Black children and 1,800 Latinx children were removed from their homes at the initial court proceeding and/or placed in foster care after those proceedings.

Also: Demographics of Children and Parents at Steps in the Child Welfare System, FY 2022: https://www.nyc.gov/assets/acs/pdf/data-analysis/2022/demographics-children-fy-2022.pdf