Parents Overcoming Welfare-system Regulation(s) (P.O.W.R.) was funded by a one-time grant from Chicago Beyond and were provided technical assistance by the Shriver Center on Poverty Law.
Our advocacy work consists of the following things:
- First, to stop the child welfare system from taking children from parents, in some cases, single parents, who live in poverty, lack resources and need help. For example, some single parents face the tough decision to go to work or stay home to care for their children and not work. If they go to work without the ability to pay for child care and leave the children at home, the children will be taken away, and they will be charged with neglect. On the other hand, if the parent is forced to stay home to care for their children and experience poverty, the system will take the children and charge the parent with neglect. "Poverty is not neglect."
- Second, to work towards a system that allows parents with lived experiences in the child welfare system to have a voice at the table with decision-makers, stakeholders, and advocates who decide on policies affecting them
- Third, to work with other parent & family advocacy groups, allies, and stakeholders to bring support and resources to parents & families seeking reunification with their children.
Mission
The mission and purpose of the organization is to build an advocacy space created by and for parents to fight the foster system’s surveillance, separation, and marginalization of families, particularly Black families and Indigenous families experiencing poverty.
Vision
A world in which families are together, safe, honored, supported, and thriving in their communities.