CLCM Partners with Parent Advocates for Training on Family Separation

CLCM attorney Alexis Williams Torrey joined two parent advocates from Community Legal Aid, Kayla Baillargeon and Amanda Echeverri, to facilitate a workshop on child removals by the Department of Children and Families (DCF) for the Massachusetts Family Preservation Project (FPP). 

The Family Preservation Project works to keep children safe at home by providing advocacy from a team of attorneys and parent advocates with lived expertise, as well as wraparound services that address the root causes of DCF involvement.  

CLCM’s workshop offered practical, front-line guidance on recognizing and responding to potential child removals by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). The workshop emphasized that preventing family separation requires both timely advocacy and the voices and support of those who have experienced the system first-hand. By combining legal know-how with the lived and professional expertise of Baillargeon and Echeverri, the session equipped FPP staff with concrete tools to help preserve families whenever safely possible. 

“This kind of collaboration—where attorneys and lived experts come together—best positions the advocacy team to work with a family at risk of separation,” said Williams Torrey. “It’s about addressing a family’s unmet needs for resources, safety planning, and legal advocacy to keep children safe in their own homes.”