The Future of Child Protection – How to Break the Cycle of Abuse & Neglect - Hardcover

Waldfogel, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674338111 ISBN 13: 9780674338111

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 1998

Synopsis

Cases of child abuse and neglect reported in the media have led to a crisis of confidence in the current child protective services (CPS) systems in the USA, and to frequent calls for reform. Jane Waldfogel agrees that the public has a right to be concerned, but many perceptions of the CPS system and the problems it is designed to alleviate are inaccurate. This text goes beyond the headlines, using historical, comparitive, and specific case data to formulate a new approach to protecting children. Currently, Waldfogel argues, the CPS system is overwhelmed by referrals. As a result, neither high-risk nor low-risk families are adequatly served. She examines the underlying assumptions of CPS, compares the US record with those of Britain, Canada and Australia, and offers a "new paradigm" in which CPS joins with other public and private partners to provide a differential response to the broad range of children in need of protection. She highlights the reforms under way in several American states and in Britain.

About this title

Review

Through a carefully balanced analysis, "The Future of Child Protection" advances the policy debate beyond the 'child abuse as a problem of poverty' and the 'criminalization of child abuse' perspectives in the current literature. Waldfogel develops a powerful case for the reform of the CPS system through a differential response model--a compelling alternative that policy makers are well-advised to study. The book is clearly written and the scholarship first-rate.--Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley

Through a carefully balanced analysis, The Future of Child Protection advances the policy debate beyond the 'child abuse as a problem of poverty' and the 'criminalization of child abuse' perspectives in the current literature. Waldfogel develops a powerful case for the reform of the CPS system through a differential response model--a compelling alternative that policy makers are well-advised to study. The book is clearly written and the scholarship first-rate.--Neil Gilbert, University of California, Berkeley

About the Author

Jane Waldfogel is Professor of Social Work and Public Affairs at Columbia University.

Edition details

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0674338111
• ISBN 13: 9780674338111
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 292