In re R.B.

Juvenile Law Center and Education Law Center filed a joint amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania urging the court to reverse the finding of dependency. The brief explained that attendance records are often incorrect and unreliable and should not, alone, support a finding of dependency. The brief also emphasized that school records should be subject to the same indicia of reliability and rigorous interrogation as other business records – as required by the rules of evidence. 

The brief also argued that truancy does not justify the trauma and harm associated with subjecting a family to ongoing oversight or separating children from their families. Additionally, the brief discussed the ways in which Department of Human Services oversight and surveillance pushes children further into the family regulations system and the lasting emotional and psychological damage these proceedings impose on families. Furthermore, the brief highlighted that the racial disparities in the Child Welfare system are exacerbated by dependency adjudications based on truancy alone. Finally, the brief described the United States’ long legacy of systematically devaluing and dismantling Black families and discussed the ways in which Black children are disproportionately subject to punishment for truancy and placement in dependent care.

LEGAL TEAM

Attorneys

Courtney Alexander, Alisa Hoban, Riya Shah

Paralegals

Tiffany Faith