● If you can’t just get rid of the so-called Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act – a law that neither prevents nor treats child abuse – at least defund the part that does the most harm, and put the money into the part that has some potential to do good. That’s the theme of this Congressional briefing co-sponsored by the RepealCAPTA Coalition.
● Speaking of solutions, the Family Justice Journal has a special issue in which, as the editors explain
we invited Advisory and Editorial Board members to write about connection and belonging in their lives and how it shapes who and how they are in the world. Rather than traditional articles, authors offer brief, visual essays to convey the need to be mindfully aware of relational health in all that we do. Such awareness calls us to let go of structures, practices and approaches that do not honor and promote essential relationships and replace them with new ways that do. Each essay adds to already overwhelming evidence that change is necessary. Taken together, they speak to depth, breadth, and urgency of the need. We are grateful for the courage and generosity of the authors in sharing deeply personal experiences and convictions.
And remember, if you hate flipbooks as much as I do, look for the download icon in the upper left corner to get it as a .pdf
● In an extraordinary three-part series now underway, The Imprint tells the story of one Native American’s journey through his tribe’s child welfare system – and links it to the history of how family policing has treated Native Americans, and to the treatment of Indigenous America itself. Here's the link to part two.
● From JAMA Pediatrics, still more evidence that all those claims that COVID would be followed by a “pandemic of child abuse” were 100% Grade A B.S. On the contrary, the no-strings-attached cash assistance that followed the onset of the pandemic was a key factor in reducing child abuse. Not that we’d ever say we told you so…
● There's another amazing resource out from the New York City Family Policy Project. This one takes a deep dive into the data and reveals the impact of family policing neighborhood by neighborhood. How many investigations, how many foster care entries, which categories of reporters are most likely to call the hotline, what they are alleging and, of course, the race of families reported - it's all there. The data are only for New York City, of course, but it's a great model for what activists may want to do everywhere.
● The Biden Administration is working on updating the rulebook by which the federal government defines what kinds of programs are eligible for funding under the federal Family First Act and what standards of evidence they have to meet. And they’re seeking public comment.
● When truth is more horrifying than fiction: Dorothy Roberts, author of Torn Apart, in conversation with Jessamine Chan, author of The School for Good Mothers: (The audio is poor, but it’s captioned.)
● ICYMI: Check out our annual Halloween reminder to Court-Appointed Special Advocates: No, it’s not a good idea to raise money by holding a talent show with a blackface act. (And yes, one CASA chapter actually did that.)
● And this week’s edition of The Horror Stories go in All Directions comes from Florida:
The Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney’s office will not prosecute a Clearwater couple accused in a lawsuit filed in March of abusing more than 20 foster boys over decades. Prosecutors said they determined the statute of limitations had expired in the cases.
