Child protection workers have been mandated by the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act of 1980 to work toward reunification of children with their parents. Abusive or chemically addicted parents must be given the opportunity to correct dysfunctional parenting behaviors or benefit from counseling. When families have been reunited, child protection workers cannot guarantee that parents will not harm their children. Considerable attention has been given to the issue of civil liability of child protection workers when children are seriously injured or killed. However, little attention has been given to criminal liability. This article discusses several cases involving child protection workers who were tried for failing to protect children who were subsequently killed by an abusive parent, and also discusses how child protection workers may protect themselves from criminal liability. References