Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1998

Publication Title

The Future of Children

Volume

8

Issue

1

First page number:

126

Last page number:

129

Abstract

The fundamental structure of the public child welfare system is that of a coercive apparatus wrapped in a helping orientation. Agencies ostensibly having the mission to help are mandated to ask whether parents can be blamed for their child welfare problems, and these agencies have the power to remove children from their homes. Thus, the public child welfare agency has a dual-role structure: On one hand, the agency attempts to engage in prevention and support, and to promote family preservation; on the other hand, it also has the task of investigating complaints against parents and removing children from them. This fact has had enormous consequences for the fate of child protection.

Keywords

Child abuse; Child welfare; Families; Family services; Foster home care; Poverty; Social problems

Disciplines

Public Policy | Social Welfare | Social Work

Language

English

Publisher Citation

Besharov, Douglas J., Marcia Robinson Lowry, Leroy H. Pelton, and Michael W. Weber. "How we can better protect children from abuse and neglect." The future of children (1998): 120-132.

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