Adoptees Crossing Lines Podcast
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adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Adoptees Crossing Lines Podcast
@adopteecrossing.bsky.social
390 followers 240 following 82 posts
In this podcast I deconstruct the romanticism holding up the family policing industry and expose the lies, abuse, and pain that gets silenced. #adopteevoices

https://pod.link/1651229727
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adopteecrossing.bsky.social
NAAM is ending, but adoptees’ truths don’t fit into a once a year campaign.

Awareness shouldn’t end on November 30th. Tell the full story — all year.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with white starburst in the top right corner. Header reads “National Adoption Awareness Month.” Text explains that NAAM can feel like a celebration of adoptee silence. It describes expectations to be grateful for separation, to smile while grief is used as marketing, and states adoptees have always told a different story: one of loss, survival, and truth-telling despite a system built on silence. Bottom includes “@adopteescrossinglines” and a right-facing arrow icon. Light blue background with a white starburst on the left. Large “01.” at the top. Text states adoptees deserve honesty about their beginnings, not fairy-tale narratives. Calls for language that names loss and for space to tell truths without labels like ungrateful or difficult. Ends by saying adoptee narratives aren’t the problem; the system that created their silence is. Bottom includes “@adopteescrossinglines” and a right-facing arrow icon. Light blue background with a white sparkle icon on the right. Large “02.” at the top. Text explains that the public’s preferred adoption narrative — rescue, destiny, gratitude — comes at adoptees’ expense. It erases first families, reshapes identities, and treats separation as a gift. Notes that when NAAM uplifts adoption without context, it reinforces harmful myths that silence adoptees and maintain oppressive systems. Bottom includes “@adopteescrossinglines” and a right-facing arrow icon. Light blue background with a white starburst on the right. Large “03.” at the top. Text states: If NAAM is about awareness, families deserve support, not surveillance. Adoptees deserve truth, and communities deserve care instead of carceral solutions. Abolition means building a world where no child is taken for being poor and where love isn’t weaponized for state power. Ends with: “Listen to adoptees. Fund first families. Tell the full story — all year, not just in November.” Bottom includes “@adopteescrossinglines” and a right-facing arrow icon.
November 28, 2025 at 3:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Poverty isn’t neglect.

Most kids in foster care aren’t there because of abuse, they’re there because their parents couldn’t afford food, housing, or childcare.

The solution isn’t foster care. It’s ending poverty.

#adopteesky
Slide 1: Light blue background with a white star shape in the top right corner. Text reads: “National Adoption Awareness Month. Most children in foster care aren’t there because of abuse. They’re there because their parents are poor. When families can’t afford food, housing, or childcare, the state calls it ‘neglect.’ Then uses that label to justify separation, instead of support.” Slide 2: Text reads: “01. Across the U.S., 73% of child welfare cases cite neglect, not abuse. And ‘neglect’ often just means poverty: empty refrigerators, unpaid light bills, no safe housing. Meanwhile, programs like SNAP and childcare assistance are cut, pushing more families into crisis. The same government that fails to feed us funds the system that takes our kids.” Slide 3: Text reads: “02. Being poor isn’t a parenting failure. It’s the predictable outcome of capitalism, racism, and policy choices that punish the most marginalized. When safety nets are ripped away, family policing fills the gap — not with help, but with handcuffs. Poverty becomes a crime, and survival becomes evidence.” Slide 4: Text reads: “03. If we funded care instead of control, families could stay together. Food, housing, and childcare aren’t luxuries, they’re family preservation. The real solution to ‘neglect’ isn’t foster care. It’s ending poverty.”
November 26, 2025 at 3:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Week 2 is up on Substack.

This one is about what the podcast has taught me, about the system, about grief, and about telling the truth even when people don’t want to hear it.
Read it here: adopteescrossinglines.substack.com

#adopteesky
November 24, 2025 at 3:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Media doesn’t just reflect adoption culture. It creates it.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with text that reads: “National Adoption Awareness Month. ‘Best interests of the child’ sounds compassionate, but it’s one of the most dangerous lies the system tells. Because who decides what’s best? Courts, caseworkers, and agencies — not the child. Not the family. Not the community. It’s a legal phrase used to justify separation, silence families, and sanitize state violence.” Text reads: “01. The ‘best interests’ standard was designed in the early 1900s, when social workers targeted poor, Black, Indigenous, and immigrant families as ‘unfit.’ It gave judges the power to remove children based on morality, not safety. A century later, it’s still used to remove kids because of poverty, disability, or ‘failure to thrive’ under white, middle class norms. The same logic fuels family policing and adoption today.” Text reads: “02. In courtrooms, ‘best interests’ rarely means what children actually need — stability, safety, love, and belonging. It means whatever keeps the system intact. Adoption is framed as a happy ending, even when it’s built on loss. But for the families torn apart, ‘best interests’ means grief, surveillance, and state sanctioned erasure.” Text reads: “03. If we truly care about children’s best interests, we must care about their families’ survival. The safest place for most kids is not foster care or adoption — it’s home, with support. Abolition means replacing ‘best interests’ with collective care, resource equity, and family autonomy. Because safety without justice is just control.”
November 19, 2025 at 4:03 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
New Substack piece is live, the first in an 8 week series I’m writing ahead of the next season.

It’s about the gap between the adoption story we’re given & the life we actually lived.

If you want to follow the series, you can subscribe here: adopteescrossinglines.substack.com
A blue-toned gradient background with a soft grainy texture. Centered black text reads: “THEY TOLD US ADOPTION WAS SIMPLE. ‘A BETTER LIFE.’ ‘BE GRATEFUL.’” At the top is the handle “@adopteescrossinglines.” At the bottom is the URL “adopteescrossinglines.substack.com.” Minimalist layout, clean sans-serif font. A blue grainy gradient background matching the first slide. Centered black text reads: “BUT WHAT IF THE STORY YOU WERE HANDED NEVER MATCHED THE LIFE YOU LIVED?” The handle “@adopteescrossinglines” sits at the top. The Substack URL appears at the bottom. Same blue grainy gradient background. Large centered text reads: “WHAT IF THE ‘BETTER LIFE’ WAS A NARRATIVE, NOT A TRUTH?” The handle sits at the top and the Substack URL sits at the bottom. Final slide with the same gradient grain texture. Centered black text reads: “THIS IS THE FIRST PIECE IN AN 8 WEEK SERIES ABOUT ADOPTION, BELONGING, SURVIVAL, AND THE STORIES WE’RE EXPECTED TO CARRY. READ IT ON SUBSTACK. (LINK IN BIO.)” Handle appears at the top, Substack URL at the bottom.
November 17, 2025 at 4:00 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
“Best interests of the child” has never been neutral.

It’s how the state disguises control as compassion.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with text that reads: “National Adoption Awareness Month. ‘Best interests of the child’ sounds compassionate, but it’s one of the most dangerous lies the system tells. Because who decides what’s best? Courts, caseworkers, and agencies — not the child. Not the family. Not the community. It’s a legal phrase used to justify separation, silence families, and sanitize state violence.” Text reads: “01. The ‘best interests’ standard was designed in the early 1900s, when social workers targeted poor, Black, Indigenous, and immigrant families as ‘unfit.’ It gave judges the power to remove children based on morality, not safety. A century later, it’s still used to remove kids because of poverty, disability, or ‘failure to thrive’ under white, middle class norms. The same logic fuels family policing and adoption today.” Text reads: “02. In courtrooms, ‘best interests’ rarely means what children actually need — stability, safety, love, and belonging. It means whatever keeps the system intact. Adoption is framed as a happy ending, even when it’s built on loss. But for the families torn apart, ‘best interests’ means grief, surveillance, and state sanctioned erasure.” Text reads: “03. If we truly care about children’s best interests, we must care about their families’ survival. The safest place for most kids is not foster care or adoption — it’s home, with support. Abolition means replacing ‘best interests’ with collective care, resource equity, and family autonomy. Because safety without justice is just control.”
November 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
I started a Substack.

A place to go deeper, beyond the posts and the episodes.

Essays and reflections connecting adoption, family policing, and the systems that shape our lives.

The first post is live: adopteescrossinglines.substack.com

#adopteesky
Slide 1: Blue background with subtle paper texture. Text reads: “Adoption isn’t what they told us it was. The stories we were given don’t tell the whole truth.” Slide 2: Same background. Text reads: “I’ve been telling these stories through my podcast and posts like this, now I’m expanding that work through writing. I created a Substack to dig deeper into how these systems work and how they shape the stories we’re told.” Slide 3: Same background. Text reads: “This space is for honesty and context — a place to ask harder questions, share lived experience, and connect what’s personal to what’s structural.” Slide 4: Same background. Text reads: “The first post dropped today. Subscribe free at adopteescrossinglines.substack.com, or become a paid supporter to help keep this work going.” Each slide includes the handle @adopteescrossinglines centered at the bottom.
November 12, 2025 at 4:07 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Every time the state says it’s “saving children,” someone is getting paid.

Billions in federal dollars flow through the family policing system each year, not to keep families together, but to remove and rehome children.

This isn’t protection. It’s profit.

#adopteesky
Text on a light blue background reads: “National Adoption Awareness Month. Every time the state says it’s ‘saving children,’ someone is getting paid. Billions of federal dollars flow through family policing each year, not to keep families together, but to remove and rehome children. This isn’t about protection. It’s about profit, power, and punishment disguised as care.” Text reads: “01. The Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997) rewards states up to $10,000 per finalized adoption, on top of millions in annual federal reimbursements for foster care. Meanwhile, family reunification programs receive only a fraction of that funding. It’s not that the money doesn’t exist — it’s that it’s intentionally redirected away from keeping families whole. The system profits more when families are separated.” Text reads: “02. Private agencies, lawyers, and nonprofits profit from every step of the adoption pipeline. But the cost is paid by parents criminalized for poverty, by families fighting to be reunified, and by adoptees who inherit the grief of state violence. For every check written in the name of ‘child welfare,’ a bond is broken, often permanently.” Text reads: “03. Imagine if those same dollars funded food programs, housing, childcare, and cash assistance instead of removals. That’s what abolition looks like — shifting money from surveillance to survival. Ending the family policing system isn’t about scarcity. It’s about choosing care over control.”
November 10, 2025 at 3:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Adoption doesn’t exist outside the family policing system—it depends on it.
Behind every “forever family” headline is surveillance, removal, and profit from separation.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with white starburst in top right corner. Text reads: “National Adoption Awareness Month Adoption doesn’t exist outside the family policing system, it depends on it. Every adoption that starts with state intervention begins with surveillance, investigation, and removal. Its real function is social control, punishing poverty and breaking up families in the name of protection.” @adopteescrossinglines with an outlined arrow icon in the bottom right. Light blue background with white starburst in top left corner. Large black text reads “01.” Below it: “In 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) tied federal dollars to adoption quotas. States receive bonuses for every child adopted out of foster care, turning separation into state revenue. Since then, thousands of families, mostly Black, Indigenous, and poor, have lost their children permanently to meet performance targets. This isn’t safety. It’s state sponsored trafficking.” @adopteescrossinglines and sources listed at bottom: ASFA (1997); U.S. DHHS Adoption Incentives Report (2024). Arrow icon in lower right. Light blue background with white starburst in upper right. Large black text reads “02.” Below: “Family policing operates like every other carceral system, through surveillance, control, and punishment. Caseworkers act as police, mandated reporters as informants, and courts as sentencing chambers for parents living in poverty. When adoption follows this process, it’s not an act of love, it’s the state erasing families under legal cover. And the trauma is generational.” @adopteescrossinglines with sources at bottom: Child Welfare Abolitionist Handbook (2023); Family Defense Center (2021). Arrow icon in lower right. Light blue background with small white starburst in lower right. Large text “03.” Below: “Adoption and family policing are not broken systems, they’re functioning exactly as designed. To end the harm, we don’t reform them. We dismantle them and build systems rooted in care, autonomy, and collective survival. Abolition means no more stolen children, ever again.” @adopteescrossinglines and arrow icon at bottom right.
November 7, 2025 at 3:00 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Adoption doesn’t “save” children, it rewards the state for separating them.

Most removals happen because of poverty, not abuse.
Families aren’t unsafe. They’re unsupported.

When we resource families, we dismantle the family policing system, piece by piece.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with black text reading: “National Adoption Awareness Month. They tell us adoption ‘gives children a better life.’ But what’s rarely said is that most adoptions start with a family that could’ve stayed together if they had been given what they needed to survive. Adoption is the system — a pipeline that takes from poor families and rewards the state for breaking them apart.” The handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the bottom with an arrow icon. Text reads: “01. In 2023, over 75% of child removals were for ‘neglect’ — not abuse. And ‘neglect’ is most often just a euphemism for poverty: no childcare, unstable housing, food insecurity. Families aren’t unsafe. They’re unsupported. When the state refuses to meet basic needs, it manufactures ‘neglect’ — then justifies removing children instead of resourcing parents.” Citations listed below: “U.S. DHHS, AFCARS Report #31 (2023); Family Justice Journal, ‘Reframing Neglect as Poverty’ (2022).” Text reads: “02. Family preservation means funding food, housing, and care, not foster care and adoption subsidies. It means believing that families deserve to stay together, even when they struggle. Supporting families costs less, heals more, and builds stronger communities than paying agencies to separate them. When we resource people, we dismantle the family policing system piece by piece.” Text reads: “03. Family preservation isn’t a program. It’s resistance. Every dollar spent removing a child is a dollar stolen from keeping a family whole. Because ‘saving children’ shouldn’t come at the cost of destroying their families.”
November 5, 2025 at 3:01 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
NAAM isn’t about awareness, it’s a state sponsored marketing campaign.

Every November, the family policing system rebrands family separation as “love.”

It’s time to tell the truth: adoption isn’t liberation. Abolition is.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with a white starburst design in the corner. Text reads: National Adoption Awareness Month “NAAM is about the government, and the family policing industry, celebrating the buying and selling of children under the guise of ‘love.’ Since the beginning, NAAM has been less about ‘awareness’ and more about manufacturing consent for family separation.” Instagram handle @adopteescrossinglines appears at the bottom. Light blue background with black text and a white abstract star shape on the right. Large “01.” at the top. Text reads: “NAAM is a marketing campaign. Created in the late 1970s and federalized by President Clinton in the 1990s, it was used to promote adoption out of foster care, not to address why families were being separated in the first place. By 1997, the Adoption and Safe Families Act offered states financial bonuses for each adoption finalized. That law turned children into revenue streams, accelerating the permanent removal of mostly Black, Indigenous, and poor children.” Sources listed at the bottom: Adoption and Safe Families Act (1997); Roberts, Torn Apart (2022); Child Welfare Information Gateway, “History of National Adoption Month.” @adopteescrossinglines handle at the bottom. Light blue background with a white starburst in the upper right corner. Large “02.” at the top. Text reads: “Every November, agencies, politicians, and influencers flood timelines with slogans like ‘Adoption is love.’ But that’s not awareness, that’s propaganda. These campaigns erase the violence of family policing, the grief of first parents, and the realities of adoptees. They sell comfort to the public while hiding the state’s role in breaking families apart.” @adopteescrossinglines handle at the bottom. Light blue background with white decorative accents in the corners. Large “03.” at the top. Text reads: “This month, don’t ‘celebrate’ adoption. Interrogate it. Ask who benefits when families are separated, who profits when children are adopted, and who gets silenced when adoptees tell the truth. NAAM doesn’t need more awareness. It needs abolition.” @adopteescrossinglines handle at the bottom.
November 3, 2025 at 3:01 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
The scariest thing this Halloween?

SNAP benefits are running out, 42 million Americans rely on them.
Communities are feeding each other while the government does nothing.

Hunger isn’t inevitable. It’s a policy choice.

#adopteesky
An orange Halloween-themed graphic with black trees, pumpkins, bats, and a haunted house. The text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines. SNAP Benefits. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Secretary Brooke Rollins recently stated that the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) will run out of money by November due to the government shutdown. 42 million Americans receive SNAP monthly. Source: Center for American Progress, October 2025.” An orange Halloween-themed graphic with bats, pumpkins, and a haunted house. The text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines. Benefit Cuts Creeping In. The House-passed Republican plan would cut nearly $300 billion from SNAP through 2034. Across all 50 states, 7.4 million are at risk of losing some benefits. Source: Center for American Progress, October 2025.” An orange Halloween-themed graphic with pumpkins and bats. The text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines. Here at Home: Orange County, FL. About 175,000 Orange County residents are SNAP recipients. Orange County allocated $5.3 million to the Second Harvest Food Bank ahead of a possible suspension. Source: WESH 2 News, October 2025.” An orange Halloween-themed graphic with bats, pumpkins, and a haunted house. The text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines. Community > Cuts. Communities across the country are doing what they’ve always done—standing in solidarity with one another. Food lines. Community fridges. Pay-it-forward meals. Research shows that families facing food insecurity are more likely to intersect with the family policing system, and conversely, SNAP access helps reduce that risk. Source: Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families, May 2025.”
October 31, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Trump is breaking the law again and separating families.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with white curved shape at the top. Text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines Families Once Torn Apart at the Border Face Renewed Threat of Separation. Seven years after the first Trump administration’s ‘zero tolerance’ policy, which forcibly separated thousands of families at the U.S.-Mexico border, the second Trump administration is quietly unraveling the court settlement that promised to keep those families together. KQED News, October 17, 2025.” Light blue background with a thin outlined border and the number “02” in a circle at the top center. Text reads: “Judge Dana Sabraw once called family separation ‘one of the most shameful chapters in our country’s history.’ Yet families who were promised protection are now losing it. KQED News, October 17, 2025. @adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue background with the number “01” in a small circle at the top left. Text reads: “The ACLU says the government is violating the 2023 settlement (Ms. L. v. ICE) by deporting families who were supposed to be protected. Advocates say these actions risk separating thousands of parents and children again. KQED News, October 17, 2025. @adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue background with a centered white box and the number “03” at the top. Text reads: “Did You Know This Is Still Happening? The U.S. government is once again separating families — this time by breaking promises to those it already harmed. Share this post to raise awareness about immigrant justice, abolition, and family reunification. Families deserve healing, not another cycle of trauma. KQED News, October 17, 2025. @adopteescrossinglines.”
October 29, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
*pretends to be shocked*

#adopteesky
Light blue gradient background with soft star accent. Text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines Kinship Care Shows Better Outcomes for Children in Foster System. California’s Judicial Council reports that placing children with extended family instead of strangers leads to stronger emotional stability. Judicial Branch of California, October 24, 2025. Light blue gradient background with small star accent. Text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines What the Data Shows. Children placed with relatives are 3x more likely to remain there after 12 months. 70% of youth placed with relatives stay with siblings (vs. 44% for nonrelative placements). Youth exiting care from relative placements are less likely to reenter foster care. Judicial Branch of California, October 24, 2025. Light blue gradient background with soft star accent. Text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines What This Means for Families. Justice Tari Cody said, ‘We need to focus on reducing trauma, and we can do that by placing children with family.’ When children stay connected to their roots, they are less likely to experience instability, identity loss, and lifelong harm from separation. Judicial Branch of California, October 24, 2025. Light blue gradient background with soft star accent. Text reads: “@adopteescrossinglines A system that truly protects children invests in kinship care and keeps families together, not apart. Share this post to raise awareness about family reunification, abolition, and real community care, where healing—not separation—is the goal. Judicial Branch of California, October 24, 2025.
October 27, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Since 2016, Arizona’s Department of Child Safety has paid out $30 million in settlements, most for wrongful child removals.

These aren’t isolated incidents. They’re proof that the family policing system causes harm and then makes taxpayers pay for it.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with curved white shapes. On the left, black serif text reads: “Arizona Pays $30 Million to Settle Child Welfare Lawsuits.” Below the text is an image of floating $100 bills. On the right, smaller text says: “Since 2016, Arizona’s Department of Child Safety (DCS) has paid out over $30 million in settlements involving children—most often for wrongful removal cases.” APA citation appears at the bottom. Top right corner includes @adopteescrossinglines and a white arrow pointing right. Light blue background with a white oval center and @adopteescrossinglines at the top. Title reads: “What the Records Show.” To the right, there’s an icon of a yellow and red file folder with blue papers inside. Below, the text lists settlement data: $6.8 million in 2021 for permanent injury to a child. $750,000 in 2024 for wrongful removal and abuse of a child with autism. $50,000 in 2022 for the family of T’revonsay Sales, killed in a group home. It notes that it takes an average of 4 years to settle claims, and the most common allegation is wrongful child removal. Light blue background with white rounded rectangle. Left side reads: “The Agency’s Response.” Below: “DCS says lawsuits are ‘common’ across high-risk agencies and that settlements don’t reflect poor quality of care. Lawmakers and families call the system ‘broken’ after multiple child deaths under DCS supervision.” On the right, a black and white icon shows a paper and pen with an arrow symbolizing sending or forwarding. A white curved arrow at the bottom points to the next slide. Light blue background with white curved area at the bottom. Title reads: “Did You Know About This?” To the right, a light bulb icon on a blue paint stroke symbolizes awareness. Body text reads: “Save this post and share it to raise awareness about how states use taxpayer dollars to fund harm instead of care. Families deserve transparency, accountability, and real support, not settlements.” At the bottom are four icons — heart, paper plane, speech bubble, and bookmark — followed by @adopteescrossinglines in black text.
October 24, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
In Laurel County, these new programs represent a shift — from surveillance to support, and from punishment to possibility.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with black serif text that reads: “New Family Support Programs in Laurel County.” Below, it says: “Post by: Adoptees Crossing Lines” with the podcast’s logo on the left and “@adopteescrossinglines” on the right. A small arrow points to the next slide. Tone: informative and clean, introducing the topic. Light blue background with black serif and sans-serif text. Header reads “No. 1.” followed by an arrow. Main text: “Volunteers of America Mid-States (VOA) is expanding services that focus on family reunification, recovery, and restorative justice — not punishment. These new programs will open by the end of the year in Laurel County, Kentucky.” Below is a numbered list: Family Recovery Court Family Connections Program Restorative Justice Final line reads: “Each one focuses on keeping families together and addressing harm through care, not cages.” Bottom includes @adopteescrossinglines and an APA citation in small text. Tone: clear and educational. Light blue background with “No. 2.” at the top and an arrow pointing right. Centered text reads: “Family Recovery Court” Body: “VOA’s Family Recovery Court helps parents involved in the family policing system who are struggling with substance use disorder. The program’s immediate goal is sobriety. Its long term goal: reunification. Since 2021, the program has supported more than 120 parents across Kentucky.” Footer includes @adopteescrossinglines and the citation. Tone: informative, emphasizing support and family reunification. Light blue background with “No. 3.” and an arrow at the top. Main heading: “Family Connections & Restorative Justice.” Body text: “Family Connections Program: Offers early intervention and support for families working to create stable, safe homes. Restorative Justice Program: Brings together people harmed by crime and those who caused harm to create real solutions — outside the criminal legal system.” Footer includes @adopteescrossinglines and the citation. Tone: empathetic and community-focused.
October 22, 2025 at 2:06 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
MA Appeals Court weighs if DCF failed to make “reasonable efforts” before taking permanent custody. The outcome could redefine how reunification is handled.

#adopteesky
White background with blue abstract shapes at the bottom corners. Black text reads: “Massachusetts Appeals Court Hears DCF Custody Case. Massachusetts Appeals Court revisits a case challenging DCF’s permanent custody of a child. The mother argues the agency failed to make ‘reasonable efforts’ toward reunification before terminating her rights.” Header includes citation: Citizen Portal AI. (2025, October 3). and handle @adopteescrossinglines. White background with blue curved accents in the top right and bottom left corners. Black text reads: “The Core Issue. Attorney says her unfitness was temporary, caused by DCF’s lack of support. Argues the court should’ve ordered a reunification plan, not permanent custody. Father’s attorney echoes that DCF didn’t provide needed services—especially for working parents unfamiliar with the system.” @adopteescrossinglines appears at the bottom center with a small blue arrow icon pointing right. White background with abstract blue shapes at the corners. Black text reads: “Child’s Perspective + DCF Response. The child’s attorney emphasized the emotional toll of multiple foster placements and the child’s desire to return home. DCF admitted ongoing reunification is a goal but defended custody, citing ‘clear and convincing’ evidence of prior unfitness.” @adopteescrossinglines appears at the bottom center with a blue arrow icon to the right. White background with large blue shapes at the corners. Black text reads: “What’s at Stake. Parental rights vs. child welfare. Systemic injustices vs. individual accountability. Outcome could set precedent for how reunification and ‘reasonable efforts’ are evaluated in future Massachusetts cases.” @adopteescrossinglines appears at the bottom with a small right arrow icon.
October 20, 2025 at 2:05 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Using “child welfare” to justify family separation violates due process and harms kids. We can protect children without punishment.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with a large white curve at the bottom. Black text reads: “When ‘child welfare’ is used to separate families, due process and children’s safety are on the line. This piece argues current federal policies target immigrant parents’ rights and harm kids.” At the top: “@adopteescrossinglines.” At the bottom: citation — This Administration Is Targeting Parents' Due Process Rights and Children's Welfare by Zoe Schonfeld, Medha Venugopal, and Molly Chew. A thin black arrow curves upward and to the right, connecting the text visually. Light blue background with a large white curve along the bottom. Black text reads: “Policies framed as ‘child protection’ are being used to separate immigrant families. This results in instability, trauma, and leverage for detention/deportation—not safety. These practices violate parents’ due process rights and undermine children’s welfare.” A curved black arrow points from the lower left to the right. The same citation appears at the bottom. Light blue background with white at the bottom. Black text reads: “Parents deserve notice, counsel, and real ability to challenge separation. Separation is linked to toxic stress, mental health harm, and long-term instability. We need to end separations disguised as welfare and prioritize family reunification.” A straight black arrow runs horizontally beneath the last line of text. The @adopteescrossinglines handle is at the top, with the same citation at the bottom. Light blue background with white along the bottom. Black text reads: “Stop using child welfare pretexts to pursue immigration enforcement. Protect parents’ constitutional rights and kids’ best interests. Invest in legal representation, community supports, and swift reunification—not detention.” The @adopteescrossinglines handle is at the top, with the same citation appearing at the bottom.
October 17, 2025 at 2:03 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Too many kids disappear each year in the family policing system across the country.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with bold black text that reads “Missing Kids in Massachusetts State Care.” Subtext: “600 kids in MA’s family policing system go missing each year. Some don’t come back.” Below, a citation credits The Boston Globe article by Nadolny, Laughlin, and Nickerson (2025). The overall tone is urgent and factual, emphasizing loss and systemic failure. Light blue background with the header “A person behind the numbers.” Below: “In 2018, 17-year-old G Araujo ran from a state group home and died two days later of an accidental overdose. Reporters had to piece together what happened because DCF secrecy obscures incidents in care.” The design highlights a single human story behind the statistics, underscoring lack of transparency and accountability. Light blue background with the heading “Patterns & risks.” The text reads: “Runaways are often Black or Hispanic teens in residential facilities; some face sex trafficking risks. About one third of teens in DCF custody are placed in group homes, where rules and safety can break down.” The slide conveys systemic racialized risk and institutional neglect within the Massachusetts child welfare system. Light blue background with the header “Accountability.” The body text reads: “Transparency isn’t optional when kids disappear. Real safety means public accounting when children go missing under state oversight. Read the reporting for receipts.” The slide calls for transparency and systemic accountability in cases of children missing from state care.
October 15, 2025 at 2:00 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
16 year old Kanaiyah Ward died alone in a Baltimore hotel while under DHS “care.”

Maryland promised to end foster youth hotel placements years ago.

How many more?

#adopteesky #JusticeForKanaiyah
Light blue and white graphic with a photo of a smiling Black teenage girl wearing glasses on the right. Bold black text reads: “A 16-year-old girl died alone in a Baltimore hotel — while under state supervision. Her name was Kanaiyah Ward. Maryland’s Department of Human Services calls her death a suicide. Her family calls it a failure of care.” Text at the bottom reads “FOX45 Baltimore, 2025” and “@adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue and white graphic with bold black title “WHAT HAPPENED?” followed by text that reads: “Kanaiyah was living in a hotel instead of a licensed home, despite DHS promising to end the practice years ago. She was supposed to have one-on-one supervision, but was left alone. The medical examiner ruled her death a suicide from a Benadryl overdose. A note was found nearby.” Bottom text: “FOX45 Baltimore, 2025” and “@adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue and white graphic with bold black title “THE TRUTH.” Text below reads: “Her family says she needed real mental health care, not a hotel room. Her attorney shared that Kanaiyah’s mother begged DHS for a treatment placement — but instead, the state left her isolated, without support. Maryland’s own audit found hundreds of foster youth housed in hotels, many under unlicensed providers.” Bottom text: “FOX45 Baltimore, 2025” and “@adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue and white graphic with bold black title “THE BIGGER PICTURE.” Text reads: “‘Any child in a hotel is one too many,’ said a DHS spokesperson. But children are still dying under their care. Kanaiyah deserved safety, compassion, and care — not neglect disguised as supervision. Say her name. Demand accountability.” Bottom text: “FOX45 Baltimore, 2025” and “@adopteescrossinglines.”
October 13, 2025 at 2:00 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Kids are dying in state custody. The agency’s excuse? “It’s not a system yet.”

#adopteesky
Light blue graphic with bold black text reading: “New Mexico’s family policing agency missed another major reform deadline. Children have died or been seriously injured while in state custody — and the agency failed to deliver the data for review.” The bottom corner includes the handle “@adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue background with bold black text that says: “The Children, Youth & Families Department (CYFD) was ordered to share details on seven deaths and eight near-deaths in state custody. Instead, they provided only initials and limited information.” Smaller text at the bottom reads “Source New Mexico, 2025.” Top corner includes “@adopteescrossinglines.” Light blue background with bold black text stating: “Agency officials admitted they still don’t have a functioning system to track child deaths.” Bottom text reads: “Source New Mexico, 2025.” The handle “@adopteescrossinglines” appears at the top corner. Light blue background with bold black text that says: “This isn’t new — it’s part of a national pattern where ‘child protection’ fails the very kids it claims to save. Accountability can’t stop at apologies or leadership changes. Every delay costs lives.” Handle “@adopteescrossinglines” appears at the bottom.
October 10, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Pennsylvania’s HB1873 challenges CPS overreach, clarifying that kids playing outside or walking to school isn’t neglect. Families deserve trust, not surveillance.

#adopteesky
Light blue background with faint teal gradient in the bottom left. Large black text reads: “A new bill in Pennsylvania takes aim at CPS overreach.” Small black text at the bottom says “@adopteescrossinglines.” A thin light teal line runs beneath the text. Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads: “The bill (HB1873) would change the legal definitions of abuse and neglect to require proof of willful or reckless disregard for obvious danger. It clarifies that kids doing things alone, like going to the park or store, is not neglect. ‘These cases disrupt families’ lives and cause lasting harm,’ said Mariel Mussack of Community Legal Services.” Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.” Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads: “Many parents, especially Black, working class, and single mothers, have been investigated for things like leaving a responsible teen home with a younger sibling. Even when cleared, parents can end up on child abuse registries, losing jobs or facing stigma. ‘Families live in fear of being reported for what used to be normal childhood independence.’” Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.” Light blue background with faint teal gradient. Black text reads: “Advocates say this bill is about restoring common sense and dignity to parenting. Lawmakers argue: ‘Kids need freedom. Parents need trust. The state needs to stop calling poverty or independence a crime.’ Ending CPS overreach is one step toward ending family policing.” Small text at the bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines” and “Pennsylvania Capital-Star, 2025.”
October 8, 2025 at 2:02 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Before foster care, there’s poverty.
Before “neglect,” there’s need.
Before surveillance, there’s struggle.

Families don’t need to be rescued — they need resources, rest, and community care.

#adopteesky
Light blue background. Text reads: “Family policing doesn’t start with ‘rescue.’ It starts with surveillance.” Small text at bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines.” A small blue 3D cube sits in the upper left corner, and a white-and-blue gradient wave icon is in the lower right corner. Light blue background. Text reads: “Most child kidnappings don’t happen because of abuse, they happen because of poverty. In 2022, more than two thirds of ‘substantiated neglect’ cases were linked to housing instability, food insecurity, or lack of childcare, not physical harm.” Small text at bottom: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Source listed below: “U.S. Children’s Bureau, 2022 Child Maltreatment Report.” Same cube and gradient icons as Slide 1. Light blue background. Text reads: “When families lack resources, the state calls it ‘neglect.’ But poverty isn’t neglect, it’s a policy choice. Instead of support, families get monitored, tested, and punished for being poor.” Small text: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Blue cube in top left and gradient icon bottom right. Light blue background. Text reads: “Abolition means reimagining ‘protection’ as care, not control, meeting needs with housing, childcare, and love instead of separation. Families deserve support, not surveillance.” Small text: “@adopteescrossinglines.” Blue cube top left, gradient icon bottom right.
October 6, 2025 at 2:01 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
WA will pay $9M to Ashley Miller, who was abused “countless times” in Pierce Co. foster care. Her case shows systemic issues, ignored check ins, absences, & red flags. #adopteesky
Graphic with a soft blue gradient background. Text reads: “Washington State Pays $9M Settlement. Ashley Miller: abused countless times in Pierce County foster care.” In the top left corner is the handle @adopteescrossinglines. A small black star icon is in the top right corner. Citation is at the bottom: Talbot, P. (2025, September 30) Graphic with a soft blue gradient background. Text reads: “What went wrong?” followed by four bullet points: “No 90-day check ins (500+ days without visits), 50+ school absences ignored, Caregiver’s boyfriend with criminal convictions allowed in the home, State endorsed adoption despite red flags.” Handle @adopteescrossinglines is at the top left; small black star icon in the bottom right. Citation is at the bottom. Graphic with a soft blue gradient background. Large centered quote reads: “I was scared. I was confused… I was told this is normal.” Beneath, smaller text says: “Ashley Miller says she was robbed of her childhood, but today she speaks out to ensure foster youth are not dismissed as ‘throwaways.’” Handle @adopteescrossinglines is in the top left; small black star icon in the bottom right. Citation is at the bottom. Graphic with a soft blue gradient background. Text reads: “Why this matters:” followed by three bullet points: “The state enabled years of abuse, No criminal conviction tied to her case, Survivors like Ashley remind us: children in the system deserve safety, dignity, and to be heard.” Handle @adopteescrossinglines is at the top left; small black star icon in the bottom right. Citation is at the bottom.
October 3, 2025 at 2:04 PM
adopteecrossing.bsky.social
Thank you for holding space while I paused. 🩵 This work is still alive. And I’m glad you’re here.
October 1, 2025 at 2:01 PM