Mayor Bill de Blasio’s recent announcement that New York City will invest millions in “family enrichment centers” sounds like a win for families. But this initiative should be reconsidered, and the city should start by listening to what families actually want.
While the mayor’s Taskforce on Racial Inclusion and Equity has it right that New York should invest in family support, Black and brown parents have been vocal opponents of programs funded and overseen by the child welfare system (ACS).
ACS’ track record has been to treat Black families punitively. These families are less likely to be offered preventive family supports, more likely to be separated, and less likely to be reunited than other families. Citywide, unfounded investigations and intrusive monitoring of families also have expanded dramatically under the current ACS administration.
It’s crucial that de Blasio evaluate the potential for this approach to harm families by expanding the toxic surveillance of ACS, and that parents in communities most impacted by ACS have an opportunity to voice their own solutions.
In City Council hearings, the media and communication with ACS’ commissioner and top staff, parents have testified that families facing challenges distrust and fear ACS, which frequently investigates and separates families solely because of poverty. What parents actually want is peer support coordinated by trusted community organizations.
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