My name is Michelle and I’m Founder and CEO of the soon to be nonprofit A Safe Place to Fall. 

Did you know that our child welfare system is completely broken? 

Did you know that children have only a few minutes to grab belongings and throw them into a TRASH BAG to bring to where they are being placed? 

Did you know that there are children who should be removed every single day but aren’t because there aren’t enough foster homes to place them in? 

Did you know that foster parents are not always afforded a full background on the children placed with them? Not given psychiatric reports or not told the depth of trauma they have endured? 

Did you know that foster parents have no say when it comes to court even though they live with the trauma these children have endured every day? They transport them to counseling, they hold them when they return from visitations, they live through the tantrums and broken promises. And yet their opinions about this child’s future mean nothing. 

Did you know our system is based on reunification at ALL costs? Who do you think pays those costs? Yes, the children do. A system that is supposed protect children doesn’t even put their best interests ahead of their desire to reunify! 

This matter is not just a cause, but a deeply personal concern. A heart-wrenching reality is at play – too many innocent lives are lost to abuse, too many children are returned to their abusers in the twisted name of 'reunification'. New York State, in particular, maintains some of the lowest standards nationwide regarding adequate living conditions for children. This gross negligence enables dangerous situations to persist, placing children in vulnerable positions that they should never have to experience.

Our child welfare system, tragically, does not prioritize children. It places them in an unforgiving limbo, suspended in a foster care purgatory for years. Not only is this detrimental to their immediate safety, but it also harms their long-term psychological well-being, preventing them from ever leading normal, stable, fulfilling lives. This is a grave issue, something we cannot allow to continue without making a tremendous effort to induce change.

The National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System (NCANDS) reported an estimated 1,840 child fatalities due to abuse and neglect in 2019. This shocking statistic shows how urgent and critical a reform of the child welfare system is. Each lost life stands as a stark testament to the existing system’s intense failure. (source: The U.S. Department of Health & Human Services)

We cannot stand by as children continue to suffer in environments that harm rather than nurture them. It is time to push for major reforms - improving living standards, reducing the haste of reunification in unsuitable cases, and ensuring that our system genuinely prioritizes the children it is supposed to serve. 

We cannot stand by as our system continually fails the birth parents by not providing adequate preventative services. 

We cannot stand by as our system continually fails foster families as well! We need better checks and balances BY OUTSIDE NEUTRAL AGENCIES. Better training and background checks. In depth trauma training for case workers, law guardians, judges! 

Please sign this petition and stand with us in our fight for a more compassionate, safety-oriented child welfare system.