Fixing Families: Parents, Power, and the Child Welfare System

by Reich,Jennifer A.

• ISBN13: 9780415947268
• ISBN10: 041594726X
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2005-08-30
• Publisher: Routledge

Summary

The ways children's rights are handled by the state remain a highly controversial and frequently criticized topic of national interest, yet little is known about the actual operations of the Child Welfare System. InFixing Families, Jennifer Reich takes us inside Child Protective Services for an in-depth look at the entire organization. Following families from the beginning of a case to its discharge, Reich shows how parents negotiate with the state for custody of their children, and how being held accountable to the state affects a family. During her investigation Reich had access to many levels of CPS action, and within each chapter are heartbreaking stories culled from her many ride-alongs with social workers, and the numerous juvenile court cases that she was able to observe--stories that illustrate the dramatic personal effects of bureaucratic decisions.

Table of Contents

Introduction	p. 1
Intervening in Failing Families	p. 11
Intersections of the State and Family	p. 14
The Therapeutic State	p. 18
Overview of the System	p. 22
"We work for the government. We're here to help."	p. 22
"Juvenile Justice"	p. 23
The County	p. 26
Representing "Bad" Parents	p. 29
Overview of the Book	p. 34
Child Protection In A Historical Perspective	p. 41
The Progressive Era: New Responses to New Social Problems	p. 42
Professionalization of Childsaving	p. 48
Creating Public Welfare	p. 50
1920's-1960's: "Battered Child Syndrome" and the First Federal Response to Child Abuse	p. 54
1970's: Rising Caseloads and Calls for Reform	p. 57
Constructing the "Best Interests"	p. 58
Opposition to Transracial Adoption	p. 60
1980's: Refocusing on Reunification in the Face of New Challenges	p. 63
The Crack Crisis in Child Welfare	p. 64
1990's: Attempts to Address System Failures	p. 70
Color-Blind Child Welfare Policy	p. 71
Rising Attention to System Failures	p. 73
Adoption Reform	p. 75
Understanding the Child Welfare Pendulum	p. 78
The Hated Do-Gooders: Social Work In Context	p. 88
Prelude	p. 88
Social Work as Thankless	p. 92
Social Work as Dangerous	p. 99
Social Work as Stressful	p. 105
Expected Parental Behavior: Theorizing Subordination And Deference In Investigations	p. 113
Prelude	p. 113
Reporters of Suspected Abuse of Neglect	p. 117
Talking (with) Children	p. 121
Assessing Risk Through Zero-Tolerance for Drugs	p. 124
Evaluating the Home	p. 132
Expectations of Deference	p. 135
Dana Brooks	p. 138
Jamila Washington	p. 142
Similar Circumstances, Different Outcomes	p. 146
Candace Williams-Taylor	p. 152
Moving Through the System	p. 161
Reforming Parents, Reunifying Families	p. 169
Prelude	p. 169
The Context and Content of Services	p. 172
The Relative Right to Services	p. 174
The Controversial System	p. 179
The Experience of Reunification Services	p. 182
"Time Is Moving": Deference to the Process As Soon As Possible	p. 182
Material Obstacles to Reunification	p. 186
The Time Bind of Services	p. 187
Housing and Public Assistance	p. 192
Childcare	p. 195
Services and Surveillance	p. 199
Managing State Power: Parental Strategies	p. 202
Parents' Strategies: Resistance and Accommodation	p. 202
Robert Davis	p. 206
Richie Lyons	p. 210
Linda Durrant	p. 213
Activist Parenting and Counter-Productivity	p. 216
Conclusion: Realizing System Goals: Means and Ends	p. 220
Court-Ordered Empowerment And The Reformation Of Mothers In Cps	p. 229
Prelude	p. 229
The Bad Mother in Public Imagination and Institutions	p. 233
Resocializing Bad Mothers	p. 236
Contexualizing Maternal Salvation	p. 242
Performing Empowerment	p. 247
Court-Ordered Empowerment: Success Stories	p. 251
Sexual Mothers: Reunification Failures	p. 255
Making Sense of the Empowerment Performance	p. 262
Biology And Conformity: Expectations Of Fathers	p. 270
Prelude	p. 270
Becoming a CPS Father	p. 275
Men's Relative Right to Services	p. 280
Legal Constructions of Fatherhood	p. 283
Encouraging Absentee Fatherhood	p. 286
Working to Reunify	p. 288
Employment versus Compliance	p. 290
Proving the Capacity to Parent	p. 295
Bad Men as Good Fathers?	p. 301
Resocializing Bad Men	p. 308
Beyond Reunification: When Families Cannot Be Fixed	p. 315
Prelude	p. 315
Beyond Reunification	p. 317
Time Runs Out	p. 318
Demonstrable Rehabilitation	p. 322
Compliance	p. 323
Meaningful Change	p. 327
Accepting Responsibility	p. 331
Developing a "Permanent Plan"	p. 337
When Adoption is Inappropriate	p. 338
Identifying Unbreakable Bonds	p. 342
Defining Adoptability	p. 347
After the Case Ends	p. 353
Court Orders Beyond the Courthouse	p. 356
Conclusion	p. 359
Conclusion	p. 365
Good Intentions, Poor Outcomes	p. 372
CPS and the Anti-Parent Culture	p. 378
Addressing System Failures	p. 381
Social Work Workload	p. 382
Giving Voice to Parental Anger	p. 382
Access to Advocacy	p. 383
Relevant Servi
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