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Abstract: 

Frequent contributor Dana Shilling discusses a report by the National Council on Disability showing that there are approximately 6.1 million children in the United States who have at least one parent with a disability. As she points out in this article, these children are at risk of being taken away from their parents if it is determined that a parent is unfit to care for them. While child welfare authorities argue that termination of parenting is done only in cases of neglect or abuse of the child, the National Council on Disability maintains that the practice of removing children from disabled parents is based on discrimination and stereotyping. In light of this, the Council made several recommendations, including working with several agencies to create an Interagency Committee on Parents with Disabilities, reinforcing special training in the family court system on the abilities and needs of parents with disabilities, and states eliminating discriminatory language from their statues.

Keywords: Eugenics; Discrimination in Family Court

Affiliations:  1: Victimization of the Elderly & Disabled.