Space, Place, and Time: The Family Court Experiences of Child Welfare–Involved Parents

Abstract

There is no Family Court (FC) without families. However, historically and presently, families have not been centered in child welfare (CW) and family unification practices. This article aims to increase knowledge of parents’ experiences with CW and FC to illustrate how these institutions operate in the lives of the families they were built to serve. Data collected from in-depth interviews with parents ( n = 4) and parent advocates ( n = 6) illustrate how space, place, and time were recreated once parents engaged with CW and FC. These emergent findings show the FC’s replication of racial and social inequities among poor mothers of color and how the FC facilitated punitive pathways to reunification. This article ends with a call for institutional reforms to align FC practices with their stated purpose of supporting and centering families.