Emcee: Jameel Rasheed Patterson
Introduction
- Frederic Stasek- CPS impacted parent
- Rachel Freitas - retired federal child support officer and volunteer TJCS facilitator
- Michelle D. Chan- impacted parent, writer, and founder and director of California Families Rise
Maintaining the Parent-Child Bond, increasing visitation, & TPR reform:
*CPS sets parents up to fail by alienating parents from their children.
- Christine Coggins- her case, in re Caden C. set the parental-benefit precedent
- Natalia Velasquez-Chang is a CPS impacted mother and parent leader.
- Sabrina Williams, CPS impacted mother and parent leader.
- Shonte Foster- co-founded Parents Against CPS Corruption
Child Support Injustice & the Oppression of Noncustodial Parents
*Not “deadbeat” but “beaten down”. Our Child Support system is unfair and in many ways actually counter to the purpose of helping children to thrive.
- Felicia Clark is a CPS & Child Support impacted mother and organizer who has been a loud and consistent voice for CPS reform here in Sacramento.
- Jason D’Souza is a child support impacted father.
- Mark Zekanis has been impacted by child support for 30 years.
- Bob Saunders- veteran activist who has been fighting for his children and for father’s rights for over a decade.
- Paul Guevara is a child support impacted father.
CPS Injustice:
*When houselessness & housing instability intersections with parent & children’s rights
- Crystal Sanchez, Western Regional Director for the National Union of the Homeless/ President Sacramento Homeless Union and Families Resist co-sponsor.
- Jessica Gilbert: a Sacramento Homeless Union Lead and impacted mother.
- Shannon Jones: (Sac Homeless Union Lead) Shannon’s son and other children were taken by CPS cuz she was living in a trailer unhoused trying to jump through their hoops.
- Vanessa De La Cruz. CPS made Vanessa homeless and now lack of housing is only thing keeping Vanessa’s children from her.
Conservatorships of Elderly & Disabled
*another form of family policing
- Venus Gist- founder of California Justice and conservatorship-impacted daughter
- Families United for Equity
Stories of Resistance from Impacted-families
- Barbara Barnard, CPS impacted mother from Colusa County.
- Susan Schoeffiled Cabana- impacted mother and creator of the Schoeffield Truth.
- David Coleman- CEO of Sacramento Dads, Inc.
- Crystal Williams: former foster youth & CPS-impacted parent.
- Stefanie Felix- Stephanie’s parental rights were terminated because the agency claimed the parent-child bond had deteriorated.
- Ben Winger- impacted parent from Yolo county.
- Dorothy Hill- A grandmother whose attorney, Russel A. Robinson, has been disbarred.
- Kathy Lester- Monterey gramma fighting for her grandchild