This book challenges the ideologies and policies that presently shape child welfare services. It argues that caring for children is work of the highest priority. Neglect, the authors argue, should no longer be a reason for investigating and apprehending children, and the entire resources ofchild wefare agencies should be devoted to assisting and supporting parents. Further, they propose that child abuse be reclassified as a criminal offence and handled by the criminal justice system. Finally the book suggests that community ownership of child welfare is important in order to providean opportunity for social learning.