Amicus Briefs Challenging Maryland’s Use of Family Policing to Punish New Parents Who Use State’s Safe Haven Law
These amicus briefs were written by Movement for Family Power, Center for Constitutional Rights, and Civil Rights Corps.
The Case
In 2024, Ms. C, a 23-year-old woman and mother of two older children, gave birth to twins. Newly postpartum, and without adequate support, she felt that she could not give them the life she wanted them to have. She researched her options and found the Maryland Safe Haven Law, which guarantees immunity from civil and criminal prosecution when a parent surrenders their unharmed newborn at a designated facility within 60 days after birth, and is advertised by the Maryland Department of Human Services (DHS) as a non-punitive alternative for parents who are unable to care for their newborns. Reassured, Ms. C took her healthy four-day-old twins to the designated “safe location,” the hospital, and provided all the necessary information, in accordance with the Safe Haven law.
Notwithstanding the Safe Haven law’s guarantee of civil and criminal immunity, the Maryland family policing system nevertheless brought a Child-In-Need-of-Assistance (CINA)—Maryland’s family policing statute–against Ms. C. Ultimately, the Court found Ms. C use of the Safe Haven Statute amounted to neglect, and adjudicated Ms. C’s children to be CINA.
Thereafter, Ms. C appealed the neglect finding to the Maryland Court of Appeals. Affirming the trial court’s ruling, the Court of Appeals denied Ms. C’s appeal. Undeterred, Ms. C filed a petition for writ of certiorari to the Maryland Supreme Court seeking review of her case, and urging the Court to clarify that a parent cannot be found to have neglected their child based solely on the parent’s lawful use of Maryland’s Safe Haven Law.
Our Advocacy
Amicus Brief in Support of Petition for Certiorari: In Re: B.CD. & B.CB. (Maryland’s Safe Haven Law)
On October 6, 2025, Movement for Family Power co-authored an amicus brief along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and Civil Rights Corps, in support of Ms. C’s petition for certiorari. The brief:
Explains that the CINA Statute comprises a part of the family policing system which disproportionately harms poor and Black families and is designed to punish rather than support families;
Outlines the history of the family policing system, and explains how CINA’s historical lineage is deeply rooted in anti-Black racism;
And argues that interpreting the Safe Haven statute as the Appellate Court suggests will discourage pregnant people from utilizing the program for fear of the collateral consequences of a neglect finding.
The American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Maryland, Angela Burton, Black Families Love & Unite, Blessings in Transformation, City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law Family Defense Clinic, Dorothy Roberts, Elephant Circle, JMACforFamilies, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Mining for Gold, the MJCF: Coalition, Operation Stop CPS, South East Family Freedom Alliance, UpEND, and The Bronx Defenders signed on to the amicus brief.
Amicus Brief in Support of In Re: B.CD. & B.CB. (Maryland’s Safe Haven Law) Before the Maryland Supreme Court
On November 24, 2025, the Maryland Supreme Court granted certiorari, agreeing to review Ms. C’s case. On January 12, 2026, Movement for Family Power co-authored an amicus brief along with the Center for Constitutional Rights and Civil Rights Corps, in support of Ms. C, reiterating the points above.
The American Civil Liberties Union (“ACLU”), the ACLU of Maryland, Angela Olivia Burton, Baltimore Families for Justice, Blessings in Transformation, the Center for Constitutional Rights, the City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law Family Defense Clinic, Civil Rights Corps, Dorothy Roberts, Elephant Circle, InTuned Consulting, LLC, JMACforFamilies, Joyce McMillan, K. Adeniyi Law, APC, Legal Services for Prisoners with Children, Mining for Gold, the MJCF:Coalition, Movement for Family Power, the National Center for Youth Law, Operation Stop CPS, Rise, the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts ("CFCC”), South East Family Freedom Alliance, UpEND, The Bronx Defenders, and the University of Baltimore School of Law Family Law Clinic signed on to the amicus brief.