More than 21,000 children are removed from their families in Los Angeles County by DCFS each year. The vast majority of cases do not involve allegations of actual child abuse but instead are a result of “neglect,” a vague term that often is a direct result of poverty. Children are routinely removed from their families for parents being a survivor of domestic violence, being unable to afford childcare, and being unable to afford mental health treatment. After being removed from the families they have known their entire lives, children are then placed in foster care with a stranger and often have no idea if, or when, they will return home to their parents.

It is time for the United States to change the child welfare system to prioritize keeping families together instead of ripping families apart and putting children in the abusive foster care system. Though states have the primary role in making child welfare policy, Congress can and should provide crucial support and resources to fix the system.

The current child welfare system is racist. The statistics are clear: Black, Latine, and Native American children are removed from their families at much higher rates than white and Asian children. In Los Angeles County, only 7% of children in Los Angeles County are Black, yet 24% of children removed from their families by DCFS were Black. Further, two-thirds of all children removed from their homes in Los Angeles in 2020 were Latino. Even worse, state and local child protection agencies have immense power and often operate under the cover of confidentiality. States and local governments lack the resources to have sufficient oversight of these agencies and to hold them accountable for their failure to protect children without violating Constitutional rights.