by Kellye R. Wood

About the author: Kellye R. Wood is a preschool teacher in Six Lakes, Michigan.

For the past decade or so, child-protection officials in Michigan, like those in most states, have followed a mandate to preserve families and avoid placing children in foster homes whenever possible. In Michigan’s Families First program, a caseworker provides troubled families several weeks of intense intervention. The idea behind Families First appeals both to conservatives, who don’t want the government breaking up families, and to liberals, who don’t believe society should impose “middle-class values” on the poor.

The Cost of Families First

But those of us who work directly with children—I have taught kindergarten and preschool in Michigan public schools for seven years—witness the results of...