A Podcast About Racial Disparities in the Child Welfare System
TornExplore systemic inequities in child welfare with Sonia Johnson, Esq. and Classie Colinet, Esq., seasoned defense attorneys dedicated to empowering advocates and parents for meaningful reform.
Hosted By
Sonia Johnson, Esq. and Classie Colinet Esq.
About Sonia
Sonia Johnson is a trailblazing attorney dedicated to transforming the child welfare system. Currently serving with the New Jersey Public Defender’s Office, Sonia specializes in defending parents in child welfare and termination of parental rights proceedings. Her passion for ensuring fairness and equity in the legal system is evidenced by her vigorous advocacy against the overreliance on psychological evaluations and her calls to reform legal standards.
Sonia’s commitment to social justice extends beyond her current role. Her career began as a litigation associate at a prominent Boston firm, where she honed her trial advocacy and negotiation skills and began providing pro bono services to vulnerable clients facing eviction.
About Classie
Currently, she serves as the Deputy Executive Director of an organization dedicated to social and climate justice, concentrating on delivering essential resources to often marginalized Black communities.
Listen to the Podcast
The Torn podcast explores the inequities present in the existing child welfare system.
Our hosts, Sonia Johnson, Esq. and Classie Colinet, Esq. have over 15 years combined working as defense attorneys in the child welfare system.
Their goals are to advocate for the complete overhaul of the current system, provide advocates with tools that can help them better advocate for families, and provide parents who are currently caught up in the system with information to help level the playing field.
Advocacy
Professional Resources
Deconstructing the Money Trail in Child Welfare
We often face this roadblock: standing before a judge, requesting concrete services or emergency funds for a client, and hearing the state or agency say, "There’s no money for it." Yet, when the state moves to remove a child, funds appear instantly. To dismantle this...
A Social Science Blueprint for Child Welfare Advocates
In child welfare proceedings, decisions regarding "best interest," visitation frequency, and parental fitness are frequently driven by personal opinions and subjective biases rather than objective science. When race is ignored or treated as an inconvenient topic,...
How Advocates Can Challenge the Medical-to-CPS Pipeline
Pregnancy is supposed to be a time of care, privacy, and support, but for many low-income, Black, and Brown families, it has instead become a dangerous point of state surveillance and control. Medical settings are quietly operating as gateways into the family...
Advocacy
Family Resources
Inside the Courtroom: A Guide to the Cast of Players in a Families Child Welfare Journey
Knowledge is power in a world where the intricacies of child welfare legal proceedings can seem insurmountable. This article is based on our podcast episode entitled, "The Cast of Characters: Who's in Court" which was created to serve as a resource for families...
What Drives Us
Our Mission
To shine a light on the injustices within the child welfare system by equipping families and advocates with knowledge, tools, and strategies to drive meaningful change—so that every child can remain connected to their family, community, and culture, and every family has the opportunity to thrive.