After the Phone Call: Culture, Disability and the Construction of a “Bad” Mother

ABSTRACT

The narratives of immigrant Latinx mothers are often excluded from discourses on motherhood. This study centers on a shared experience with Child Protective Services (CPS) for two such mothers. One mother had CPS called on her family, the other was the teacher who made the call. This paper analyses their experiences in relation to disability, documentation status, power, and privilege. Connections are also made to the societal constructions of motherhood, abuse, and child welfare. The paper concludes with recommendations on how to make school to CPS contact more equitable and just for immigrant mothers.

KEYWORDS:

• Latino/a children and families
• parent & community
• child protective services
• motherhood
• school-parent partnerships

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

¹ All names used are pseudonyms.

² Translations of the data are shared here to increase access to the readers and in response to space limitations. These have been italicized and bracketed to acknowledge this change and in honor of Quintana’s “Home Girl”.

³ La chancla voladora.