A quick vocabulary lesson! Reproductive justice is where everyone can make decisions about their pregnancies and families have all of the support they need. The family policing system works against this vision by surveilling and separating families. Learn more: upendmovement.org/familiestoge...

Abortion bans and the child welfare system are part of the same playbook to control our bodies and our families. And now, an increasing number of families are being targeted by the family policing system after someone has an abortion. Join the fight at upendmovement.org/familiestogether

What do abortion bans and family policing have in common? NEW VIDEO: www.youtube.com/shorts/BsMDc... 🎬 Learn more and join the fight for reproductive freedom at upendmovement.org/familiestogether 🔗

What do abortion bans and family policing have in common?

We all want children to be safe. But when parents experience poverty and are struggling to make ends meet, they are blamed and surveilled instead of being supported. In fact, over 70% of cases…

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On Monday, we're launching a new, national campaign connecting recent attacks on reproductive rights to the fight to end the family policing system and inviting people to join the fight! Learn more: upendmovement.org/familiestoge...

Keep Families Together - upEND Movement

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We'll see you in Chicago at @socialismconference.org! Join us for a pre-conference summit with the Social Work Activist Collective, the Network to Advance Abolition in Social Work, the Abolitionist Social Change Collective, and Social Work for Palestine. buff.ly/SjgRb2E

If you're subscribed to our newsletter, you saw these behind-the-scenes photos first. We're launching a new campaign soon, so stay tuned. 👀 Subscribe to our newsletter ✉️ 🔗 upendmovement.substack.com

Some people were uncomfortable with us using the word “abolition,” and they wrote a letter about it. They said we were misguided and disrespectful to slavery abolitionists for using this term in relation to the family policing system. We wrote a response. upendmovement.org/2026/08/20/w...

When a parent is experiencing #DomesticViolence, the family policing system doesn’t step in to help. They blame survivors and treat them as a threat to their kids. We discuss #IntimatePartnerViolence on the latest episode of The upEND Podcast with guest Ashley Albert. 🔗 buff.ly/U2Gf1Qs

“The children are always ours, every single one of them, all over the globe; and I am beginning to suspect that whoever is incapable of recognizing this may be incapable of morality.” ― James Baldwin

"I'd like to take a moment just to salute all those single parents." #HappyFathersDay from The upEND Podcast. Latest episode with Ashley Albert is streaming now. 🔗 buff.ly/U2Gf1Qs

Abolition is.. an ancestral practice an ongoing political tradition a demand for liberation not yet fulfilled Our work is not about reform, it's abolition continued. #Juneteenth

#StolenChildrensMonth is about HOPE. Listen to the latest episode of The upEND Podcast featuring Ashley Albert, the originator of Stolen Children’s Month. 🔗 upendmovement.org/podcast/epis...

“When you’re a Black woman experiencing intimate partner violence, calling for help feels like choosing between two harms. The person hurting you and the system waiting to punish you.” In this NEW episode, we talk to the one and only Ashley Albert. #StolenChildrensMonth buff.ly/U2Gf1Qs

What About Survivors of Domestic Violence? (with Ashley Albert) - upEND Movement

Season 3, Episode 5

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"If I tell you, will you promise that you won't take me away?" On the "Nobody Should Believe Me" podcast, upEND Cofounder Alan Dettlaff reflects on his time as a child welfare caseworker. Listen to the full episode with @AlanDettlaff.com and @strawburriez.bsky.social: buff.ly/u5CaJko

Child separation isn't just a policy. It's an industry. The people running these systems aren't just following orders. They're following the money. This June, #StolenChildrensMonth follows the money and demands abolition. StolenChildrensMonth.com

"I didn't want my kids taken away, so I didn't talk." How do we support survivors of #IntimatePartnerViolence and their children without relying on the harmful family policing system? #DomesticViolence #ChildWelfare buff.ly/hafeTsx

The #FamilyPolicingSystem doesn't help domestic violence survivors or protect their kids! The system accuses survivors of harming their children, citing “failure to protect” laws, even when the children haven’t been harmed directly. There's a better way. Read our essay:

Reclaiming Safety for Domestic Violence Survivors and Their Kids - upEND Movement

Survivors have been clear about what they need to build safety for themselves and their kids: housing, childcare, mental health care, financial stability, community support, and people who will…

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"Here For The Kids" is a new documentary in production. It follows director Josh Sabey and his family’s harrowing interactions with CPS and explores the history and current state of family policing. Featuring voices from upEND and JMAC for Families. → buff.ly/2LOzLqN

JUNE is Stolen Children’s Month. 🔥 Join us for a virtual rally on June 1 to honor children stolen by the family policing system, ICE, youth incarceration, private adoption, forced treatment facilities, and every other system that tears families apart. bit.ly/SCM-kickoff-26

Welcome! You are invited to join a meeting: Stolen Children's Month Kickoff: Virtual Rally & Community Vigil . After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the meeting.

We declare June 2026 the second annual Stolen Children’s Month! Join us for a kickoff virtual rally & community vigil to begin healing together and organizing to abolish ALL systems that steal…

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Changes are bittersweet. 💙 Josie Pickens will transition from her role as upEND's Program Director to a new position in Houston, TX. This isn't goodbye, though - she will join our team in an advisory capacity. Read her letter: upendmovement.org/2026/05/01/t...

Transitions - upEND Movement

An update from Josie Pickens.

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A NEW EPISODE of the upEND Podcast is out now! We talk to Dinah Ortiz about what real safety looks like for families when a parent uses substances.

What About Parents Who Use Drugs? (with Dinah Ortiz) - upEND Movement

Season 3, Episode 4

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upEND Director Josie Pickens writes about her experience with a delivery at 25 weeks and why it’s more important than ever to address the Black maternal health crisis in the city she calls home. #BlackMaternalHealthWeek newsone.com/6803365/blac...

I Was Born In Houston, Gave Birth There, And Almost Died There

The Black maternal health crisis in Houston cannot be understood solely as a healthcare failure; it is a reproductive justice crisis.

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"Reclaiming Safety for Children Whose Parents Use Substances" is a brand-new essay in collaboration with @drugpolicy.org. Authors @kassandrafred.bsky.social, Dinah Ortiz, and Mark Z. challenge us to shift our understanding of drug use and parenting. buff.ly/MjXwSw0

If we abolish the family policing system, how do we respond to child sexual abuse? In this new episode of The upEND Podcast, we talk with Roxanna Asgarian about the topic no one wants to address. @strawburriez.bsky.social

What About Survivors of Child Sexual Abuse? (with Roxanna Asgarian) - upEND Movement

Season 3, Episode 3

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Last week, we joined organizers, birth workers, and advocates for a panel hosted by Avow Texas. The conversation confronted a painful truth: Houston remains the deadliest major U.S. city for Black people to give birth. Grateful to share space with partners doing this work.

Communities need resources. Let's start there. #ReclaimingSafety Listen to the full episode with Angela Burton: buff.ly/Dc1G90f

Angela Burton gives an example of what #LivingAbolitionNow can look like when we promote healing and accountability within our communities, without punishment and policing. #ReclaimingSafety Listen to the full episode on The upEND Podcast: upendmovement.org/podcast/epis...

Angela Burton is the editor of our "Reclaiming Safety" essay series, and she explains what you can expect during this season of The upEND Podcast as we focus on frequently asked questions about #FamilyPolicing #Abolition. Listen to the full episode: buff.ly/Dc1G90f

Friends, please share this as widely as you're sharing posts about abuses occurring in other arms of policing. Kids belong with their families and communities and deserve to grow up free of fear.

upEND Movement@upendmovement.org · 8mo ago

The same structures that separate families through incarceration and ICE are connected to the #FamilyPolicingSystem. The whole carceral web needs to be dismantled for our communities to be safe and whole. #AbolishICE #Abolition Read the full zine: upendmovement.org/zine 🔗

This episode is a love letter to the grandmothers who raised us. Listen to “Reclaiming Safety” on The upEND Podcast with the brilliant Angela Burton. #BlackHistoryMonth buff.ly/hgykX0Z