The most common phrase in the family policing lexicon is 'best interests of the child.' Alan Dettlaff and his coauthors show us why for children, especially Black children, it also is the most dangerous. This book deserves an important place among the growing literature exposing the dangers of family policing and the 'child welfare' surveillance state."
Alan J. Dettlaff, PhD, is professor and former dean of the University of Houston Graduate College of Social Work. Dettlaff began his career in the child welfare system, where he worked as a caseworker and administrator. Today his work focuses on ending the harm that results from this system. In 2020, he helped to create and launch the upEND movement, a collaborative effort dedicated to abolishing the child welfare system and building alternatives that focus on healing and liberation. He is also cofounding editor of Abolitionist Perspectives in Social Work, a peer-reviewed scholarly journal dedicated to developing and disseminating an abolitionist praxis in social work.