The Summer 2025 issue of the Family Justice Journal features a powerful article co-authored by Emancipate NC organizer Toia Potts and Alexandria Cinney, Staff Attorney at the ABA Center on Children and the Law: “Reclaiming Futures: Ending TPR and Strengthening Family Bonds.”
This deeply personal essay critiques the widespread use of Termination of Parental Rights (TPR), drawing on Potts’ lived experience. Despite full compliance with her case plan, Potts lost custody of her two young sons—a traumatic outcome she describes as not only severing the legal bond between parent and child, but also cutting children off from their extended family, cultural heritage, and ancestral connections.
“TPR doesn’t just take children from parents; it takes them from an entire lineage that is waiting with open arms,” she writes.
Potts calls for a fundamental reimagining of the child welfare system—one centered on family preservation and support, not punishment. She describes how ever-changing agency demands made it nearly impossible to succeed, ultimately setting her up to fail. The article exposes the inconsistencies in how TPR laws are applied across states and makes a strong case for national reform grounded in kinship, healing, and community.
“The true punishment of TPR isn’t just in losing my children,” she writes, “but in the way the system deliberately and cruelly punishes parents for being human.”
The article aligns with the End TPR Initiative, led by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law. The initiative works to reduce the use of involuntary TPR by promoting family-centered alternatives—bringing together impacted families, attorneys, and advocates to shift the focus from family separation to strengthening existing support systems. This includes support for Indigenous practices like customary adoption, reforms at the state level, and addressing structural issues such as federal incentives that favor adoption over reunification.
The journal’s cover features original artwork by Emancipate NC Executive Director Dawn Blagrove—a moving portrait of Toia’s sons.