Briana Hunt faced a devastating ordeal when her 1-year-old daughter nearly drowned while under her father’s care. Upon returning home, she found her daughter in a coma and was confronted by child welfare representatives from ACS, who subsequently removed her three older children due to allegations of neglect. This separation lasted a year and occurred despite Hunt's non-involvement in the incident. A report by the Bronx Defenders highlights systemic biases in ACS, indicating it is more likely to investigate families of color, reflecting punitive treatment compared to white families.
Once her youngest recovered three months later and was discharged, she was also removed from Hunt's custody. Medical staff are required to report suspected cases of neglect or abuse.
Hunt says she was punished for an accident that happened when she was traveling for work and had arranged for other care. Hunt was separated from her children for a whole year.
The organization said the stories demonstrate that ACS treats Black and Latino families more punitively than white parents, rushes to judge their parenting decisions and violates its own rules.
ACS's own numbers show the agency is seven times more likely to investigate a Black family than a white one and six times more likely to investigate a Latino family than a white one.
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