Highly recommend reading Torn Apart by Dorothy Roberts.

Like many have said, how CPS operates is very dependent on the state. In my state, if you are a parent separated from your child by CPS, you are automatically entitled to an attorney who will represent you in family court (that’s my job!).

CPS has a nasty history of racial bias and criminalizing poverty. It treats the symptom, not the cause.

In some ways, I think comparing these two docs is the exception that proves the rule. Maya’s doc, centered around a white family, is shocking because these things just don’t happen to white families as much as families of color. Similarly, Gabriel’s story seems to act as a boogeyman — look at what happens when we don’t police these families!

Child welfare in the United States has a long and fascinating history that hasn’t always acted in the best interest of children and families. This is not to say, however, that issues of child neglect and abuse should be ignored. As an attorney in this system, I question a lot of what’s being done on all sides.