If the Nation had deliberately designed a system that would frustrate the professionals who staff it, anger the public who finance it and abandon the children who depend on it, it could not have done a better job than the present child welfare system.

Introduction and Overview
An investigation of abuse or neglect, even if unfounded, can be the most traumatic and devastating event a family may face.

Interrogations, Repeated Questioning, Vilification
Exploring some of the more commonly used investigative techniques. False assumptions, repeated questioning, and dividing the family.

Strip Searches
Strip searching of children by child protective caseworkers. How widespread and useful a practice? What are the effects on children?

VITAL AREAS OF CONCERN

Decision Making in Child Welfare.
The decisions of when and whether to remove a child from her home are central to child welfare. How reliable, consistent and fair are the decisions made by caseworkers and judges?

Defensive Social Work.
Does caseworker protection play a role in the needless removals of children from their homes? A closer look at what it means to "err on the side of the child."

Reunification Plans: Recipes for Failure.
Critics charge that reunification plans are often designed to ensure failure. How can failure to faithfully follow the terms of such a plan affect the chances of family reunification?

Falsification of Records.
Many critics charge that case files, interview records and even evidence are often falsified by child protective caseworkers. How often does this occur?

Turnover in Child Welfare.
Exploring the reasons for high child protective and foster care caseworker turnover, and the effects on children. 

---

SPECIAL REPORTS

Analysis of Children's Drawings.
Your child brings home a drawing from an art session in school. Could it have been screened for potential indicators of child sexual abuse?

Questionable Examples of Expert Testimony.
A pictorial tour of the often incredible testimony and material presented as evidence by experts in child abuse cases.

Syndrome Evidence.
Behavioral indicators often used in the courtroom as evidence of child abuse. Do these indicators prove only the ingenuity of the expert witnesses?

PART TWO IS A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM

---


A CRITICAL LOOK AT THE FOSTER CARE SYSTEM

How Great the Need?
Over half a million children are in foster care or some other kind of out of home placement today. Do these children all really need to be there?

How Safe the Services?
How safe are foster care services? Critics suggest that the foster care system is anything but a safe haven for children.

How Widespread a Problem?
How widespread are the problems of abuse and neglect in foster care? What is the actual percentage of abuse in foster care? Are children really better off in state care than they would be in their own homes?

Incentives to States
Exploring the financial incentives behind foster care. Financial incentives and legal maneuvers used by states to maximize funding. (This article is currently being revised).

Incentives to Foster Parents
Critics charge that financial incentives are not the only reason that some foster parents take children into their homes.

The Sectarian Agencies
Examining the surprising range of private and often sectarian "non-profit" service providers. How do they compare with state operated foster care services?

The Group Homes
Examining the labeling of children, and the shadowy world of congregate and group home care. A close look at living conditions, and fiscal incentives for maintaining children in care. The impact of group home care, and listening to the voices of children.

Medication of Children
Examining the widespread use of psychotropic and mood-altering medications on children in state care.

Foster Care Outcomes
Critics say the effects of foster care extend well beyond the present, and may greatly impact on the futures of these children, as well as on that of our own society.

PART THREE IS

THE TRUTH ABOUT THE ADOPTION INDUSTRY AND HOW THEY ARE A TIED INTO CHILD PROTECTION SERVICES

THE ADOPTIVE CHILD SYNDROME

PART FOUR IS

CHILD PROTECTION HORROR STORIES THROUGHOUT THE UNITED STATES

We will also include : The Grounds For Termination of Parental Rights in Illinois

Definitions of Child Abuse/Neglect in Illinois

Mandatory Report Laws of Illinois

Legal, Juvenile, CPS terminology used by Judges, District Attorneys, Guardian Ad Litems, Court Appointed Special Advocates, and Social Wreckers.