TX Observer: “Aurora Martinez Jones says that if it hadn’t all happened on the same day, she might never have made the connection.
At the time, Martinez Jones was the associate judge assisting with Travis County’s child welfare cases. She presided over a case in which a white mother had been arrested during a traffic stop for having drugs in her possession. Her child was in the vehicle with her; officers allowed the woman to call the grandmother to come take the child. In court, Child Protective Services (CPS), the state agency responsible for responding to the abuse and neglect of children, requested the judge order supervision for the mother, but the child would be able to continue living with the mother and grandmother.
The same day, a Black mother had been arrested during a traffic stop for having drugs in her possession. At the time of the arrest, her child was in the vehicle with her, but officers did not allow her to call for someone to care for her child. Instead, CPS was called, and the child was taken from the family by emergency removal and placed into foster care.
“Judge, why can’t I take my grandbaby?” Martinez Jones recalled the child’s grandmother asking. CPS would not approve the grandmother as a caretaker because she had some old criminal charges. The agency requested the mother have her parental rights taken from her and temporarily given to the state. The judge pushed back, arguing that the charges didn’t cause her to be concerned for the child’s safety or wellbeing, and she placed the child with the grandmother.
“You can not come in my court and ask me for two different outcomes for two different mothers, when the only difference I see is the color of their skin,” said Martinez Jones. Since January, she’s been serving as the district court judge overseeing all child welfare cases in the county.
Texas child safety advocates say the child welfare system can act as an extension of over-policing in Black and brown communities. Last year, Black children in Travis County were 4.2 times more likely to be removed from their homes than white children. That’s double the disparity those children encounter statewide. While most referrals to CPS are typically made by employees at schools or hospitals who suspect trouble at home, Travis County’s No. 1 referrer is law enforcement.”