Child welfare abolition calls for the dismantling of the current child welfare system, which usually perpetuates harm rather than promoting children’s well-being. The system, comprising surveillance, foster care, and state intervention, disproportionately targets marginalized communities, particularly Black and Indigenous families. Rather than protecting children, it frequently traumatizes them through separation from their families, poor living conditions in foster care, and the criminalization of poverty.
Abolition would require a rethink of child safety, and investing in community-based solutions to the root causes of family distress, such as poverty, poor housing, and lack of health care. It would mean putting social support systems, mental health services, and preventative care first, so that children grow up in loving, stable homes, free from unnecessary state intervention. Abolition takes a collective, restorative justice approach as it focuses on the healing and further strengthening of much more resilient, supportive communities for every family.