Feminist Peace Network

From the Every Mother is a Working Mother Network:

Dear Friends,

We have had a major media breakthrough in the “DHS – Give Us Back Our Children” campaign (see below for background). Elmer Smith, who has a regular column in the Philadelphia Daily News and is also on their Editorial Board, did a GREAT piece on the case of Tili Ayala, a Latina/Native American mother who lost custody of her children to DHS and has been fighting for 3 years to get them back, the last 2 years with us and with other families backing her. The new DHS Commissioner, Anne Marie Ambrose, took office on June 23, and Mr. Smith used the occasion to highlight this issue and to put her on the spot.

This article is a victory and a breakthrough, since the media usually sensationalizes cases, demonizes the mothers, and has been behind the “foster care panic” in Philadelphia. It is the culmination of a great deal of work on the part of many, beginning with Tili Ayala, and including all the other mothers, grandmothers and others who are fighting DHS for their children, the Every Mother is a Working Mother Network, and everyone in the “DHS – Give Us Back Our Children!” group.

What you can do!

• Go online at and post a comment at the end of the article. Some of the comments there now are truly awful. You can also write a letter to the Editor to tell them how you feel. Here is the address: views@phillynews.com. The letter from Every Mother is a Working Mothers Network sent is below.
• Sign our petition online.
• If you live locally (in Philadelphia, PA/US), come to the monthly picket, the first Thursday of every month, usually from 4-5pm. This month the picket will be held from 3-4pm on Thursday July 3 outside DHS at 16th and Arch streets in Philadelphia.
• Volunteer to help with the case work – we accompany women to court and hearings, find legal help & make sure the attorneys do what they are supposed to, strategize together and support each other.
• For more information and to get involved, email the Crossroads Women’s Center.

Background: Across the US, women and families are losing custody of children to child protective services, that is children are losing their families – at an alarming rate – Philly’s among the highest. The underlying cause is almost always poverty – but instead of helping with housing, childcare, legal needs or abuse, the Department of Human Services (DHS) removes kids from their homes, particularly from families that are of color, young, older, alternative – though most children and youth are better off and safer at home than in foster care or residential facilities. At the same time, DHS does not act to adequately protect children who are truly in danger – racism rearing its ugly end at both ends of the spectrum! In addition, some non-profit organizations which have contracts with the departments are profiting by keeping the children. DHS – Give Us Back Our Children is a self help support group of families and supporters founded by Every Mother is a Working Mother Network and Justice for Families which began the weekly picket outside DHS in 2005. We challenge the state sponsored child abuse by supporting those with cases, lobbying and other protests.

Filed under: Uncategorized, Action Alerts, Atrocities, U.S. Politics, Children