July 3, 2009
- Pasco, Washington
State report: Low-income minority single parents most likely to lose custody
By Keith Eldridge
OLYMPIA, Wash. -- Children of color from low-income single-parent households have a disproportionately high rate of being taken out of their homes, according to a report just released by a blue ribbon committee comissioned by the Legislature.
The Racial Disproportionality Advisory Committee found that Native American children are three times more likely to be taken from their homes by CPS than white children. Black children are twice as likely. Hispanic children are 1.3 times as likely and Asian children are half as likely. The big question now is: what can be done about it? Kimberly Mays knows what it's like for a mother to lose her own children. "These are my oldest three and this is when I lost them," she said, looking at photos. Mays looks at the photos because that's all she has of her children now. Her abuse of cocaine led her in and out of jail, prison and mental wards. It also caused her to lose custody of all of them. "Nine (children), at four different times," she said,"and it devastated me." The report released on Wednesday says Mays isn't alone. That's because Mays helped write that report; she was on the blue ribbon panel. She turned her life around, got a college degree and is now helping others. "So now I work vehemently to with parents to help them overcome those deficiencies so they can reunify with their kids," said Mays. It's worked in her own life. She now has custody of her youngest child and stays in touch with the others. "It's just a miracle," she said. "It just goes to show that first of all people can change and second of all, good things happen when you do good things." But Mays says it's going to take a lot of effort to help those parents learn the tools to keep their families together. The secretary of Social and Health Services will review the report and begin looking for solutions to help parents follow in Mays' footsteps. More Information: Report on Racial Disproportionality in Washington's Child Welfare System |
YouNews
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
|
Connect with KEPRMost Popular
|
Copyright © 2009
KEPR-TV, 2807 W. Lewis Street,
Pasco,
WA
99301
Copyright © 2008 Fisher Communications, Inc.
Powered by Broadcast Interactive Media.
