The Politics of Child Abuse in America

by Costin, Lela B.; Karger, Howard Jacob; Stoesz, David

• ISBN13: 9780195116687
• ISBN10: 0195116682
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-02-27
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Child abuse policy in the United States contains dangerous contradictions, which have only intensified as the public slowly accepted it as a middle class problem. One contradiction is the rapidly expanding child abuse industry (made up of enterprising psychotherapists and attorneys) which is consuming enormous resources, while thousands of poor children are seriously injured or killed, many while being "protected" by public agencies. This "rediscovery" has also led to the frenzied pursuit of offenders, resulting in the sacrifice of some innocent people. Moreover, the media's focus on the sensational details of high-visibility sexual abuse cases has helped to trivialize, if not commercialize, the child abuse problem. As such, child abuse has gone from a social problem to a social spectacle. By the 1980s the child welfare system had become a virtual "nonsystem," marked by a staggering turnover of staff, unmanageable caseloads, a severe shortage of funding, and caseloads composed of highly dysfunctional families (many with drug-related problems). To make room for these families, public agencies rationed services by increasingly screening-out child abuse reports which contained little likelihood of serious bodily harm. In The Politics of Child Abuse in America , the authors argue that child abuse must be viewed as a public safety problem. This redefinition would make it congruent with other family-based social trends, including the crackdown on domestic violence. Children must have the same legal protection currently extended to physically and sexually abused women. This can be done by creating a "Children's Authority," which would have the overall charge for protecting children. Specifically, Children's Authorities would have the responsibility for providing the six main functions of child protection: investigation, enforcement, placement services, prevention and education, family support, and research and development. Offering a unique perspective on the cold reality of this crisis, The Politics of Child Abuse in America will be a provocative work for social workers and human service personnel, as well as the general reader concerned with this timely issue.

Author Biography

Lela B. Costin is Professor Emerita at the University of Illinois. Howard Jacob Karger is Professor of Social Work at the University of Houston. David Stoesz is Professor of Social Work at San Diego State University.

Table of Contents

Abbreviations	xiii
Introduction	3	(10)
The Cultural Landscape of Child Abuse in the United States	13	(33)
The Paradox of Child Abuse	18	(5)
The San Diego Experience	19	(4)
The Child Abuse Industry	23	(10)
Psychotherapy and the Child Abuse Industry	24	(5)
The Legal Industry	29	(4)
The Unraveling of Child Abuse Policy	33	(7)
Conclusion	40	(6)
Child Abuse as a Social Problem: The Emergence of the Child Savers	46	(36)
The Social Context of the Child Rescue Movement	48	(3)
The Mary Ellen Legend and the Rise of the Child Rescue Movement	51	(6)
The Legend	52	(5)
The Makings of a Movement	57	(10)
The Role of the Press	57	(1)
The Influence of an Outraged Public	58	(1)
The Anticruelty Movement in the Context of Other Social Movements	59	(2)
The Rise of Judicial Patriarchy	61	(1)
Elbridge T. Gerry and the NYSPCC	62	(5)
Central Themes in the Anticruelty Movement	67	(7)
Social Control	67	(3)
Parents, the State, and the Rescue of Children	70	(2)
Differences Regarding the Role of the SPCCs	72	(2)
Conclusion	74	(8)
The Decline and Rediscovery of Child Abuse, 1920-1960	82	(25)
Early Conflict Among ``Child Rescuers''	83	(6)
The NYSPCC and the Gerry Paradigm	84	(1)
The Challenge to the Gerry Paradigm	85	(1)
Who Should Do Protective Work, and What Should Be Its Functions?	86	(2)
Feminism and the Anticruelty Movement	88	(1)
Social Work and Child Welfare	89	(3)
Changing Nomenclature, Changing Definitions	89	(1)
Disillusionment with the Juvenile Court	90	(2)
Child Welfare Agency Structure and Practice	92	(5)
Organizational Pattern of Children's Agencies	92	(2)
Distinctons Between Child and Family Welfare	94	(1)
The Impact of Psychoanalytic Theory	95	(1)
Social Work's Escape from Authority	96	(1)
The Impact of Economic and Social Conditions After 1930	97	(2)
Conclusion	99	(8)
From the ``Battered Child'' Syndrome to the ``Battered Psyche'' Syndrome: Rediscovering Child Abuse in the 1960s and Beyond	107	(28)
The Rise of the American Welfare State	108	(4)
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974	112	(5)
Ideological Convergence	117	(2)
The Family Preservation Model	119	(3)
The Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980	122	(4)
The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1993	126	(3)
Conclusion	129	(6)
The Breakdown of the Child Abuse System	135	(36)
Researching Child Abuse	135	(7)
Child Abuse and Political Correctness	142	(9)
Maintaining the Myth of Classlessnes	149	(2)
Funding for Child Abuse and Neglect	151	(6)
The Panacea of Family Preservation	155	(2)
Service Delivery Problems in the Child Abuse System	157	(6)
Social Work Training and Child Protective Services	158	(3)
Screening, Investigation, and the Provision of Service	161	(2)
AFDC, Substance Abuse, and the Breakdown of the Child Abuse System	163	(2)
Conclusion	165	(6)
Restructuring Child Abuse Services: The Children's Authority	171	(13)
The Children's Authority	173	(11)
The Structure of the Children's Authority	174	(1)
Funding the Children's Authority	174	(2)
The Social Mandate and the Span of Authority	176	(1)
Administrative Organization	177	(7)
Conclusion	184	(6)
Index	190