An MTA bus driver’s fatherly instincts kicked in early Monday when he helped reunite a 6-year-old girl and her 11-year-old brother with their parents after they boarded his bus in East New York before sunrise, wearing pajamas and shorts. Marvin McLaurin, a dad of four, told THE CITY he was stunned when he saw the […]
Child Welfare
Posted inEducation
Families Probed for Child Neglect After Keeping Kids Out of School Over COVID Concerns
The impact of child welfare investigations on already traumatized families can be severe: charges stay on records for decades and may affect future job prospects. Parents say they are trying their best to keep their kids safe and educated.
Posted inEducation
More Than 100,000 NYC Students Are Homeless, New Report Finds
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat, a nonprofit news organization covering public education. Sign up for their newsletters here: ckbe.at/newsletters. Nearly 1 in 10 New York City public school students were homeless last school year, a staggering rate that has barely budged for several years. About 101,000 students lived in unstable, or temporary, housing in the 2020-2021 […]
Posted inAdministration for Children's Services
City, Union Push Back on Informing Parents of Rights in Child-Welfare Probes
A so-called Parental Rights package of legislation is scheduled to be voted on by the City Council on Thursday, seeking to “empower families in the [child welfare] system… to know their rights.” But two key bills will be conspicuously absent from the vote. Both would require city Administration for Children’s Services workers to advise parents […]
Posted inChild Welfare
Maya Wiley Won’t Be New York’s Next Mayor. What Will Happen to Her Signature Proposal?
This story was published in partnership between THE CITY and The Fuller Project. What’s next for former New York City mayoral candidate and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley? She says she isn’t going to run for governor. But she still wants to see her plan to provide universal community care for children and older adults […]
Posted inFamilies
Vaccinate Teens Without Parental Consent, City Child Welfare Agency Says
Lawyers for youth and families push back on new policy that allows foster care and juvenile justice homes to give vaccines to 16- and 17-year-olds even if mom or dad objects.
Posted inEducation
Video Game-Themed Writing Workshops Draw Homeless Teens Together in a Time of Isolation
Shuttered middle and high schools have put video games at the center of many isolated teens’ social life across the city. But at two Bronx homeless shelters, gaming is opening the door to in-person collaboration for young people desperate for it. Makeda, a senior studying drama at LaGuardia High School, is one of them. She’s […]
Posted inFamilies
Youth Find Silver Lining in Child Welfare Shift to Telehealth During Pandemic
As a therapist for foster children, Milton Cephus was accustomed to cancellations. A client might promise to come after school but never show up at Cephus’ Brooklyn office. A foster parent could have a scheduling conflict. But since pandemic-spurred emergency regulations allowed Cephus’ practice to move from the office to the computer screen, much of […]
Posted inLife
Drawing Lessons From Protests, Black Women’s Group Makes Holidays Happier for Foster Kids
Last Saturday, a group of masked women stood together in the doorway of Judson Memorial Church in Greenwich Village and cheered as they set another meticulously wrapped box onto the pile of what would quickly become a mountain of gifts for foster children. Kimberly Bernard and Caroline Gombé had rallied hundreds of people to marches […]
Posted inChild Welfare
State Moves to Ban Face-Down Restraining Hold at Foster Care Facilities
New York State’s child welfare agency has proposed banning restraining kids face-down on the floor at all foster care settings — bringing relief to youth in group homes and advocates who have long condemned the potentially deadly maneuver. The use of “prone restraints” has been shown to be dangerous, leading to serious injury and even […]