Document Type
Article
Publication Title
Notre Dame Law Review
Volume
82
Publication Date
2006
Keywords
child welfare, prevention, self-determination
Abstract
The child welfare system is in need of fundamental reform. To the great detriment of parents and children, in the current system the state waits for a crisis in a family and then intervenes in a heavy-handed fashion. The state pays scant attention to the prevention of child abuse and neglect. This article argues that the principle conceptual barrier to the adoption of a prevention-oriented approach to child welfare is the dominant conception of family autonomy, which venerates freedom from state control. This article proposes a novel reconfiguration of family autonomy that encourages engagement with the state, rather than simply freedom from the state. An "engagement with" model of family-state relations is both a more apt description of the actual relationship between all families and the state and a better prescription for the well-being of families. This model recognizes the mutual dependency of families and the state: families need state support to function well, and the state needs well-functioning families. State support, however, must not come at the cost of familial self-determination, a principle nominally served by the "freedom from" conception of family autonomy. Therefore, this article addresses how the state can both provide a more robust level of support for families while still protecting familial self-determination, to the great benefit of parents, children, and the state.
Recommended Citation
Clare Huntington,
Mutual Dependency in Child Welfare, 82 Notre Dame L. Rev. 1485
(2006-2007)
Available at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/faculty_scholarship/182
