The New York Times
Tehra Coles, CFR’s Litigation Supervisor for Policy and Government Affairs wrote a powerful Letter to the Editor that was published October 9th. It was in response to two articles in the NYTimes—one about parents drinking and smoking pot to deal with the “hellscape” of parenting in the pandemic, the other, a specific call from the Times to hear from “Black Parents” about how they are coping raising their children. Here is an excerpt from the letter:
“To be a Black mother is to be in a constant state of alertness when it comes to protecting your family from the government. As a Black woman, mother and lawyer, I am no different in that regard.”
Read the full letter to the editor here.
The Imprint
Tehra Coles, Litigation Supervisor, Government Affairs and Policy at CFR, along with Zainab Akbar (NDS), Emma Ketteringham (Bronx Defenders), and Lauren Shapiro (Brooklyn Defenders), co-authored an op-ed entitled, “The Sad Omission of Child Welfare from Mainstream Discussion on Race,” that was published in The Imprint (formerly called the Chronicle of Social Change). Here is an excerpt from the article:
“The so-called child welfare system suffers from the same structural racism as the police and destroys Black and brown lives through family separation and government surveillance. Family separation is violence. It’s time to see the similarities between these two systems and the need for change.”
Read the full article here.
New York Daily News
Molly Turro, Staff Social Worker at CFR, and Julie Suh, Litigation Supervisor at CFR, are interviewed and quoted by the New York Daily News for an article entitled, “‘I just miss him:’ Coronavirus pandemic prolongs NYC mom’s fight to regain custody of toddler in foster care”. The article describes how the pandemic has prolonged family separation through foster care. Read the article here.
Hartford Courant
Molly Turro, Staff Social Worker at CFR, has an op-ed entitled, “During the coronavirus crisis, struggling families need support, not surveillance,” published in the Hartford Courant. Read the op-ed here.
Columbia Law School
Prof. Jane Spinak, CFR Board Member and the Edward Ross Aranow Clinical Professor of Law at Columbia Law School, has published an article entitled, “Child Welfare and COVID-19: An Unexpected Opportunity for Systemic Change” in the e-book Law in the Time of COVID-19 , which was published by Columbia Law School. Read the e-book here.
The New York Bar Foundation
The New York Bar Foundation recently presented a grant of $7,000 to CFR. The grant will be used to support our Interdisciplinary Family Defense Teams.
“Funding from the New York Bar Foundation enables CFR to provide free legal and social work services to vulnerable families whose children are at risk of foster care” said CFR Executive Director, Michele Cortese.
Read the full press release here.
New York Daily News
Michele Cortese, Executive Director at CFR, along with Emma Ketteringham (Bronx Defenders), Lauren Shapiro (Brooklyn Defenders), and Zainab Akbar (NDS), co-authored an op-ed entitled, “Protecting Children in the Time of COVID: The Administration for Children’s Service must change it’s approach,” that was published in the New York Daily News.
The piece addresses the need for decision makers to stop using family separation as a means of addressing what are really issues of poverty as well as the importance of visitation and the impact that the virus is having on child welfare involved parents. Read the full op-ed here.
Legal Action Center
Hope Newton, Parent Advocate at CFR, is interviewed by the Legal Action Center for an article entitled, “With LAC’s support, I feel like I’ve been able to make a new start.”
This is what Hope said about why she agreed to the interview:
“It was important to share another aspect of what is involved in clearing your name when you have a concurrent criminal and family court case based on false and malicious reports when clearing your name. Sharing our stories is a win-win for all; LAC, CFR and the clients we serve.”
Read the full interview here.
The Chronicles of Social Change
Jerry Milner, Associate Commissioner of the U.S. Children’s Bureau, and David Kelly, Special Assistant to the Associate Commissioner, are featured in an article by The Chronicles of Social Change entitled, “Family Is A Compelling Reason.” Read the article here.
The Chronicles of Social Change
Hope Newton, Parent Advocate at CFR, is quoted in a recent article by The Chronicles of Social Change entitled, “New York Limits Access to Parents’ Names on Child Abuse And Neglect Registry.” Here is an excerpt from the article:
“When I was younger I wanted to be a guidance counselor for middle school students, but I couldn’t go in because I knew I had this history,” said Hope Lyzette Newton, who once had her name on the register.
Newton, whose name was removed three years ago, hopes others like her will now be better able to provide for their children and move forward with their lives.
“The feeling is exhilarating. I got the call that my name was going to be removed the day my daughter graduated from college,” said Newton, who is now a peer advocate for accused parents, with the legal aid firm Center for Family Representation. “It was a wonderful day. There wasn’t anything that could hold me back anymore.”
Read the full article here.
City Limits
Wanjiro Gethaiga, Co-Director and Social Work Supervisor, and Tehra Coles, Litigation Supervisor, Government Affairs and Policy at CFR, were quoted in a recent article by City Limits entitled, “COVID-19 Creates Deep Uncertainty in NYC’s Child-Welfare System”. Read the article here.
RISE Magazine
Hope Newton, Parent Advocate at CFR, is featured in the RISE Magazine in an article entitled, “Hope Newton to NYC City Council: “All parents NEED legal counsel at the very beginning of an investigation to protect their families from unnecessary trauma”. Read the article here.
New York Post
Hope Newton, Parent Advocate at CFR, is quoted in the New York Post in an article entitled, “ACS chief says city bill guaranteeing lawyers could endanger children”. Read the article here.
New York Daily News
An Op-Ed written by Michele Cortese, Executive Director, and Tehra Coles, Litigation Supervisor, Government Affairs and Policy at CFR, and entitled, “Poor and at risk of losing their kids: Moms and dads under ACS investigation deserve more legal help,” is published in the New York Daily News.
“Poor New Yorkers of color aren’t receiving the same access to justice that wealthy families do, and the city agency charged with supporting families, the Administration for Children’s Services (ACS), wants it to stay that way.” Read the full article here.
The Chronicles of Social Change
Michele Cortese, Executive Director of CFR, Martin Guggenheim, CFR Board member and Professor of Clinical Law at NYU, and Eden Karnes, Senior Staff Social Worker, were quoted in a recent article by The Chronicles of Social Change entitled, “This 23-Year-Old’s Newborn Was Taken By the Government. Here’s How She Got Her Back.”
The article tells the story of one of CFR’s clients who lost her newborn to the Administration of Children Services (ACS), and with the help of CFR, safely reunified with her child.
Here are some highlighted quotes from the article:
“In our cases, a parent meets an attorney and a social work staff member on the very first day the case is in court. The client has two team members assisting simultaneously,” said Michele Cortese.
“Our job is to advocate for our clients, like a lawyer, so they don’t feel alone — but advocate outside the courtroom while the attorney advocates inside the courtroom,” said Eden Karnes.
Read the full article here.
RISE Magazine
Hope Lyzette Newton, a parent advocate with CFR and board member for RISE Magazine, shares her inspiring story of how she got her name removed from the New York State Central Register (SCR). Read the blog here.
Law360
Michele Cortese, Executive Director of the Center for Family Representation, and Martin Guggenheim, Professor of Clinical Law at NYU, were interviewed by Law360 for an article entitled, “Why An Attorney May Not Be Enough In Child Welfare Cases.”
The article depicts the results of a research study conducted by researchers at NYU School of Law and Action Research about the impact of a multidisciplinary approach on child welfare cases.
Here are some highlighted quotes from the article:
“Some critics were potentially saying, ‘Are those kids as safe? If kids come home fast, is there a chance they’re coming home too fast?’” Cortese said. “This study … indicated that our clients’ children come home faster than when parents are represented by a solo practitioner, and there’s no increased repeat maltreatment.
“There’s nothing that indicates they’re not as safe,” Cortese said.
Read the full article here.
Child Law Practice (CLP) Today
CFR’s Board member, Martin Guggenheim, and CFR’s Special Counsel, Susan Jacob, published a landmark study in the Child Law Practice (CLP) Today, entitled, “Providing Parents Multidisciplinary Legal Representation Significantly Reduces Children’s Time in Foster Care.”
Read about the study here.
YouthToday
Michele Cortese, Executive Director of the Center for Family Representation, also a member of the Commission for Parental Legal Representation, is featured in the YouthToday article, “New York Child Welfare Advocates Want Parents to Have Representation When Their Children Removed.”
“It’s the rare situation where the need to protect a child means their interest is distinct from their parents,” she said. “This dialogue should be about families. Especially when we’re talking about poor people, we feel that supporting the sanctity of the family is worth going the distance.”
Read the full article here.
The New York Bar Foundation
The New York Bar Foundation recently presented a grant of $10,000 to CFR. The grant will be used to support our Enhanced Interdisciplinary Advocacy Teams project.
“Funding from the New York Bar Foundation enables CFR to provide free legal and social work services to vulnerable families whose children are at risk of foster care” said CFR Executive Director, Michele Cortese.
Read the full press release here.
The New Republic
Ginelle Stephenson, Social Work Supervisor, is quoted in The New Republic in an article entitled, “The Crime of Parenting While Poor”. Read the article here.
The New York Times
Hope Newton, Parent Advocate, is featured in The New York Times in an article entitled, “The Child Abuse Charge Was Dismissed. But It Can Still Cost You a Job”. Read the article here.
City Limits
Michele Cortese, Executive Director, and Tehra Coles, Litigation Supervisor, Government Affairs and Policy at CFR, writes to the editor of City Limits in response to a recent article by Rachel Blustain about the movement to provide legal representation to parents during ACS investigations:
At the Center for Family Representation (CFR) we have defended close to 10,000 indigent parents who are summoned to family court by the city’s Administration for Children’s Services (ACS). We applaud Rachel Blustain’s “New Push to Provide Legal Advice to Parents Facing Abuse and Neglect Investigations,” where she adeptly and comprehensively illuminates the heart-rending predicaments faced by parents being investigated by ACS, without the benefit of legal counsel. Read More
The New York Times
Michele Cortese, Executive Director of CFR, writes to the editor of The Times in response to the article, “Motherhood in the Age of Fear”:
Kim Brooks’s article is an important reminder of how swiftly and energetically mothers are demonized for making decisions many parents make at some point. Ms. Brooks states that this dynamic transcends race and class, but the experience for poor mothers (and fathers) of color is vastly different from that of the parents she describes. Read More