➔ Roman James
Roman James began organizing in 2017 when she partnered with the Center for Judicial Excellence (“CJE”) and the California Protective Parents Association (“CPPA”) to bring a group of 20+ mother-survivors to request then-US representative Karen Bass’s support for House Concurrent Resolution 72. H Con Res 72 expressed the sense of Congress that child safety should be the first priority in custody and visitation adjudications. Not only did they win the support of Rep. Bass but, later, Rep. Maxine Waters.
After another significant effort organizing protective moms experiencing adverse outcomes in family court, James moved towards social justice for survivors entrapped in family court and child welfare. As a social justice activist for protective moms within the legal system, James was referred to the Domestic Violence Council’s DV-Child Welfare Ad Hoc workgroup by the Executive Director, Eve Sheedy. Her work in this workgroup led to LA County’s 2023 new initiative, Mandated Supporting.
James is most proud of her work with the International Coercive Control Conference. As a co-founder, James pushed for the diversity of panelists from around the globe, including South America, Africa, China, and Japan. As a result of her work with the conference – now in its third year – she has built relationships with esteemed researchers, psychologists, law enforcement, journalists, and domestic abuse advocates around the world. Her relationship-building skills and resourcefulness have allowed James to call on national and international experts to educate and inform local groups such as the California Department of Public Health-Domestic Violence Council and the CPPA. She has also moderated panels for the Jenesse Center and Family Court Awareness month organisers in the last two years.
As a survivor and newly appointed commissioner to the LA County Commission For Children and Families, James hopes that her lived experience of post-separation abuse, coercive control, and institutional betrayal will contribute profoundly to better policy and treatment of survivors within the legal system. She is building a career in policy and advocacy for domestic abuse survivors and their children with plans to host her survivor-led podcast. From there, Commissioner James plans to develop as an international speaker regarding gender-based violence.
LA's District 3, Commissioner “From Mandated Reporting to Mandated Supporting”, a Workshop on Child Welfare
Children spend upwards of a third of their day in school, if not more once extra-curricular activities and sports are accounted for. Teachers may spend more time with children than their parents and guardians during the week. So, is it that surprising that the second largest group of mandated reporters in LA County are teachers? The majority of America’s teachers are white women, especially in major cities with large populations of Black and Indigenous children. Understanding the correlation between child welfare and educators is imperative.
The American child welfare system is “a benevolent terror” according to legal scholar and researcher, Dorothy Roberts, author of Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families -- And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World. It is especially true for Black and Indigenous children. In Los Angeles County, black and brown children are investigated at rates 3-4 times higher than white children. As a matter of fact, it is documented that over half of Black children will be investigated before their 18th birthday.
Los Angeles County Commissioner for the Commission for Children and Families, Roman James, will:
Define the term “mandated reporter;”
Elucidate the role of a mandated reporter;
Brief on the new LA County “Mandated Supporting Initiative;” and
Cover the rights of parents