The case for dismantling child protective services and radically transforming how society protects kids

In America, 37% of all children – and 54% of Black children – will be the subject of investigation by child protective services by the time they turn 18. For 63% of children in the foster care system, “neglect” is cited as the reason why they were separated from their families. But the child welfare system in place in America right now doesn’t address the root causes of why these children are in these situations. Children have “needs that are being unmet and we need a radically different approach that dismantles this vicious system…because it’s taking children away from their families unnecessarily,” says Dorothy Roberts. In her new book “Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World,” she makes the argument that what children and families need is more support and resources, rather than the current system that polices families.April 30, 2022