Somebody Else’s Children

By: Jill Wolfson, John Hubner

Narrated by: P. J. Ochlan

Length: 13 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's Summary

With increasing urgency, the plight of the American family grips the national conscience. The family courts are often our society's last safety net to prevent disaster. In this penetrating exposé of the inner workings of the U.S. family court system, two award-winning journalists provide an intimate look at the lives of the children whose fate it decides.

©2003 Jill Wolfson (P)2013 Audible, Inc.

great overview of foster care & judicial system

what book was excellent. Provided a great overview of the issues in foster care and the juvenile system. It is a must-read for anyone considering going into foster care , Casa or considering working with this population of children. Highly recommend, couldn't put it down, great book. The only negative I can say about this book is that it appears it was written about 20 years ago. Because a lot of the references are to things that happened in the eighties or nineties. it would be great if they did an updated version of this book to cover changes in the system within the past 20 years.

Eye opening book

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The book was extremely educational. I learned quite a bit about how horrible it is for children who get stuck in the foster care system. My heart broke for them and the social workers, case workers, CASA, judges, and families. A must read for anyone who has a goal to support children in the foster care system.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

It is a shame how children go through so much to adhere to the rules of the system, but the rules don't really seem to advocate for the children in a way they should. They are shuffled among case workers and CASA like they are simply a deck of cards. It is horrible.

Have you listened to any of P. J. Ochlan’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

First one.

Did Somebody Else’s Children inspire you to do anything?

Yes. I want to be a foster parent. But I wanted that before I read it. Now I want it more.

Excellent Book

This provides an excellent overview of how the legal system affects children and families. It was very informational for me as a CASA, and adds great perspective to the overall system ad how it works.

I can't listen to any more!!

If you could sum up Somebody Else’s Children in three words, what would they be?

Not what I was thinking that it would be. Well written stories by the author but was not the book that I thought I was getting. Awfully depressing stories, mostly revolving around teens. Officially re-considering adopting. :(

Enlightening

Very educational narration. Helps understand complex reasons for abuse and trauma and devastating effects on the lives of children.

Insightful

The book presents insightful analysis of the child protection system in the United states of America. You can meet different actors of the whole game. Social workers, psychologists, lawyers, judges, policemen, children, parents ... I recommend for those who wants to understand better.