Disabled Parents Sue New York City Over Child Removals
Shantell lifted her 11-month-old daughter onto her right hip and looked into her eyes until she smiled. Then, she locked her long arms as if to make a swing and swayed the toddler back and forth.
It was the kind of daily interaction that her lawyers say was unfairly stripped away from Shantell, who is intellectually disabled and a mother to two other daughters, ages 2 and 3, and parents like her.
Child welfare workers have removed Shantell’s three children from her care at various times, beginning in July 2016, following reports from hospital staff and social workers that her “developmental delays” and “mental delays” could hinder her ability to parent. With the help of lawyers, Shantell’s children were returned to her by November 2016, but the ordeal spurred her to join a class-action lawsuit filed last week against New York City for violating the rights of parents who have intellectual disabilities. . .