Family Court can be nerve racking for any family, but for families with disabilities, they may worry about how the court will view their disabilities.
The American Bar Association reports that “disabled parents are at a much higher risk of losing custody of their children than abled parents.”
On this episode of the Disabilities Beat, Emyle Watkins speaks with Erie County’s newest Family Court Judge, the honorable Shannon Filbert, about her perspective as a judge with a disability on what people with disabilities should know about family court. We break down some misconceptions about family court, the role disability can play in custody hearings and where the family court system could improve.
PLAIN LANGUAGE DESCRIPTION: This episode talks about what family court is like for parents and kids with disabilities. Family Court judges handle cases related to custody, visitation, abuse and adoption. You will hear from Shannon Filbert, a new family court judge who has a physical disability. Shannon explains how family court works, what families with disabilities can expect in family court and how family court could be better for people with disabilities.
TRANSCRIPT
Emyle Watkins: Hi, I am Emyle Watkins and this is the WBFO Disabilities Beat. Recently I spoke with Erie County's newest family court judge, the Honorable Shannon Filbert, about her perspective as a judge with a disability on what people with disabilities should know about family court. This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
Emyle Watkins: Shannon, thanks so much for coming in today.
Shannon Filbert: Absolutely.
Emyle Watkins: For people who may be aren't familiar with family court or are maybe going through family court for the first time, tell us a little bit about what family court is and what kind of cases it involves?
Shannon Filbert: I think family court impacts every person in some way or another. Because everyone has parents, everyone has a family. You don't get to choose your family, they are your family. And one way or another family court is going to cross each and every person's path at some point. We deal with custody and visitation. We deal with family offense petitions, which might be asking for an order of protection to be issued. I particularly deal with the Article 10, which is abuse and neglect. And a lot of times it's respondents who are parents who were themselves abused and neglected children. So there is the cycle as well that you see in family court. But as a judge, you have to be passionate and understand that there are a lot of different types of families out there and be cognizant of that and just be empathetic, but also follow the law. So it's a tightrope walk.
Emyle Watkins: I would like to talk a little bit about the challenges that disabled people face in the judicial system. And I know you might be limited in what you can and can't say as a judge, but I saw a statistic that, or I read, the American Bar Association reports that, "disabled parents are at much higher risk of losing custody of their children than abled parents." And "according to the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, two-thirds of dependency statutes in the US allow for the court to determine that a parent is unfit on the basis of disability, 35 states include disability as grounds for termination of parental rights, 10 states allow physical disability as the sole grounds for termination of a parent's rights, even without evidence of abuse or neglect. And in every state, disability of a parent can be included in determining the best interest of a child." So when I read that I was like, wow, it sounds like this system still has quite a few barriers for parents with disabilities.
Shannon Filbert: Absolutely. And in New York, I don't think we're one of those states that you mentioned, and I know we're not luckily. But there are grounds for termination of parental rights. But it's not an automatic, I mean, you're going to have to require a psychiatrist to do a lot of different studies. They would have to testify that the children in your care now and in the foreseeable future are at risk of abuse and neglect. So it's not just an automatic. I feel terrible for those states and I'm hoping that legislation will change in those other 10 states that you had mentioned. But luckily, New York State is not one. And as a judge with a disability, and I think the judges that are in Erie County Family Court right now are all very cognizant that a lot of these families do have intellectual disabilities that sometimes may be genetic, and it goes down to the children as well, physical disabilities, and they're all very cognizant about that.
We've all taken classes on implicit bias. So I think that also reminds them to be cognizant. And just because they might have a disability, it doesn't mean that, as you stated, they're automatically abusing or neglecting their children. But it does take into consideration one of the factors if you are determining best interest. But I think the law in New York State acknowledges you can still be a parent with a disability. But are there disproportionate cases that may come through the system with parents or even children with disability? I wouldn't be surprised and I've probably seen it.
Emyle Watkins: Why is that? Why do more families with disabilities possibly come through the system?
Shannon Filbert: I don't know. And I'm not saying it's definite, but at least the abuse and neglect cases that we seem to see a lot of the family members, albeit the respondent parents or the subject children, have some sort of disability. So it could be a lot of different things. It could be the cycles, it could be genes, it could be that they're just more apt to have caseworkers who might not know what services to offer. Because a lot of times too, family court is hoping to be preventative. We don't want to remove children from their homes and everything they know. So I don't know if maybe there's just not... Actually, I could say I don't believe there are proper parenting classes for specific parents with disabilities, parents who don't have disabilities, but their children have disabilities. I mean, I think we need more tailored classes and tailored assistance on the particular issue that brought them into court. And sometimes it may be surrounded or attributable to some sort of disability. So I think that's where the system is lacking.
Emyle Watkins: What advice would you have to families that are about to engage in the family court process when they have a disability?
Shannon Filbert: It's okay to let your attorney know. It's okay if you feel comfortable disclosing to the judge or the judge's law clerk if you need any sort of accommodation, even to enter the building. I mean, the accommodations are great. So don't be afraid to disclose it thinking, oh, this is going to affect the outcome of my child custody case. Other than that, just be open with your attorney. And don't think just because you might have... Even some people who have had substance abuse issues in the past and might now have some brain damage or whatnot, and we see that a lot in Erie County Family Court or they may have overdosed, been in a coma and now they have some intellectual disability from that. It doesn't mean you can't be a good parent. And that's what I think we all have to remember. And the bench, I believe, does a pretty good job at that, and I'm hoping to continue that.
Emyle Watkins: Thank you so much, Shannon.
Shannon Filbert: You are welcome. Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.
Emyle Watkins: For more on this story, including a transcript, visit wbfo.org. I'm Emyle Watkins and thanks for listening me.
