Nila Natarajan, Supervising Attorney & Policy Counsel, Family Defense Practice at Brooklyn Defender Services (BDS) testified before The New York City Council Committees on Oversight and Investigations, Public Safety, and General Welfare regarding Operational Challenges in Family Court.

It is well established that Administration for Children’s Services (ACS) investigations and any subsequent legal prosecutions primarily target Black and Brown families and families living in poverty. The families appearing in family court have been disproportionately surveilled and policed by ACS. A family’s race and socioeconomic status make them vulnerable to being targeted by reporting and ACS investigation. As it functions today, the family court does not operate as a check on the over-policing of low-income Black and Brown families or as a vigilant protector of parent or children’s fundamental rights. Rather, it often operates as an extension of the surveillance experienced by communities of color at the hands of ACS, and the court process itself causes lasting trauma for the most marginalized families.

Read the full testimony here.