Divest, Invest, & Mutual Aid

Abstract

Mutual aid may solve the harms arising out of the family policing system. Families need housing, food, and childcare rather than state surveillance and punishment. Giving agency and support to families will transform the way society protects its youngest and most vulnerable members. This Article proposes a community-based, empowering, mutual aid model and advocates for divestment from punitive state interactions. Instead, society must invest in supports for children and families, fund communities, and intervene at the grassroots levels.