DIANE WORKS WITH ADVOCATES ACROSS THE COUNTRY WHO SHARE HER VISION OF A FAMILY REGULATION SYSTEM THAT NEVER TAKES CHILDREN FROM THEIR FAMILIES BECAUSE THEY ARE POOR
Diane works with advocates all across America to see the following changes put into law and practice
Tighten the standards for removing children from their homes to focus on safety;
Assure due process in register appeals;
End anonymous Hotline reports;
Stop terminating parental rights simply because a parent is incarcerated.
End the confusion of poverty with neglect and help families in poverty with supports they need to keep their families intact;
Create accountability and due process in what is now called Hidden Foster Care—i.e. "safety plans" that coercively separate families.
End meritless investigations expeditiously so innocent families can get on with their lives;
Give parents access to unbiased medical opinions from real experts on medical conditions like fractures and head injuries
Help to end the terrible overuse of foster care for families of color and poor families.
Diane is the legal consultant to Let Grow, a member of the Hidden Foster Care working group, a member of the steering committee of United Family Advocates, and a member of the steering committee of the ABA National Alliance for Parent Representation.
Diane is also an original founder and board member on the board of the Family Justice Resource Center, whose executive director is Michelle Weidner.
Through her private consulting practice, she also serves as a expert witness and has been trained by the Chicago Bar Association to serve as a mediator.
Read about Diane’s work with Let Grow here.
PICTURED HERE WITH THE ABA’s National Alliance for Parent Representation, pictured at a Chicago meeting in May 2018.
Protecting children and family rights before the United States Supreme Court (Camreta v. Greene argument). Diane coordinated 18 friend fo the court briefs on behalf of the mother and child who sued over the in-school seizure of a 9-year-old girl in this 2011 case.
To reach Diane, email her at familydefenseconsulting@gmail.com or use the contact sheet on this web page.
