In the early 1900s, child-savers, who were mostly white and wealthy, set out to “protect” the children of immigrants who were living in overcrowded homes and were facing disease, poverty, and violence. Their efforts were the seeds from which the family court as we know it grew. 120 years after its creation, and 100 years of reform, the court is doing more harm than good. 

In her recently published book, Jane Spinak lays out a history of the court and those who worked to reformed it, and she concludes that it must be abolished. The former juvenile right attorney joins host Jade Iseri-Ramos to discuss The End of Family Court: How Abolishing the Court Brings Justice to Children and Families.

Jane M. Spinak is the Edward Ross Air-ah-Now Clinical Professor of Law Emerita at Columbia Law School. There she directed clinical programs in family regulation for 40 years. She also served as the attorney-in-charge of the Juvenile Rights Division of the Legal Aid Society of New York, was the founding chair of the board of the Center for Family Representation, and co-chaired the Task Force on Family Court created by the New York County Lawyers Association.

Did you enjoy this story? Your funding makes great, local journalism like this possible. Donate hereMore Posts for Show: A Public Affair