First Time Mothering After Child Welfare Involvement – The Ties That Bind: A Case Study

ABSTRACT This longitudinal single case-study analysis presents one woman’s (Opal’s) journey to resuming her place as a mother after over twenty years of child welfare involvement. Opal’s narrative account of her life with her large family in an urban center in the Northeast United States spans over fifty years. Her story illuminates moments of security, joy and happiness – emotions and experiences rarely documented as being connected to mothers like her. Her account illustrates the roadblocks and challenges that await Black mothers who are child welfare involved, and the ways in which they triumph over those barriers, and reclaim their place within their families. Opal’s narrative is organized into three phases, her: 1) Defining Years; 2) Activation and First-Time Mothering; and, 3) Generational Impact. Her ability to defy the master narrative regarding Black mothers provides a powerful contrast to the persistent violent tropes that undergird punitive child welfare policies and practices. Her story offers insights into dignified and effective ways of interacting with Black families in need of help.