Mothers Outreach Network Impact Report Highlights 2025
Advancing Black Family Preservation and Economic Security in Washington D C
Who We Are
Mothers Outreach Network, MON, is a Black led DC based racial justice and antipoverty organization. MON focuses on Black mothers who are navigating systems of disempowerment, especially the child welfare and criminal legal systems, and organizes with them to build power, preserve families, and secure long term economic stability.
Founded by attorney and advocate Melody Webb, MON helps mothers move from surviving to leading through civic engagement, legal information sharing, storytelling, data collection, and campaigns for systems change that make public systems less punitive and more empowering.
MON works from a simple, profound truth: Poverty is not neglect. Families need support, not punishment.
The Need: Poverty, Punishment and DC Child Welfare
Across the United States, child welfare data show a system responding to millions of families each year, most often for neglect rather than abuse.
According to the United States Children’s Bureau Child Maltreatment 2023 report, child welfare agencies responded to an estimated three million eighty one thousand seven hundred fifteen children in federal fiscal year twenty twenty three, and about five hundred forty six thousand one hundred fifty nine children were determined to be victims of maltreatment.
The national data show that the majority of victims experience neglect rather than physical or sexual abuse, underscoring that most system involvement is tied to unmet basic needs and family hardship rather than intentional harm.
In Washington D C, Black families bear the brunt of both poverty and child welfare surveillance
• Public reports and agency data show that more than eighty percent of children in the foster system are Black, even though Black children make up only about half of D C’s child population.
• More than half of children separated from their homes of origin live in Wards seven and eight, the parts of the city with some of the highest poverty rates and the lowest levels of wealth and public investment, while children from wealthier Wards two and three account for only a small share of removals.
These numbers illustrate a stark reality where a child lives and the resources available to their family strongly shape who is investigated, who is labeled neglectful, and whose children are removed.
Mothers Outreach Network’s work sits at the intersection of this data and lived experience. Through Mother Up, tax and legal work, and parent organizing, MON is building the evidence that when Black mothers receive reliable no strings attached cash and legal support, they are better able to meet their children’s needs and avoid poverty driven neglect findings reflected in both national and D C statistics.
This Year at a Glance
Over the past year, Mothers Outreach Network has
• Deepened the Mother Up Guaranteed Income Research Pilot, with the launch of Phase 3 of its multi phase, three year cash assistance program providing five hundred dollars per month in no strings attached support to Black mothers affected by the child welfare system, paired with rigorous research led by Harvard Law School’s Access to Justice Lab.
• Advanced a multi year legislative and narrative strategy so that key actors, including C F S A leadership, children’s advocates, and D C lawmakers, now affirm in public that poverty is not neglect.
• Helped motivate and shape the Statutory Neglect Amendment Act of 2025, a bill in the Care for Youth plan that clarifies that welfare status, homelessness, or unstable housing cannot be used as the sole basis for a neglect finding.
• Organized a large parent and community teach in, together with a broad coalition, on the Care for Youth legislative package, centering parent voices and the demand to legislate that poverty is not neglect and to secure accountability in investigations.
• Helped design and advocate for a fully refundable District Child Tax Credit proposal of up to one thousand dollars per child, working within the D C Guaranteed Income Coalition and allied groups to show how a local child tax credit could sharply reduce child poverty if fully funded and implemented.
• Expanded the Parents Tax and Family Law Clinic, providing free legal information and brief advice on the Child Tax Credit, the Earned Income Tax Credit, D C refundable credits, and related family law issues through clinics and workshops in virtual and neighborhood based spaces, forging a new partnership that will provide access to tax filing.
• Hired and trained parent peer organizers, Black mothers with lived experience, who now co lead outreach, education, testimony, and policy advocacy alongside staff.
• Released and promoted evaluation findings from the Mother Up research pilot Phase 2, translating early results into tools for policymakers, advocates, and community members working to transform child welfare and income policy.
Impact by the Numbers
Guaranteed Income and Direct Support
Mother Up Guaranteed Income Research Pilot
• Multi phase, three year guaranteed income program for Black mothers with current or recent child welfare involvement in Washington D C.
• Provides five hundred dollars per month, no strings attached, to help mothers meet basic needs and reduce the risk of CPS involvement.
• Moves through successive research phases toward a full sample that can inform policy makers and courts.
Policy and Systems Change
• Statutory Neglect Amendment Act of twenty twenty five, part of the Care for Youth plan, clarifies that welfare status, homelessness, or unstable housing cannot be used as the sole basis for a neglect finding, and distinguishes poverty conditions from actual abuse.
• Ongoing advocacy emphasizes that the law still needs substantial work and clear implementation guidance so that front line practice matches the standard on paper, a concern echoed by coalition partners and community groups.
• District Child Tax Credit proposals backed by MON and partners has created a fully refundable local child tax credit of up to one thousand dollars per child, with modeling showing potential for significant reductions in child poverty, benefiting approximately 78,000 children.
Tax and Legal Empowerment
• Multiple free tax and legal clinics held across the city, helping parents understand eligibility for federal Child Tax Credit and Earned Income Tax Credit, navigate local child tax credit proposals and other D C refundable credits, and address family law issues that intersect with economic stability.
Deep Dive Mother Up Guaranteed Income as Family Preservation
Mother Up is MON’s flagship guaranteed income research pilot.
Who it serves
Black mothers in Washington D C with current or recent involvement in child protective services, especially those at risk of losing their children due to poverty driven neglect allegations.
What it provides
• Five hundred dollars per month for three years in unrestricted cash assistance
• Phased enrollment, moving from an initial pre pilot, with the aim of moving to a larger research sample
• Structured partnership with the Access to Justice Lab at Harvard Law School, which is evaluating how guaranteed income affects child welfare involvement, economic stability, and family well being
What early findings show
• Poverty and material hardship are key drivers of Child Protective Services involvement, and financial support can help end active oversight and prevent future investigations
• Mothers use the cash for housing, food, utilities, transportation, childcare, and health care, the basics that keep children safe and stable
• Guaranteed income reduces stress, improves parents ability to manage crises, and supports more consistent caregiving and family stability
One participant described the impact as finally being able to pay the light bill on time and still buy a small treat for her child, without having to choose between basic needs.
Why it matters
Mother Up demonstrates that supporting families with cash is more humane, more effective, and ultimately less costly than surveillance and separation. The pilot is quickly becoming a proof point for systems change in child welfare and income policy in D C and nationally.
Policy and Systems Change: Legislating that Poverty is Not Neglect
MON has led and sustained a multi year effort to move poverty is not neglect from a chant in the hallway to language in law and practice.
Through testimony, coalition building, parent leadership, and public education, MON and its partners have
• Elevated the principle that eligibility for or use of public benefits, or conditions like homelessness and housing instability, must not be treated as automatic evidence of neglect
• Motivated and helped shape the Statutory Neglect Amendment Act of twenty twenty five, which clarifies that welfare status, homelessness, or lack of stable housing cannot be the sole grounds for a neglect finding in D C
• Centered lived experience in these debates, including visible parent led actions at D C Council, where mothers and allies stated plainly that poverty is poverty and poverty is not neglect
The new statutory language is not perfect and still needs clearer standards, training, and enforcement so that investigators and mandated reporters apply it correctly. MON is candid that the work ahead involves making sure the law is not confusing and that it leads to real accountability in investigations, rather than new pathways to punitive intervention.
Organizing Highlight Parents Teach-In on the Care for Youth Package
As part of the Care for Youth plan, D C Council members advanced a package of youth and family bills, including the Statutory Neglect Amendment Act and related measures around youth justice and care at the Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services.
MON helped convene and lead a large parents teach in with a broad coalition to
• Break down the Care for Youth package in clear language
• Connect the statutory neglect reforms to the lived experience of families targeted by child welfare and youth systems
• Equip parents to testify, meet with council members, and engage in ongoing oversight as the bills move forward
Through this teach in, MON positioned Black mothers as experts on what accountability, safety, and real support should look like, and reinforced that any youth safety agenda must start with material support and respect for family autonomy, not expanded surveillance.
Legal and Tax Empowerment Parents Tax and Family Law Clinic
MON’s Parents Tax and Family Law Clinic operates on the principle that families should not lose access to life changing tax credits or benefits because of paperwork barriers, fear, or confusion.
The clinic
• Provides free legal information and brief advice on federal Child Tax Credit, Earned Income Tax Credit, D C refundable credits, and family law issues that influence economic stability, including custody and child support
• Hosts workshops and clinics at community sites such as D C Public Library branches, schools, and partner organizations
• Connects families to MON’s broader ecosystem of support, including Mother Up, guaranteed income advocacy, and parent organizing
By helping parents claim the dollars they are already owed, MON’s tax and legal work puts money back into households right away while also building a base of parents who understand the system and are prepared to advocate for deeper reforms.
Narrative Change and Parent Leadership
Mothers Outreach Network is not only changing policies, it is changing the story about Black mothers, poverty, and child welfare.
Key elements of MON’s narrative change strategy include
• Parent peer organizers, Black mothers with lived experience, who co design curricula and toolkits, testify before the D C Council and other bodies, and facilitate know your rights and tax education sessions
• Story plus data, pairing mothers lived experience with rigorous research from the Mother Up pilot and allied researchers to challenge myths about neglect and poverty
• Public education and media, including social media campaigns, community trainings, and coverage that repeat a clear message economic hardship is a policy failure, not a parenting failure
This year’s evaluation releases and public facing materials about Mother Up and statutory neglect reforms have further established MON as a national thought leader on guaranteed income, child welfare, and racial justice.
Looking Ahead
Mothers Outreach Network is entering its next chapter with clarity and momentum. Priorities for the coming period include
• Scaling Mother Up from pilot to model, deepening later phases of the study and using findings to make the case for sustainable guaranteed income policies that prevent child welfare involvement
• Ensuring every eligible family can access critical tax credits by expanding the Parents Tax and Family Law Clinic, updating toolkits, and focusing outreach on wards and neighborhoods most affected by poverty and removals
• Growing the parent peer organizer team and deepening leadership pathways for Black mothers as organizers, researchers, trainers, and public advocates
• Advancing policy reforms that move D C systems, including child welfare, child support, and public benefits, away from punishment and toward economic support, family preservation, and racial equity
How You Can Stand With Moms
The work ahead is significant, but so is the opportunity. With partners, donors, and community members, MON can
• Increase the number of families reached by guaranteed income and cash support
• Make sure every eligible parent accesses life changing tax credits and benefits
• Train more parent leaders who can testify, organize, and shape policy
• Continue building the evidence base that proves what Black mothers have always known
When families have what they need, they thrive, and children stay home, where they belong.