Child Protection in America

Child abuse and neglect are tragically common. Each year, more than 1,000 American children die due to maltreatment. Thousands more suffer physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect. Across the country, every community has a system of government-operated and funded child protective services (CPS). But given that social workers of CPS have the authority to remove children from unsafe parents, it is no surprise that CPS is controversial. Does CPS protect children? Does CPS do more good than harm? Is CPS fundamentally racist, as some critics argue? Should CPS be abolished? To answer these questions, it is essential to understand the origins of child protection in America. How did we arrive at the child protection system in place today? This book traces the history of child protection from colonial times to the present and provides the most in-depth analysis ever published of the origins of child protection.

John E.B. Myers is a Visiting Professor of Law at the University of California College of Law, San Francisco. John is a leading expert on the legal and historical aspects of child abuse and neglect, having written 20 books and more than 100 articles on the subject. John’s writing has been cited by many courts, including the United States Supreme Court. John has provided more than 400 lectures across the United States and abroad. In addition to teaching and writing, John represents maltreated children in juvenile court.