With the advent of child abuse and neglect reporting laws and the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, child abuse and neglect have been viewed as discreet and unique problems rather than as signs of family dysfunction. Such dysfunction can lead to many other problems, including juvenile delinquency. Legislation has been enacted which focuses on identifying abusive parents rather than on providing treatment for family dysfunction, primarily because an inviolable boundary exists between the family and the government. Too often, institutionalization of children or assignment to foster care is initiated, rather than community-based treatment for affected families. The paper observes that government agencies should give more priority to support for families and place less emphasis on substitution for families. To reduce the environmental and psychological stress (mainly inadequate income) that affect a family's ability to provide nurturance and supervision to children, some form of guaranteed employment or income redistribution is essential. The article states that parents should be helped in establishing a healthy family situation for their children. A 30-item reference list is included.