The Welfare of Children

Abstract Today, the wealthiest country in the world, the United States, has more children living in poverty than any other industrialized nation. Furthermore, the United States, which pioneered strategies to prevent child abuse and which now spends more money fighting child abuse than all other industrialized countries, has the highest rate of child abuse. What should we do to change these discouraging facts? Should we blame the parents? Should we blame those working in the child welfare field? Do we have a collective responsibility to safeguard the futures of these children? If so, what form should this collective responsibility take? In this unique contribution to the study of the child welfare system in North America, Duncan Lindsey provides a critical but heartfelt look into the current situation for children. He closely examines the current ‘residual’ system of child welfare in which the system functions as a last resort to handle only the worst and most dramatic cases. Given the current avalanche of child abuse and neglect reports, the public child welfare system has been transformed into a child protection system limited to investigating child abuse reports and occasionally removing children from their families and placing them in foster care. While the system has seen periods of progress, it is no longer able to cope with the overwhelming destitution of poor and impoverished children. Today, the child welfare system confronts the challenge to act collectively to develop opportunities for the millions of children whose welfare and future are being currently neglected. The system must be restored to its original mandate of broadly ensuring children’s economic security and opportunities. Lindsey examines the examines the successes and failures of the current child welfare system, and proposes new approaches to achieve comprehensive reform of the public child welfare system to allow for greater achievements for children. If taken seriously, Lindsey’s suggestions for the future could virtually end poverty among children, breaking the cycle of abuse and neglect.