The US child welfare system punishes people for living in poverty and disproportionately impacts Black and Indigenous families, according to a new report produced by Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union. The failures of the system can haunt families for decades by limiting their employment opportunities and exacerbating a cycle of poverty that can trap successive generations in the child welfare net. Anthony Gale speaks to the report’s author, Hina Naveed, about reams of data and research she sifted through and the families she spoke with, along with her own personal history with the child welfare system.
