In this recent blog and accompanying podcast we described how child welfare philosophy has shifted since the 1970’s away from protecting children and towards parents’ rights. Eventually professionals in our field became so accustomed to parent-centric approaches that we lost sight of our purpose.
Ideology drove us into this fog – this upside-down world where it’s considered racist to challenge practices such as not gathering evidence or keeping records.
Ironically, policies like these are actually disproportionately harming children of color.
We suggest two simple rules for determining if child welfare practices are appropriately child-centered:
- Do they promote child welfare’s core mission of child safety and well-being?
- Are they consistent with science?
These principles can give us the vision to drive out of the fog and refocus child welfare on children, not parents or political theories.
Thank you for a good common sense statement. Children first.