Why abolition

• Published date: 01 April 2023
• Author: Dorothy Roberts
• Date: 01 April 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12712

SPECIAL ISSUE ARTICLE

Why abolition

Dorothy Roberts

Penn Carey School of Law, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Correspondence

Dorothy Roberts, Penn Carey School of Law,

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA

19104, USA.

Email: dorothyroberts@law.upenn.edu

Abstract

Calls to abolish the child welfare system have provoked

questions about the feasibility of dismantling the current

system and worries that abolition will put vulnerable children

at greater risk of maltreatment. Despite the clear evidence of

harm inflicted by the family policing system, some child

welfare experts argue that abandoning the system is danger-

ous because it is needed to protect children from harm. This

essay makes a concise case for abolition of family policing

and contests the claims made against it. It explains not only

how the family policing system harms children, but also why

abolishing it is essential to keep childrensafe.

KEYWORDS

abolition, family policing, family separation, foster care, mandated

reporting, racism

Key points for the family court community

•The child welfare system cannot be reformed because it

is designed to oppress the most marginalized communi-

ties in the nation and is built on an ideological foundation

that was set centuries ago to support white supremacy

and settler colonialism.

•The trauma that children experience from being torn

from their parents, siblings, and friends is compounded

George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology, Raymond Pace & Sadie Tanner Mossell Alexander Professor of Civil Rights, Professor of

Africana Studies, University of Pennsylvania. This article is based on Dorothy Roberts, Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black

Families—and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World (2022).

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12712

© 2023 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

Family Court Rev. 2023;61:229–241. wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre 229