The family policing system or what’s commonly called the child welfare system, is a massive state apparatus that claims to protect children from abuse and neglect, especially by their parents. And so, it is supposed to be a form of child protection. It is a set of agencies that investigate families and remove children from their homes and place them in foster care, other kinds of substitute care, and also terminate the rights of parents.
Its a Family Policing System because as you can tell from everything I just said, it operates by policing families, primarily by threatening to take their children away or take them away. And it is a form of really massive state surveillance and investigation, disruption of families, even destruction of families.
This system conveys that the high number of children in America lacking essential needs—such as clothing, housing, proper nutrition, and quality education—highlights a significant failure compared to other industrialized nations that have established welfare states. It also reflects the deep inequities within the country that lead to these children’s hardships, yet the narrative often blames their struggling parents for these issues.