This paper traces the origins and development of Child Protective Services (CPS) in the United States, beginning with the landmark case of Mary Ellen Wilson in 1875 and the founding of the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. It examines the growth of private and government-sponsored child welfare organizations through the twentieth century, the passage of key legislation such as the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act of 1974, and the introduction of mandatory reporting laws. The paper also explores the historically tense relationship between CPS and public schools, and closes with an analysis of the modern foster care system's struggles with overcrowding, racial disparities, and the social challenges that fuel child abuse and neglect.
The paper demonstrates competent use of synthesized secondary source analysis. Rather than summarizing each source in isolation, the author weaves citations from Brittain and Hunt, Bridgeland and Duane, Altshuler, and Bass et al. into a unified chronological argument. Extended block quotations are deployed selectively to support key claims about hostility between schools and CPS and the failures of the foster care system, showing that direct quotation is reserved for moments when the source's specific phrasing matters most.
The paper follows a clear chronological-thematic structure. An introductory paragraph previews the three main topics to be covered. The body then moves from origins (1874–1930s) to legislative developments (1960s–1974), to the CPS–school relationship, and finally to contemporary foster care challenges. A brief conclusion recaps each section's main finding. This roadmap structure suits an undergraduate survey paper and makes the argument easy to follow.
Children are the most vulnerable members of society, and throughout history they have been exploited both physically and mentally. For this reason, Child Protective Services (CPS) exists to curtail or prevent the abuse of children. Child Protective Services allows citizens to report suspected abuse and attempts to prevent children from being placed in adverse situations. This paper investigates the history of Child Protective Services, exploring how the agency was established and how the CPS system developed over time. It also examines the historical relationship between Child Protective Services and the public school system, and explores the recent history of CPS as it relates to the foster care system.
According to Brittain and Hunt (2004), child protection services emerged as a result of other social movements, including the suffrage movement and the animal welfare movement. The demands of the labor market also placed emphasis on the need for child labor laws. The authors explain that 1874 marked the year that New York created the Protective Services Act and the Cruelty to Children Act — the first legislation specifically geared toward protecting children (Brittain and Hunt, 2004).
The need for an organization specifically designed to help children was made evident in 1875 in New York City, when a young girl named Mary Ellen Wilson was being abused by her guardians. A concerned citizen attempted to rescue the child with the help of other agencies, but to no avail. Ultimately, the citizen was able to garner assistance from an attorney who also worked with the ASPCA. The child was eventually removed from the situation, and the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children was created (Brittain and Hunt, 2004).
The treatment of Mary Ellen Wilson brought child abuse and child safety to the forefront of American public consciousness. Brittain and Hunt (2004) report that from late in the nineteenth century through most of the first half of the twentieth century, private nonprofit societies for the prevention of cruelty to children initiated and took responsibility for child protection efforts. In 1877, humane societies from across the country — including the New York Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NYSPCC) and the ASPCA — convened in Cleveland, Ohio, and founded the national American Humane Association (AHA). In 1886, American Humane amended its constitution to include the protection of both children and animals, a mission that it supports to this day (Brittain and Hunt, 2004).
Government programs involving child protection were first addressed in 1909, when President Roosevelt held a conference on the care of dependent children. The first actual government program addressing child welfare came in 1912 with the creation of the Children's Bureau (Brittain and Hunt, 2004). During the 1920s, the number of societies specifically geared toward protecting abused children grew to over 250. These organizations sought to bring abuse to the attention of the courts and place children in better environments (Brittain and Hunt, 2004). Eventually, government agencies began to play a more significant role in protecting children in the 1930s through the Social Security Act and Aid to Families with Dependent Children (Brittain and Hunt, 2004).
Brittain and Hunt (2004) also report that pediatricians began to place greater emphasis on issues related to child abuse. A significant shift occurred in the 1960s with a greater understanding of battered child syndrome. The medical and psychological communities made known the severe damage that abuse can inflict on a growing child. This knowledge enabled the passage of mandatory reporting laws requiring persons who work with children to report abuse or neglect to designated social agencies. According to Bridgeland and Duane (1993):
"The 'battered child' was first vividly described by Henry Kempe and his associates in the early 1960s (Daro, 1988, p. 2). They, and their followers, have spent many years raising the social conscience on the seriousness of the child-abuse problem. Since that time, governments have translated this concern for children into laws that required the finding and reporting of child abuse by all those responsible for overseeing children (Bridgeland and Duane, 1993, p. 113)."
The Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act was signed into law in 1974 (Bridgeland and Duane, 1993). Since the inception of child protective services, many children have been rescued from abusive and neglectful situations. Throughout the history of the agency, CPS has sought to understand the circumstances that place children in adverse situations. One such circumstance involves domestic violence. An article in the Journal of Social Work Education asserts that many research studies have indicated a correlation between domestic violence and child abuse or neglect, with domestic violence present in 26 to 73 percent of cases of suspected or known child abuse (Spath, 2003).
Understanding this connection is critical to the protection of children because, as Spath (2003) explains, victims of child maltreatment who also witness domestic violence may experience a "double whammy." In addition to problems resulting from their own victimization, children who observe domestic violence experience developmental delays and increased behavioral and emotional problems. Furthermore, physically abused children who have also witnessed parental violence show lower levels of psychological adjustment and are significantly more distressed than children who witness violence but are not themselves abused (Spath, 2003, p. 497).
This discussion investigated the history of Child Protective Services. The investigation revealed that child protective services came about in response to other movements, including suffrage and women's rights. The research also showed that child abuse became a defining public issue with the abuse of a young girl in New York City, whose community had to rally to have her removed from a dangerous environment. In the years that followed, organizations designed to protect children grew substantially in number. Finally, in the 1930s, the federal government took action to protect the nation's children through the Social Security Act and Aid to Families with Dependent Children. In later years, the government passed laws requiring teachers and other professionals involved in the care of children to report suspected abuse.
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