EXCLUSIVE: Child abuse and neglect registries punish parents of color, many of whom have done nothing wrong

APRIL 27, 2022

THE BIG STORY

"It's like a leech on me": Child abuse registries punish unsuspecting parents of color

Rob Dobi for BuzzFeed News

Nzinga Terrell-Brown's problem started on a bright afternoon in February 2009, when she was driving to pick up a cake with her new husband's 3-year-old daughter and 5-year-old son. When she pulled up to the supermarket, the children were fast asleep in the backseat.

Getting the cake would only take a few minutes, Terrell-Brown reasoned, so she had what she now describes as a "very immature, dumb idea: to just leave them in the car." Fifteen minutes later, she said, she was back. But by then, two police vehicles were there.

The officers didn't arrest or charge her with anything. But as a result of that day, Terrell-Brown was added to the state's child abuse registry. Years later, once her employers discovered she was on the registry, Terrell-Brown was immediately let go from her job as a teacher's aide. Shortly after, she was denied a new position for the same reason.

Terrell-Brown at home with her husband's son Elianel Clinton for BuzzFeed News

Child abuse registries were designed to protect children, but a BuzzFeed News investigation has found that the system often metes out a miscarriage of justice, doing little or nothing to protect children while inflicting lasting harm on adults.

And in state after state, people of color — especially if they are living in poverty — are several times more likely to be placed on these registries and to suffer their consequences.

In New Jersey, a Black person is nearly four times more likely than a white one to be added to the registry, according to BuzzFeed News' data analysis. The analysis showed high rates of disparity in California, Arizona, and other states as well. In numerous cases, people went for years without even knowing they had been listed — until they were turned down for an adoption or a job.

"This thing is like a leech on me," Terrell-Brown thought when she realized the power of the list. "I'm not able to move."

STAYING ON TOP OF THIS

Russia halts gas supply in Poland and Bulgaria

Russian energy company Gazprom has cut off gas supply to Poland and Bulgaria, after the two countries did not comply with President Vladimir Putin's demand that they pay in rubles. Halting gas supply resulted in an immediate 20% jump in gas wholesale price, the Guardian found.
Transnistria is a region of Moldova under Kremlin control. Recent mysterious explosions in the area are prompting concerns that the war in Ukraine may be spreading, the BBC reports.

SNAPSHOTS

Kamala Harris has tested positive for COVID-19. "She has exhibited no symptoms, will isolate and continue to work from the Vice President's residence," said Kirsten Allen, press secretary to the vice president.

The Biden administration plans to put some deportations on hold as immigration courts face a staggering backlog. A new memo obtained by BuzzFeed News appears to be part of an effort to reduce a backlog of more than 1 million deportation cases, which has resulted in some immigrants waiting years for a hearing.

A man who defaced a Pride mural must write a 25-page essay about the Pulse nightclub shooting. Alexander Jerich had been participating in a convoy organized by local Republicans to mark former president Donald Trump's birthday. He has pleaded guilty to felony criminal mischief and misdemeanor reckless driving.

The lawyer representing Meghan Markle's half-sister in her defamation lawsuit against the Duchess wants to withdraw from the case. The lawyer cited "irreconcilable differences" and "fundamental disagreements" with his client Samantha Markle, court documents showed.

YOU MAY HAVE MORE ACCESS TO COVID-FIGHTING PILLS

The White House plans to go big on COVID-19 pills for pharmacies nationwide

Fabian Sommer/picture alliance via Getty Images

The Biden administration plans to roughly double locations prescribing Pfizer's COVID pills nationwide, citing increased supplies and continuing deaths from severe disease.

The White House plan to promote the FDA-authorized pills more broadly comes as both COVID cases and hospitalization numbers have increased in the last week. While any doctor can now prescribe the drug, the administration hopes to double the number of places where the COVID-fighting pills are more readily available.

Paxlovid is a combination of two medications that together interfere with the ability of the virus to reproduce. A recent New England Journal of Medicine study concluded that the pills resulted in an 89% lower risk of severe disease among the unvaccinated. (You can use this locator to find a place to get tested and treated with Paxlovid.) Vaccines are also still free at pharmacies nationwide, with experts calling them the best line of defense against the coronavirus.

TAKING FLIGHT

Women falconers unleash their hawks, in photos

Hemlock, a hawk, free-flying on a hunt with Caren. While on a hunt, falconry raptors are able to fly away at any time, as a part of the trust developed between the bird and falconer that keeps the birds around. Billy Hickey

Photographer Billy Hickey spent over a year following women falconers in the northeastern part of the US. "A lot of people don't realize [falconry] exists; they think of it as a fantasy thing. These women form relationships and partnerships with their birds that last for years," Hickey told BuzzFeed News.

"To think about these women doing this between the bustle of everyday life and the woods in suburban Massachusetts and New Hampshire, it's wild. … This was a reminder that in nature and in photography, there is beauty all around you, you just have to look. Once you open yourself up to that world, it's crazy how much it will add to your life."

Browse through Hickey's photos for an inside look at falconry, and read his full interview with BuzzFeed News here.

Rita Tulloh gives her red-tailed hawk Scarlet a drink from a spray bottle while sitting in her backyard in Epping, New Hampshire. Billy Hickey

Left: Caren and Hemlock at their home in Boxford, Massachusetts. Right: Rita beats brush while searching for prey while Siggy, Laurel's hawk, looks on. Billy Hickey

You have the potential to pursue whatever you want,

Alexa

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