The talk: ‘Get your baby!’
Attorney works to get through to clients
Terrea Arnwine has had to give the talk more than once in her career.
As an attorney, she represents parents and children caught up in the child-welfare system.
She’s used tough words to knock some sense into clients who she feels aren’t doing enough to get their kids back.
“Sometimes, you have to wait for their brains to clear,” Arnwine said. The complications of drug use, or domestic violence, can cloud good judgment.
“You have to give the ‘Man up, be the woman you are’ speech. Dump the guy. Get your baby!”
She’s helped numerous families do just that — regain custody of children whom the state and courts removed from their mom and dad due to allegations of neglect or abuse. Most of her cases, she said, have resulted in reunification.
Myriad issues propel these people into trouble, Arnwine said. But there’s a common thread: poverty.
“The best help for these parents is to find them a place to live,” Arnwine said. “If they don’t have a place to stay, if they’re out on the street, if they don’t have transportation, they don’t have food, they’re not going to be able to focus on getting off opioids.”
Arnwine is a strong believer in the constitutional protections that exist for these parents. The system, as derided as it often is, offers help on all those fronts, she said.
“People always say they’re better off after coming into Juvenile Court, after getting those services,” she said.
She’s seen people change if they open themselves up to the help the state provides.