A History of Child Protection In America

About the Book

A History of Child Protection in America is the first comprehensive history of American efforts to protect children from abuse and neglect. The book begins in colonial times and chronicles child protection into the twenty-first century. Among the important nineteenth century events detailed in these pages are the rise of orphanages for “dependent” children, the “orphan trains” operated by the New York Children’s Aid Society, the birth of the juvenile court, the reforms of the Children’s Progressive Era, and the dramatic rescue of Mary Ellen Wilson, which led to the creation of the world’s first organization devoted entirely to child protection, the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Twentieth century milestones include the gradual transition from private child protection societies to government operated child protection, the obscurity of child abuse from the 1920's to the 1960's, the “discovery” of child abuse in 1962, and the creation of the child protection system we know today.

About the Author

John E.B. Myers is a Distinguished Professor and Scholar at the University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento, California. Professor Myers is an authority on child abuse and neglect. The author of seven books and more than one hundred articles, his writing on child abuse has been cited by more than 150 appellate courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court.