Urban Matters recently caught up with Center for New York City Affairs visiting fellow Joyce McMillan. McMillan is a thought leader, advocate, activist, community organizer, and educator. Much of her work focuses on reforming the child welfare system by raising awareness of the racial disparities embedded in child welfare practices and policies. McMillian is the founder of JMacForFamilies and the advocacy group Parent Legislative Action Network (PLAN).

Urban Matters: You’ve been organizing parents and advocating for change in the child welfare system for six years. How would you characterize both the system and the movement at this moment in time?

Joyce McMillan: Parent involvement has shifted the conversation drastically from six years ago. With parents leading the charge, many people are now referring to child welfare as the family policing/regulation/destruction system. More parents are displaying a deeper understanding of the harms caused by that system. They are critically thinking about system narratives versus system realities, and are more empowered to be involved on various levels.

People are acknowledging and questioning their role in systems work. Groups of mandated reporters [professionals who are legally required to report observed or suspected child abuse or neglect because of their regular contact with children] are becoming supporters of families, as they are not comfortable feeding children and families into a system that is failing the children they claim to protect. In addition, many people are beginning to recognize the family policing system as a racial injustice fueled by poverty.

UM: Over the past year you’ve waged a public education campaign against the City’s Administration for Children’s Services with rallies, a billboard in Harlem reading “Some Cops Are Called Caseworkers,” and other messages that compare child welfare activity to police surveillance of Black communities and Federal immigration policies that separate families. What’s been the response and what do you hope to accomplish?

McMillan: The response has been overwhelmingly positive from everyone except some system folk. I began getting tagged in social media posts of random people wearing tee-shirts they had purchased at [a] rally which also read “Some Cops Are Called Caseworkers.” The posters sparked conversations nationally and were even featured in an article written by Chris Gottlieb in Time [magazine]. I hope more people begin to see the family regulation system as a policing system that investigates and interrogates families in true police fashion.

UM: The State has oversight of significant aspects of the City’s child welfare system and you’ve led a group of advocates to push for major reforms. In 2020, PLAN worked with the State Legislature to pass a bill that enhanced due process for families. It also reduced the amount of time that families remain listed on the State Central Registry for neglect from 28 years down to eight years, a punishment that limited employment options and could stand in the way of caring for other family members. What are you working on now?

McMillan: Child welfare casts a wide net that ensnares too many Black and Brown families. We’re working on two bills that would help protect families from getting caught up in the system. The first would establish ‘Miranda rights’ for child welfare. This bill, A6792, provides parents who are the subject of a child protective service investigation with the ability to have their rights communicated to them at the start of an investigation, and the right to an attorney [similar to rights in criminal cases established by the U.S. Supreme Court 1966 Miranda vs Arizona decision]. It’s been introduced in both the State Senate and Assembly, and Senator Jabari Brisport and Assemblywoman Latrice Walker have been real champions. It’s a no-brainer to me and many advocates.

We were not successful this session, as we refused to give the bill language that would have essentially provided [what legal scholar Dorothy Roberts and others call] ‘family regulation agents’ more power than they actually have. But I will not stop pushing for Miranda Rights. It’s a top priority because everyone should know their rights.

The anti-harassment/anonymous reporting bill is another top priority. We should not be wasting resources with child abuse investigation reports being weaponized against parents by former partners, landlords, or disgruntled neighbors as a form of harassment. New York State Senate Bill S5572 would require reporters of suspected child abuse or maltreatment to provide their name and contact information to the Statewide Central Registry of child abuse. Reporters' safety would still be assured, but replacing anonymous reporting with confidential reporting will deter a significant amount of malicious reporting, allow child welfare agencies to conduct more effective investigations, and focus resources on the cases that merit them.

UM: For nearly two decades, City leaders have adopted reforms that have reduced the number of kids in foster care and expanded services for families. Yet, Black and Latinx families remain over-represented at every stage of the child welfare system. What do you want to see from the next administration? And what do families need to support their wellbeing and ensure that kids are safe and thriving?

McMillan: What I would like to see from the next administration is truth and honesty so that they can join advocates in seeking real changes that are necessary to keep families intact, healthy, happy, and thriving. I would like to see CPS [child protective services] across New York support Miranda Rights authentically, not a watered-down version with rhetoric about [parent's] obligations. Parents need to know their rights and anyone who seeks to squash a parent knowing their rights is someone who has full intent to take full advantage of the parent's lack of knowledge. I would also like to see every parent in the State of New York have access to timely legal representation. Your address should not determine if you can have access to legal support the moment family regulation agents knock [at your door].

Photo by JMAC For Families.