Town Hall on New Report – Highlights Depths of Destruction Caused by Family Policing System

LOS ANGELES — On June 1, at 6 p.m., Stop LAPD Spying Coalition and Downtown Women’s Action Coalition will host a town hall to discuss their recent report “DCF(S) Stands For Dividing and Conquering Families”: How The Family Policing System Contributes To The Stalker State.”

The town hall will be held at the Los Angeles Community Action Network or LACAN HQ in Skid Row at 838 E. 6th Street, Los Angeles

The report interrogates the child welfare system and highlights disparities and tactics within the system; lasting devastation caused by family separation and voices from impacted communities. As of 2020, Los Angeles County consisted of only 7% of Black children yet 24% of Black children were removed from their families by DCFS. The report details how DCFS employs policing and surveillance practices through the criminalization and categorization of Black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities, in defining who they believe should be considered a “safety” threat or “high risk” parent.

A community-led research project, the report provides insight into one of Los Angeles County’s newest algorithmic decision-making tools called the Risk Stratification Model that is used to predict risk of future involvement within the system. The tool is used in conjunction with other automated tools on the child welfare hotline and the SDM or Structured Decision Making Tool which has been used to help caseworkers discern immediate safety risks. Decision-making processes used by social workers are based on subjective and discretionary definitions of “harm”, “threat”, and “risk.” Social workers’ assessment of harm (such as child neglect) revolves around assumptions of normativity, and often criminalizes those who are disabled, Black, transgender, and/or homeless. This subjectivity in determining who and what is harmful serves as the basis for decision-making, including algorithmic decision-making.

The report takes a deep dive into the structural challenges facing marginalized Black and Brown communities and suggests a pouring into community as opposed to the systems that target and harm… “pouring millions of dollars into abusive carceral institutions, like the $270,000 per child per year spent on holding children at MacLaren Hall… should be poured into the community and into programs that do not collaborate with law enforcement or cause further harm”. The report offers community-led solutions for caring, protecting and providing for children and families.

Since 2001, the Downtown Women’s Action Coalition, a support group of women who live and work in Skid Row, have organized to ensure that womens’ needs are not forgotten and to advocate for critical services and programs. The Stop LAPD Spying Coalition is an abolitionist community group, based in Skid Row, working to dismantle the police surveillance state.

Details: To download the report: https://stoplapdspying.org/dcfs/