Episode 38: The Knock
[The cover image is an abstract ink drawing. There is a hand holding a small baby. The baby is reaching up to touch an anatomically correct heart. The space around this is filled with various patterns, leaves and poppy flowers. At the top, the word “Crackdown” is written in capitalized, bolded letters. Image by Hawkfeather Peterson]
Being a mother who uses drugs can put you under constant scrutiny from the government. Especially if you’re Indigenous. You’re judged and watched. You live in fear of that knock on the door, when they come to take your kids away. Many moms are rightly scared to access safer supply, harm reduction, detox and withdrawal management – so they avoid those life saving services because they don’t want to draw the eye of the state.
In this episode Hawkfeather Peterson and Elli Taylor, two leaders in the drug user liberation movement, share their stories of surviving the scrutiny and violence of BC’s family policing system. We also hear from professor Jade Boyd who talks about her research on why overdose interventions aren’t reaching mothers.
*The terms “mothers” and “moms” is non-binary, trans and two-spirited inclusive.
Transcript:
A complete transcript of this episode will be uploaded here when ready.
Call to Action and Political Demands:
Mothers need to be able to access overdose interventions, treatment and harm reduction services without the risk of losing their kids.
Sobriety cannot be a prerequisite for a mother to retain custody of their child or for parent-child reunification.
We need an overhaul of CPS, including BC’s Ministry of Child and Family Development. We need a new system that protects vulnerable children and families by materially supporting them.
We need an immediate implementation – not only a symbolic implementation – of Bill 38, the end of birth alerts and the distinction between problematic and non-problematic substance use by MCFD.
The BC government must eradicate poverty. Poverty is the leading cause of child removal in BC (often labeled “neglect”) and experts have long argued its eradication is the single best way to improve child welfare.
CPS needs to stop over-surveilling poor, drug-using, Indigenous, Black and other marginalized communities in the name of “child welfare.”
Until MCFD is completely overhauled, the government must fund peer support groups for mothers who use drugs like PACK.
Learning Outcomes:
Crackdown episodes are frequently used as educational tools by teachers and community organizers. Please let us know if your class or group listens to our work!
Episode 38 is especially useful for exploring the following topics:
Women (inclusive of gender diverse people) who use drugs
Harm reduction gaps for mothers who use drugs
Institutional stigma against mothers who use drugs
Over-representation of Indigenous children in foster care
Disproportionate rates of overdose death among Indigenous women
***
Above are the Ministry of Children and Family Development’s current guidelines on assessing parental problematic substance use. When asked if other important resources or considerations are used to assess problematic substance use, MCFD told Crackdown: “MCFD also uses a Safety Assessment and Strengths and Needs Assessment that is not specifically about substance use, but substance use would be noted if impacting the care of a child. These tools are derived from the Structured Decision Making Tools developed by Evident Change.”
The above guidelines are not public. When asked why they are not public, MCFD told Crackdown: “MCFD is open to making ministry information available to the public, except where confidentiality is required to protect children and youth. The ministry is working on making more ministry documents publicly available, including policy documents. The ministry intends to publish the practice guidelines referenced above on its website.”
Works Cited
American Civil Liberties Union. “Cracks in the System: 20 Years of the Unjust Federal Crack Cocaine Law.” October, 2006. https://www.aclu.org/other/cracks-system-20-years-unjustfederal-crack-cocaine-law.
Baker, Paula. “B.C. declares public health emergency after significant increase in drug overdoses.” Global News, April 14, 2016. https://globalnews.ca/news/2639028/b-c-declares-public-health-emergency-after-significant-increase-in-drug-overdoses/.
Baker, Rafferty. “Safe Drug Supply Program Still Not Reaching Enough People in B.C., Say Advocates.” CBC News, March 26, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-safe-supply-drug-prescription-one-year-1.5964963.
BC (Director of family and child services) v H (K), [2002] 2002 BCPC 204 (British Columbia Provincial Court), para 37.
BC Notice of Civil Claim (00823279-2): 3, https://www.cfmlawyers.ca/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/BC-FILED-Notice-of-Civil-Claim-01-Sep-2021-00825250xB33C8.pdf.
Boyd, Jade, Lisa Maher, Tamar Austin, Jennifer Lavalley, Thomas Kerr, and Ryan McNeil. “Mothers Who Use Drugs: Closing the Gaps in Harm Reduction Response Amidst the Dual Epidemics of Overdose and Violence in a Canadian Urban Setting.” Am J Public Health 112 (2022): S191–98. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2022.306776.
Boyd, Susan C., Mothers and Illicit Drugs: Transcending the Myths. University of Toronto Press, 1999. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.3138/j.ctt2ttgjn.
Boyd, Susan C., From Witches to Crack Moms: Women, Drug Law, and Policy. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press, 2015.
British Columbia Centre on Substance Use. “Risk Mitigation: In the Context of Dual Public Health Emergencies.” British Columbia Centre on Substance Use, March 2020. www.bccsu.ca/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Risk-Mitigation-in-the-Context-of-Dual-Public-Health-Emergencies-v1.5.pdf.
Campbell, Nancy. Using Women. New York: Routledge, 2000. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203800324.
CBC News. “BC’s funding system ‘broken’ for Indigenous children in provincial care: report.” CBC News, March 22, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/funding-allocation-mcfd-1.6401290.
CBC News. “‘It’s Time‘: Mayor to Apologize to London’s LGBTQ Community.” CBC News, January 4, 2018. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/london/gay-pride-apology-diane-haskett-1.4473043.
CBC News. “Why are kids in government care running away? New report from B.C.’s children, youth rep sheds some light.” CBC News, April 27, 2023. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-representative-children-youth-report-kids-government-care-running-away-1.6825373.
Doyle, Joseph J. “Child Protection and Child Outcomes: Measuring the Effects of Foster Care.” American Economic Review 97, no. 5 (2007):1583-84.
Favaro, Avis. “Indigenous families disproportionately affected by 'birth alerts'; B.C. lawsuit seeks damages.” CTV News, October 31, 2021.
Frank, DA et al. “Growth, development, and behavior in early childhood following prenatal cocaine exposure: a systematic review.” JAMA 285 no. 12 (March 2001):1613-25. doi: 10.1001/jama.285.12.1613.
Foster, Leslie T. and Brian Wharf, ed. People, Politics and Child Welfare in British Columbia. Vancouver, UBC Press, 2007.
Griffiths, Nathan. “Toxic drugs killing B.C. First Nations women at shocking rate: Health authority.” Prince George Post, May 14, 2023. https://www.princegeorgepost.com/news/local-news/toxic-drugs-killing-bc-first-nations-women-at-shocking-rate-health-authority-fnha.
Harp, Kathi L H and Amanda M Bunting. “The Racialized Nature of Child Welfare Policies and the Social Control of Black Bodies.” Social Politics: International Studies in Gender, State & Society, Volume 27, no. 2 (Summer 2020): 258–281. https://doi.org/10.1093/sp/jxz039.
Hobson, Brittany. 'The bond is broken': Data shows Indigenous kids overrepresented in foster care.” The Canadian Press, Sept 21, 2022. https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/the-bond-is-broken-data-shows-indigenous-kids-overrepresented-in-foster-care-1.6077389.
Hobson, Brittany. “More than half the children in care are Indigenous, census data suggests.” The Canadian Press, Sept 21, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/census-indigenous-children-care-1.6590075.
Huybrechts, KF, G Bröms, LB Christensen, et al. “Association Between Methylphenidate and Amphetamine Use in Pregnancy and Risk of Congenital Malformations: A Cohort Study From the International Pregnancy Safety Study Consortium.” JAMA Psychiatry, (2018): 75(2): 167–175. https://doi:10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2017.3644.
Hwang, Priscilla Ki Sun. “Their newborns were taken at birth. Years later, these women still don't know why.” CBC News, Sept 29, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/ottawa/birth-alerts-indigenous-women-ottawa-stories-1.6591808#:~:text=Birth%20alerts%20are%20notifications%20issued,care%20or%20deliver%20their%20baby.
Hyslop, Katie. “BC Bans ‘Birth Alerts,’ Promises More Family Supports in Bid to End Apprehension of Newborns.” The Tyee, September 17, 2019. https://thetyee.ca/News/2019/09/17/BC-Bans-Birth-Alerts-End-Newborn-Apprehension/.
Hyslop, Katie. “How Canada Created a Crisis in Indigenous Child Welfare.” The Tyee, May 9, 2018. https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/05/09/Canada-Crisis-Indignenous-Welfare/.
Kenny, Kathleen S, C Barrington and SL Green. “I felt for a long time like everything beautiful in me had been taken out”: Women’s suffering, remembering, and survival following the loss of child custody.” Int J Drug Policy 26, no. 11 (November 2015): 1158-66. Doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2015.05.024.
Kenny, Kathleen, Andrea Krusi, Clare Barrington, Flo Ranville, Sherri Green, Brittany Bingham, Ronald Abrahams and Kate Shannon. “Health consequences of child removal among Indigenous and non‐Indigenous sex workers: Examining trajectories, mechanisms and resiliencies.” Sociology of Health & Illness 43 (2021). Doi: 10.1111/1467-9566.13364.
Larsen, Karin. “Indigenous Youth Who Died in Government Care Failed by the System, Says New Report.” CBC News, June 10, 2021. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/indigenous-youth-government-report-1.6060913.
Lindsay, Bethany. “'Where's the accountability?' Families and First Nations call for full regulation of social workers.” CBC News, October 29, 2022. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/families-and-first-nations-call-for-full-regulation-of-social-workers-1.6632358.
MacDonald, Nancy. “B.C. Sees Spike in Critical Injuries to Youth in Government Care during Pandemic’s First Year.” The Globe and Mail, June 27, 2022. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/british-columbia/article-death-injury-of-children-in-care-british-columbia/.
MacLaurin, Bruce, Nico Trocmé, Barbara Fallon, Vandna Sinha, Janet Douglas, Alison Barker, Scott Horvath, Laura Hamilton, Jordan Gail, Olivia Kitt, Carolyn Zelt, Elizabeth Fast, Shelley Thomas-Prokop, Emily Hutcheon, Gabrielle Daoust and Danielle Budgell, “British Columbia Incidence Study of Reported Child Abuse and Neglect – (BCIS‑2008): Major Findings.” Calgary, AB: University of Calgary, 2011. https://cwrp.ca/sites/default/files/publications/bcis-2008.pdf.
Malone, Kelly Geraldine. ‘A red herring:’ Experts warn ending birth alerts not the only solution.” The Canadian Press, Sept 19, 2022. https://globalnews.ca/news/9139155/birth-alerts-first-nations-child-welfare/.
McKenzie, Anna, Bayleigh Marelj and Brielle Morgan. “B.C. ministry warned birth alerts ‘illegal and unconstitutional’ months before banning them.” IndigiNews, January 12, 2021. https://indiginews.com/vancouver-island/birth-alerts#:~:text=%E2%80%9COur%20office%20has%20looked%20at,'%20are%20no%20longer%20conducted.%E2%80%9D.
McKenzie, Anna. “After generations of stolen kids, ‘powerful changes’ to ‘B.C.’ law set to return child welfare jurisdiction.” IndigiNews, October 28, 2022. https://indiginews.com/news/powerful-changes-to-legislation-set-to-return-child-welfare-jurisdiction.
Ministry of Children and Family Development. “PRACTICE GUIDELINES when Assessing Parental Problematic Substance Use in Child Welfare.” MCFD, February 2018 (Updated February 2019): 430.
“National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls.” Reclaiming Power and Place: Executive Summary of the Final Report, V1-2.
National Harm Reduction Coalition. “Pregnancy and Substance Use: A Harm Reduction Toolkit.” October 2022: 43-46. https://www.perinatalharmreduction.org/_files/ugd/f31cc3_33f7205a7b5c49a4a91bc6d847a6783c.pdf.
O’Donnell, Christopher and Nathaniel Lash. “Nowhere to call home: Thousands of foster children move so much they risk psychological harm.” Tampa Bay Times. December 27, 2018.
Okie, Susan. “The Epidemic That Wasn't.” The New York Times, January 26, 2009. https://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/health/27coca.html.
Pivot Legal Society. “Supporting the Call to Dismantle BC’s Family Policing System.” Pivot Legal Society, November 9, 2022. https://www.pivotlegal.org/supporting_the_call_to_dismantle_bc_s_family_policing_system.
Representative for Children and Youth. Missing: Why are Children Disappearing from BC’s Child Welfare System? April 2023. https://rcybc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/RCY-Missing-April2023.pdf.
Representative for Children and Youth. Much More than Paperwork: Proper Planning Essential to Better Lives for B.C.’s Children in Care: A Representative’s Audit on Plans of Care. March 2013, pp. 3, 96.
Stueck, Wendy. “Hotel stays for B.C. foster kids reflect overloaded system: advocates.” The Globe and Mail, January 14, 2006. https://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/hotel-stays-for-bc-foster-kids-reflect-overloaded-system-advocates/article28208208/.
Schempf, AH and Strobino, DM. “Illicit drug use and adverse birth outcomes: is it drugs or context?” J Urban Health, (Nov 2008): 85(6): 858-73. doi: 10.1007/s11524-008-9315-6.
Shah, Rizwan, Sabrina D. Diaz, Amelia Arria, Linda L. LaGasse, Chris Derauf, Elana Newman, Lynne M. Smith, Marilyn A. Huestis, William Haning, Arthur Strauss, Sheri Della Grotta, Lynne M. Dansereau, Mary B. Roberts, Charles Neal, and Barry M. Lester. “Prenatal Methamphetamine Exposure and Short-Term Maternal and Infant Medical Outcomes.” Am J Perinatol, (2012): 29(05): 391-400, DOI: 10.1055/s-0032-1304818.
Statistics Canada, 2021 Census Data. https://www.sac-isc.gc.ca/eng/1541187352297/1541187392851.
Testa, Mark F. and Brenda Smith. “Prevention and drug treatment.” The Future of Children 19, (Fall 2009): 147–168. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1353/foc.0.0033.
The New York Times Editorial Board. “Slandering the Unborn.” The New York Times, December 28, 2018. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/12/28/opinion/crack-babies-racism.
Thumath, Meaghan, D Humphreys, J Barlow, P Duff, M Braschel, B Bingham, S Pierre and K Shannon K. “Overdose among mothers: The association between child removal and unintentional drug overdose in a longitudinal cohort of marginalised women in Canada.” Int J Drug Policy 91 (May 2021): 102977. doi: 10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102977.
Uguen-Csenge, Eva. “B.C. releases plan to provide safe supply of drugs during COVID-19 pandemic.” CBC News, March 26, 2020. https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/safe-supply-drug-plan-covid-1.5511973.
West Coast LEAF. Pathways in a Forest: Indigenous guidance on prevention-based child welfare, 5.
Williams, Emma. “‘Family Regulation,’ Not ‘Child Welfare’: Abolition Starts with Changing Our Language.” The Imprint, July 28, 2020. https://imprintnews.org/opinion/family-regulation-not-child-welfare-abolition-starts-changing-language/45586.
Winerip, Michael. “Revisiting the ‘Crack Babies’ Epidemic That Was Not.” The New York Times, March 20, 2013. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/20/booming/revisiting-the-crack-babies-epidemic-that-was-not.html.
Wyton, Moira. “Experts Reject BC’s Safe Supply Claims.” The Tyee, March 3, 2022. https://thetyee.ca/News/2022/03/03/Experts-Reject-BC-Safe-Supply-Claims/.
Recommended Reading:
Blackstock, Cindy. “The Canadian Human Rights Tribunal on First Nations Child Welfare: Why If Canada Wins, Equality and Justice Lose.” Children and Youth Services Review 33, no. 1 (2011): 187–94. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2010.09.002.
Charlesworth, Jennifer. “Missing: Why Are Children Disappearing from BC’s Child Welfare System?” B.C.’s Representative for Children and Youth, 2023. https://rcybc.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/RCY-Missing-April2023.pdf.
Denison, Jacqueline, Colleen Varcoe, and Annette J. Browne. “Aboriginal Women’s Experiences of Accessing Health Care When State Apprehension of Children Is Being Threatened.” J Adv Nurs 70, no. 5 (2014): 1105–16. https://doi.org/10.1111/jan.12271.
Hyslop, Katie. “How Poverty and Underfunding Land Indigenous Kids in Care.” The Tyee, May 14, 2018. https://thetyee.ca/News/2018/05/14/Indigenous-Kids-Poverty-Care/.
Seucharan, Cherise, Brielle Morgan, Katie Hyslop, and Tracy Sherlock. “B.C.’s Focus on Foster Care Neglects Need to Support Struggling Families, Experts Say.” The Toronto Star, June 13, 2019. https://www.thestar.com/vancouver/2019/06/13/bcs-focus-on-foster-care-neglects-need-to-support-struggling-families-experts-say.html.
West Coast LEAF and Rise Women’s Legal Centre. Joint Submissions in response to the British Columbia Law Institute Consultation Paper on Modernizing the Child, Family and Community Service Act. (January 2021), 9.
Wolfson, Lindsay, Rose A. Schmidt, Julie Stinson, and Nancy Poole. “Examining Barriers to Harm Reduction and Child Welfare Services for Pregnant Women and Mothers Who Use Substances Using a Stigma Action Framework.” Health Soc Care Community 29, no. 3 (2021): 589–601. https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13335.
Mosoff, Judith, Isabel Grant, Susan B Boyd & Ruben Lindy. "Intersecting Challenges: Mothers and Child Protection Law in BC.” UBC Law Review 50, no. 2 (2017): 435.
Credits:
Our editorial board is: Samona Marsh, Shelda Kastor, Jeff Louden, Dean Wilson, Laura Shaver, Reija Jean. And, rest in peace, Dave Murray, Greg Fresz and Chereece Keewatin.
This episode was conceptualized, written, and produced by Sam Fenn, Alex de Boer, Lisa Hale and Garth Mullins.
Production assistance by Hawkfeather Peterson and Elli Taylor. Both Hawkfeather and Elli worked on the script and edits
Special thanks to West Coast Leaf and PACK for their consultation.
This episode was funded in part by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
Crackdown’s academic director is Ryan McNeil. Academic advising and direction for this episode was provided by Professor Jade Boyd.
The music in today’s episode was written and performed by James Ash.
If you like what we do, support us at patreon.com/crackdownpod.
Thanks for listening. Stay safe and keep six.
