Susan Orr

According to Susan Orr in the following viewpoint, family preservation programs return children to violent, abusive parents despite the fact that little evidence shows whether these programs actually rehabilitate parents and protect children. Family preservation programs, she argues, protect parents who would be jailed for committing the same violence against someone who was not their child. Moreover, Orr claims, abused children languish in foster care without the possibility of adoption while they wait for their parents to reform. Susan Orr is director of the Center for Social Policy at the Reason Public Policy Institute.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. In Orr’s opinion, what do advocates of family preservation believe is the reason parents harm their children"
2. What examples does the author provide illustrating the power that social service agencies have...