Congresswoman Gwen Moore Introduces Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act
Washington,
January 28, 2021
Congresswoman Gwen Moore Introduces Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act Today, Congresswoman Gwen Moore introduced the Poverty is Not Child Neglect Act, legislation that will ban federal funds from being used to separate children from their parents solely due to poverty. In response, she released the following statement: “For far too long and too often, impoverished families have been punished for their hardships by being separated through the child welfare system. Instead of punishing and separating families because of poverty, we can and must provide struggling families with the resources to thrive. During this economic recession, 8 million Americans have been pushed into poverty. And systemic inequities have caused the recession to have an uneven and unjust impact on families of color: the most vulnerable who were already more likely to come into contact with the child welfare system. This critical moment makes this issue even more urgent, giving us an opportunity to reform our child welfare system to ensure families are not separated because of poverty and can stay together by connecting parents with the support they need.” |
