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Michelle D. Chan is founder and director of California Families Rise, which evolved out of Parents Against CPS Corruption, or PACC, a Bay Area activist group. Michelle started PACC after she uncovered that systemic issues of misconduct and inequities existed in the child protection system in San Francisco and beyond: routine violations of state and federal laws, implicit racism and bias, the absolute power, control, and coercion of parents trapped in the system, how the system seemed to prey off the poor and perpetuate trauma and poverty. At the time, Michelle had an open child protection cases. There was no one fighting on behalf of parents to ensure their rights and the rights of their children were upheld. It was a fool’s mission. Michelle launched an aggressive outreach campaign and two months later, with a handful of her peers, began protesting the San Francisco Superior Court almost daily, demanding the removal of Judge Nancy L. Davis. Shortly after their first protest on Valentine’s Day 2017, the San Francisco Bay View newspaper invited Michelle to become a regular contributor. Less than eight months after the inception of PACC, Judge Nancy L. Davis retired halfway before the end of her elected term. After PACC’s success in San Francisco, Michelle went on to build a movement in Contra Costa County. PACC’s membership grew to represent hundreds of system-impacted parents and family members. The March for Family Rights protests demanded the resignations of Judges Rebecca Hardie, Lois Haight, and Jill Fannin. After the protests, PACC filed three recall petitions against the judges. Volunteers donated their time on a daily basis for six months gathering signatures. Although the recalls were unsuccessful, the groups' efforts led to a Civil Grand Jury investigation and report on Contra Costa Children and Family Services that led to some reforms. PACC’s activism was also influential in the audit of the judge oversight agency- the Commission on Judicial Performance- and the adoption of new judicial ethics guidelines by the California Supreme Court. In 2020 at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the newly branded CFR advocated for Covid-19 state-wide juvenile court policies to increase access, increase visitation, and expedite reunification. In response, the California Supreme Court issued temporary blanket orders which provided clarity and expanded rights to California families. 

Fight back against family court, attorney, and CPS corruption.

Under the new name, California Families Rise went on to rebuild the movement as a state-wide effort. In 2022, CFR sponsored SB 1055, which was passed into law. SB 1055 reduces the practice of suspending the driver's licenses of parents below the 70% median income for nonpayment of child support. Fight back against family court, attorney, and CPS corruption.