Prometheus Books
Description: This eleven-chapter book, which is written by a newspaper journalist, examines the problems of our child protection and foster home system. Many people from both sides (child protection and parents) are mentioned by name and emerge as heroes or villains. The book chronicles everything that can go wrong with child welfare departments and covers several famous cases such as Jordan, Minnesota, Bakersfield, California, and Manhattan Beach, California. The last chapter is called "Making Changes" and consists of 35 recommendations calling for, among other things, the end of accepting anonymous reports by child protection, ending strip-searches of children, videotaping interviews, and more class action law suits against the state. Although not all of the recommendations are practical or feasible, they are thought-provoking. The book has excellent footnotes, and may be read just for
these alone. It closes with an adequate index. Discussion: This is a well-written and timely book and should not be read at one sitting. The author is to be congratulated for painfully gathering data and horror stories about America's child abuse investigation hysteria and foster home mess. The book, along with the problems it describes, can be summed up by the statement of Ellen Goodman, "There simply is no way to save the babies if you throw away the mothers" (p. 269). This book is highly recommended to all who really want to help our families. Reviewed by LeRoy Schultz, Professor of Social Work, West Virginia University.
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