Child welfare myths and misunderstandings

Richard P. Barth, Jill Duerr Berrick, Melissa Jonson-Reid, Antonio R. Garcia, Johanna K.P. Greeson, John Gyourko and Brett Drake

Chapter 7 in Understanding Child Welfare, 2026, pp 136-151 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: Myths and misunderstandings abound in the field of child welfare. Some of these are simply due to the complexities of child welfare and the many different perspectives people take when trying to understand it. Others have been aggressively advanced for expressly political purposes, either to support legislation or further the goals of a movement. Specifically, we cover the myths that foster care is commonplace and that many children grow up there, that foster care is harmful, that child welfare is heavily biased toward over-reporting poor people and minorities, that cases generated by mandated reporting overwhelm child welfare agencies, that anonymous reports are generally of little value, and that neglect is a less serious form of maltreatment than physical abuse or sexual abuse. The chapter offers insight as to what to look for in old and new studies to keep from becoming trapped in misunderstandings.

Keywords: Child welfare; Child protective services; Race; Disparity; Poverty; Neglect (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
ISBN: 9781035359110
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