Customer Reviews

Protecting Children from Child Protective Services

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I found Alan L. Schwartz' "Protecting Children From Child Protective Services" to be disappointing. Although Schwartz had a number of good ideas for improving a system many would agree is riddled with problems, he failed to expand on solutions he offered. This lack of depth would be understandable if this book was written by an outsider, but was surprising and unacceptable given Schwartz' experience in Child Protection and advocacy. Schwartz also failed to back up his general arguments with any data or documentation of any sources that may buttress his statements. In one case, Schwartz referred to a government study that found the Child Protective Service departments (or their equivalent) in 45 states to be deficient but he never provided enough information for the reader to gather more data. The average college student would not receive a passing grade if he failed to cite sources on a term paper, yet Schwartz wrote an entire book on a subject that has volumes of data readily available without citing a source. Had he provided documentation or a list of references in addition to expanding on his arguments, he would have easily added another 30-50 pages of quality material, instead of the brief 138 pages offered by the author.

On a positive note, Schwartz described the general processes of Child Intake through Adoption and the corresponding court procedures in a straightforward manner which any reader could comprehend. Schwartz' 12 steps that describe a proposed evaluation process appears more comprehensive and effective as compared to current procedures. The reader will also appreciate Schwartz' perspective and concern for the current system and those who are affected by its' shortcomings.