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PUBLIC TESTIMONY
Testimony by Ismarli Morchette, Director of Early Defense at Center for Family Representation
6:38:46
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Ismarli Morchette, Director of Early Defense at the Center for Family Representation, testified about their organization's mission to defend parents' and youth rights through free holistic legal and social work representation. She highlighted the importance of Early Defense in supporting families during ACS investigations and minimizing the harm caused by these interventions.
- CFR provides advice to families about their rights during ACS investigations, which can involve intrusive tactics like interrogations and child strip searches.
- The organization advocates for clients with ACS, schools, and service providers, focusing on client-identified needs.
- CFR aims to arm parents with information about their rights before ACS investigations begin through community events and public materials.
Ismarli Morchette
6:38:46
Thank you, chair Stevens and the members of the commit closer.
6:38:51
Thank you, chair Stevens and the members of the committee for taking the time to hear our testimony.
6:38:56
My name is miss Marlene Morchette, and I am the director of early defense at the Center for Family Representation.
6:39:01
CFR's mission is to defend the rights of parents and youth through free holistic interdisciplinary legal and social work representation.
6:39:08
In partnership with the other defender services and with the city council support, we are able to think creatively and connect families to community supports that are not connected to the family policing system and its various systemic failings, but rather to walk hand in hand with parents as they navigate traumatic ACS investigations.
6:39:27
Early Defense is providing what all New York City parents want when their family is experiencing ACS's course of tactics of interrogation, child strip searches, and home inspections.
6:39:38
Much of our work is centered on providing families with advice about what an ACS investigation is and what their rights are as parents.
6:39:47
Our goal is to minimize the harm of that ACS investigation which can be terrifying for children and parents alike because of the threat of family separation while giving some sense of agency to parents.
6:40:01
Without the threat of parental prosecution and punishment that a full fledged article 10 case invokes, our clients, the majority of which are black and brown parents that are already targets of systemic injustice, can be honest with us and voluntarily ask for support in different settings.
6:40:18
We advocate directly for our clients with ACS, at their children's school, and with preventative and other service providers, all while centering what our clients identify as their needs.
6:40:30
Additionally, our goal is not to wait for an ACS investigation to begin before arming parents with information about their rights through various community events and through public facing materials.
6:40:44
Thank you for your ongoing support and for allowing us to defend and uplift the hard work the New York City parents we represent do every day.
6:40:53
As public defenders, we work in community to ensure that all of our offices can together meet the needs of our clients.
6:40:59
In closing, consider this testimony an invitation to come to our office and get to know more about our work.