To the Editor:

Re “Race in the Pediatric E.R.” (Sunday Review, Aug. 25):

Jessica Horan-Block makes an important point about race discrimination in child welfare investigations. We should not tolerate a system that separates children from their families and takes parents of color to court in situations that lead to sympathy for white parents for the childhood accidents that are part of life.

Assessing parenting is fraught with subjectivity and implicit bias. If we are to serve children of color, we must approach parents of color with the same benefit of the doubt that white parents enjoy.

To make matters worse, in states like New York, the parents of color who are targeted for child welfare investigations currently remain on child abuse registries even after a court determines their innocence. This limits their job opportunities, perpetuating the harm of the discrimination and hurting the very children the system is meant to help.

Proposed legislation passed by the New York Legislature in June would reform the registry to require sufficient evidence before a record of an investigation could impede employment. The bill is awaiting Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s signature.