No Way to Treat a Child

How the Foster Care System, Family Courts, and Racial Activists Are Wrecking Young Lives

By: Naomi Schaefer Riley

Narrated by: Rosemary Benson

Length: 11 hrs and 2 mins

Publisher's summary

The American child welfare system is bent toward protecting adults, not children.

Kids in danger are treated instrumentally to promote the rehabilitation of their parents, the welfare of their communities, and the social justice of their race and tribe - all with the inevitable result that their most precious developmental years are lost in bureaucratic and judicial red tape. It is time to stop letting efforts to fix the child welfare system get derailed by activists who are concerned with race-matching, blood ties, and the abstract demands of social justice, and start asking the most important question: Where are the emotionally and financially stable, loving, and permanent homes where these kids can thrive?

©2021 Naomi Schaefer Riley (P)2021 Tantor

Smart and informative book

smarty book about foster care. very informative with well researched topics. must read esp for foster parents!

Critical read

As a foster mother and adoptive mother of 6 precious children- I first hand have observed many of the state of Louisiana’s failures to protect children and their wellbeing. This book provided a critical, holistic perspective on the daily endeavors of a system tasked with protecting “our most vulnerable.” Specifically the child fatality rate. Since the emphasis on keeping children within abusive homes the Child fatality rate has increased. I love the specific calling out of these areas of growth.

In depth look into the system

There are many people like us, who become foster parents. We never saw many of the broken sides the author covers during training, but the more you are in it and talk to other foster parents, the more you learn it needs to be revived. You want to help children and families and see and hear where our system needs to improve for the best interests of children. This is a great book that removes the rose colored glasses many that become foster parents wear thinking they will use this as a means to adopt. Yes, there are many children and teens past the TERMINATION OR PARENTAL RIGHTS wanting permanency with a family because reunification wasn’t possible and not enough families that want older children. What many don’t realize is even in the womb there was trauma, whether it was neglect of prenatal care, stress, food insecurities, homelessness, physical abuse, substances, these babies do not come with a clean slate. And then being by separated from their biological parent is another trauma that one may not have to deal with now, but wait until they are tweens and teens. So so much to consider for what really is best for the children. It starts the wheels of thinking going to try to work and improve the system for the kids, our future generation.

Very Insightful

The only negative thing I have to say about the book is I would have appreciated a tangible action step I, as an every day person, can take to work towards effective change. The book was very insightful, though, and I really appreciate the work that went into this. The book seems very well researched, articulated, and reasoned in observations and claims.