On Avoiding the Classroom-to-Prison Pipeline: Ending the kick-out mentality

Slide: Cognitive Behavior Therapy Plus conference

A former CPS caseworker expresses regret for families that were disrupted through her actions 30 years ago, when children were removed permanently in the absence of services to teach parenting skills. -gw

As a culture, are we just too punitive to get our vengeful eyes off the offender and onto collateral casualties, like the kids? By removing defective moms as though they didn’t matter, social services endorses the kick-out mentality. The mom is bad, thus disposable. Labeling people “bad” and putting them aside is too simple. It ignores all the connections, the attachments, the context. 

As such, automatically removing children from troubled homes is an early-childhood version of the kick-out mentality that leads to the classroom-to-prison pipeline. It demeans how critically important relationships are to kids — all kids, of all ages. Family members are not spare parts.

Why ‘Bad’ Moms Still Should Parent Their Kids