This issue responds to the Strengthened Bonds: Abolishing the Child Welfare System and Re-Envisioning Child Well-Being Symposium hosted in 2021 by the Columbia Journal of Race and Law. The Symposium was organized in honor of the twentieth anniversary of Dorothy Roberts' seminal book, Shattered Bonds: The Color of Child Welfare. It drew an exciting and inspiring mix of academics, parents, youth, attorneys, and activists to meet virtually with the goal of dismantling the ruinous networks of family regulation and policing. Chaired by Professors Jane Spinak and Nancy Polikoff and organized by the 2020-2021 editors of the journal, the Symposium created a space for discourse between community organizers, academics, and individuals affected by their interactions with the child welfare system. 

This twelfth volume of the Columbia Journal of Race and Law pulls from the enlightening experiences shared at the Symposium, spans a myriad of topics related to family well-being, and serves as a platform for both academics and "lay" parents to share their research, thoughts, and experiences. 

The Columbia Journal of Race and Law hosts both professional and student-written scholarship writing on issues of racial justice and the legal system. You can find both previous volumes and CJRL Forums, dedicated to shorter-form pieces, in our Issues Archive. 

Finalized print issue with pagination pending.