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“Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.” Ephesians 5:11 Today we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Not the sanitized version we are taught to celebrate, but the man as he was in his time. He was not popular. He was not safe. He was not welcomed by those in power. Dr. King challenged the status quo. He named injustice plainly. He refused to accept systems that harmed people while calling themselves righteous. For that, he was surve

“Children are a gift from the Lord; they are a reward from Him.” Psalm 127:3   New beginnings are not about pretending the past didn’t happen. They are about refusing to be trapped by it. A restart is a decision. A decision to stop repeating what we inherited. A decision to start building what we know works. As we step into a new year, we have an opportunity to begin again, not with fear, but with truth and courage. Psalm 127 reminds us of something essential: Children are

“Unless you change and become like little children…” Matthew 18:3 The child welfare system tells the public a comforting story. It says it exists to protect children. To keep them safe. To act in their “best interest.” But if a five-year-old were watching what actually happens, they would be deeply confused. Because this system does not look like protection through a child’s eyes.   Children See What Adults Explain Away A five-year-old doesn’t understand systems, statutes, o

Silence has a cost. I know that now. For years, I told myself my silence was strategic. That it was professional. That I was working behind the scenes. That I needed to be careful. That I couldn’t risk my position, my influence, my ability to “help.” But the truth is simpler and harder to admit. My silence protected me. And it cost families everythin g.   The Language of the System Is Retaliation The child welfare system knows one primary language: retaliation. It retaliates

My Journey From Complicity to Calling   There comes a moment when the story you’ve been repeating to yourself no longer matches the truth God is showing you. For me, the crack didn’t start with anger. It started with grief. A quiet grief that whispered, “You were trying to do good, but look at what the system is doing.” In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd, that whisper became a roar I could no longer ignore. I had spent twenty years in the child welfare system. Two deca

The Pattern is Old.  The Costume is New. What we call child protection is just an old pattern dressed in a new costume. The language changes. The agencies change. The paperwork gets thicker. But the pattern. The targeting, the surveillance, the removal of children from the same neighborhoods over and over has not changed. For decades, we’ve been told that CPS exists to keep children safe. But once you’ve seen the machinery up close, a different truth emerges. This system does

What’s built on lies can’t be redeemed by reform “A double minded man is unstable in all his ways” - James 1:8 The child welfare system is double-minded. It preaches safety while causing harm, demands accountability from the powerless while excusing its own failures, and calls oppression “care.” Its instability isn’t accidental. It is the predictable fruit of a system built on lies. And no good fruit can grow from rotten soil. _______________________________________________

We say attachment matters until it threatens the system’s agenda. Then, the very science meant to protect children becomes a weapon used to justify their separation. This is how the system uses professionals who claim to care about bonding and attachment to justify the separation of Black children from their families. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ I used to believe newborns were too young to care. Too young to rem

In the United States, violence against Black children has often been dressed up as progress. For centuries, doctors in white coats...

Stop Polishing the Tables. Flip Them. I was raised as a Pentecostal preacher’s kid, spending several days a week in church. The Bible...

I’ve Been Inside. Now I'm Rewriting the System Many people agree the child welfare system is broken. But almost no one can tell you what...

I was born into faith. Before I took my first breath, my father had already committed his life to Christ. While stationed in Liberia with...

I’ve been blessed to be surrounded by phenomenal mothers, women who fiercely advocate for their children and trust their own instincts...

Before I ever entered a courtroom, before I ever read a policy, I knew the Bible. I was raised in Liberia by parents who gave their...

I was raised with two worldviews, one ancient, one modern. My mother is Ethiopian, from a culture that is rich, spiritual, and thousands...

I spent the first four years of my child welfare career in Child Protective Investigations. I began as an investigator and was promoted...

I was matched with Leo last March through the Heart Gallery of Tampa.  I met him in April.  He moved into my home in August and his...

This may be one of the hardest truths to speak out loud, but it’s one we must confront: children die no matter where they live . They die...

In 1990, after graduating from high school, I was evacuated out of Liberia with my mother due to the civil war. We left my father and six...