parents who are poor or minority of the right to parent their children.
But the analysis quoted is flawed.
The right to remain silent, have a jury trial, be presumed innocent, and to face their accuser are criminal concepts. These rights are specific to the potential for a criminal conviction. Child welfare cases are civil.
It is accurate to say that the right to due process isn't uniform across all legal matters. Parents do have a right to due process before they are deprived of their fundamental right to parent. That's the first step in a due process analysis. The second is to evaluate the what process is due - and what process is due isn't identical to the process due for a deprivation of liberty. As a general rule, there must be a fact-finding hearing - and proof by clear and convincing evidence of parental neglect (more than the typical civil matter - which only requires preponderance of the evidence).
The fact that due process rights associated with termination of parental rights are different from those associated with deprivation of liberty doesn't inherently mean the parent's constitutional rights don't apply. It is simply that there are express constitutional rights which apply in criminal matters that don't apply in matters of parental rights.
That doesn't mean that the system works well. It doesn't mean that being poor or non-white - as a practical matter - means you are more likely to have your parental rights terminated. It just means that the approach to solving this real problem isn't applying the criminal standards to parental termination isn't the answer.
We need better support systems for parents in need (child care, housing, health care, etc.). They need to be systems which parents whose rights are most likely to be abused are willing to use to provide care for their children - in other words they need to be designed with the input of those who may need the services. And our courts and police need extensive education as to what constitutes a real danger to children - rather than treating different cultural norms as inherently dangerous.
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