Cases are reported where children have been summarily removed from their homes, families have been shattered because of false reports of abuse, and children have been thrust into chaotic and abusive foster care programs for no other reason than that their parents are poor. In some cases, children severely abused in the home have been ignored as the child protection system has used its scarce resources to pursue trivial or unfounded cases. To help reform the child protection system that abuses children, this book recommends the elimination of financial incentives that encourage foster care while discouraging permanent homes for children. It also proposes reducing the types of maltreatment that professionals are required to report to child-protective authorities. Other recommendations are that all mandated reporters be required to take a course in the reporting law, "educational neglect" be removed from the jurisdiction of child protection services, and a mechanism be established for screening reports so as to eliminate cases that are clearly false or do not constitute maltreatment under the law. Chapter notes and a subject index