A Journalist’s Guide to the '“Child Welfare” System

This resource was created by Center for Just Journalism, Civil Rights Corps, Movement for Family Power, and University of Miami School of Law Children & Youth Clinic.

Journalists have enormous influence over public policy and understanding of the family policing system. Yet for decades, coverage has relied on copaganda-style reporting—training the public to falsely equate surveillance and family separation, especially of BIPOC and marginalized families, with child safety.

To help change that, we co-created a new guide designed to support journalists to produce accurate, nuanced coverage of family policing; center the voices and advocacy of impacted people; and protect against sensationalized storytelling that fuels harmful family separation policies. Inside, you will find: 

• Available data & research on family policing & child safety 

• Opportunities for reporting

• A short list of expert sources

• Additional guides on language & terminology, reframing common stories, and sourcing considerations