Wounded Innocents: The Real Victims of the War Against Child Abuse

wexler's book should be required reading. i wish i could get "dr" laura to read this book. it would certainly give her pause before saying kids are better off in foster care or an institution than with their parents... the situation in our nation with respect to child protection is tragic. the power of these programs to act is beyond the power granted in the constitution to our police. no search warrent is needed. a child can be taken with notifying the parents, without review. the records are sealed. wexler has done a service by writing this book. recommended highly.

I have been involved with various aspects of the child protective service system for over 25 years. Based on my own experience, this book does not exaggerate the appalling dangers our families and children face at the hands of these systems. I found the accounts, chilling as they are, to be very accurate reflections of what I know to be everyday occurances in our child welfare system. This author has examined the data and the facts and done the homework that all of us should be doing.

Richard has nailed it. This system is out of control and speaking as one who has been hit, I am very grateful to him for letting in the light.

Wexler lays out a clear and compelling case for implementing thorough change in the system of child protective services. A system informed by the thinking that state adjencies need to intervene in disfunctonal families; coerce and force families apart; is out of control and whats more shows by their own statistics that they do a far worse job than that of the disfunctional family they claim to be helping. Ultimately child protective services is fueled by the ever increasing need for money to follow up on what are many times false allegations in ever increasing proportion to the erroneous and misinterpreted statistics, that the general public is told are factual. In addition children who are placed are worth approximately thirty thousand dollars, or more (per year),to the 'child savers'.than what they have to pay out. Finally after careful study of the "child savers"' statistics it is glaringly obvious that there are many more children being abused in placements than they would be if kept with their families. If recources were to be used to do more thorough investigations before removing these children from their homes much of this abuse would be averted. Please read his book, for your families freedom depends on being informed and having the tools to effect change. This book is written with a balanced view by a research journalist who is honest and straight foward giving sound advice for changing the system to save children and families. Robert Locatell

Wounded Innocents will enrage any one who really cares about children in general, a particular child, or about the American idea of America.. Richard Wexler well documents the abuses of innocent children and their famlies an the hands of their self-appointed and very often misguided and unqualified saviors. I read this book in small increments because I would often become so angered at what I was reading that I would throw it across the room. I always picked it up again.