Operation Stop CPS – Amanda Wallace, BSW

Episode 66
Guest: Amanda Wallace, BSW
Host: Shimon Cohen, LCSW

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Thank you to this episode’s sponsor! The University of Houston has a phenomenal social work program that offers face-to-face master's and doctorate degrees, as well as an online and hybrid MSW. They offer one of the country’s only Political Social Work programs and an Abolitionist Focused Learning Opportunity. Located in the heart of Houston, the program is guided by their bold vision to achieve social, racial, economic, and political justice, local to global. In the classroom and through research, they are committed to challenging systems and reimagining ways to achieve justice and liberation. Go to http://www.uh.edu/socialwork to learn more.

In this episode, I talk with Amanda Wallace, who is the Founder and Executive Director of Operation Stop CPS, based in Durham, North Carolina. We talk about how the family policing system surveils and regulates families, especially Black families, under the guise of child protection. Amanda shares how she worked in child protective services for 10 years, with the original good intentions of helping, but realized the harm that was being done to children and families. As she began to advocate for change within that system, specifically providing parents with information about their rights and how the system works, she faced retaliation and lost her job. Amanda discusses the work of Operation Stop CPS, how they intervene to assist families being affected by the system, families who have had their children taken from them — family separation — and families facing this state-sanctioned kidnapping. Amanda explains how this system is rooted in anti-Black racism, both historically and present-day. She shares the hope of building a movement to end family policing while providing the needed education, advocacy, and support for families right now. I hope this conversation inspires you to action.

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Music credit:
"District Four" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/