Report Discusses Rights of Parents With Disabilities
The National Council on Disability (NCD) has released a report examining discrimination among the 4 million parents with disabilities raising children.
Rocking the Cradle: Ensuring the Rights of Parents with Disabilities and Their Children uncovers that parents with disabilities often struggle to retain custody of their children. Removal rates run as high as 80 percent among parents with a psychiatric or intellectual disability. The report also outlines success stories and offers tips on how state and federal government can correct unjust practices.
"Currently, every state allows disability to be used when determining parental rights in family or dependency court without additional cause or concern,” said Janice Lehrer-Stein, vice chair of NCD. “Whether actions are taken at the state or federal level the need to correct this unfair bias could not be more urgent or clear."
Download the full report at the NCD Web site.