Agencies and the courts designed to provide a safety net for children whose parents cannot take care of them adequately or who abuse them are experiencing increased caseloads and decreased resources. These factors are causing them to be in disarray. A survey of child welfare systems found that 42 percent of 1,300 children who died of abuse and neglect in 1993 had come to the attention of State child welfare services before their deaths. Court cases drag on for years as agencies fail to find foster homes for children or investigate abuse reports. The article describes some of the long-term psychological effects that being a ward of the State can have on children.