# Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World - Hardcover

by **Dorothy Roberts** (Author)

**An award-winning scholar exposes the foundational racism of the child welfare system and calls for radical change**

Many believe the child welfare system protects children from abuse. But as _Torn Apart_ uncovers, this system is designed to punish Black families. Drawing on decades of research, legal scholar and sociologist Dorothy Roberts reveals that the child welfare system is better understood as a "family policing system" that collaborates with law enforcement and prisons to oppress Black communities. Child protection investigations ensnare a majority of Black children, putting their families under intense state surveillance and regulation. Black children are disproportionately likely to be torn from their families and placed in foster care, driving many to juvenile detention and imprisonment.

The only way to stop the destruction caused by family policing, _Torn Apart_ argues, is to abolish the child welfare system and liberate Black communities.

### Author Biography

**Dorothy Roberts** is the George A. Weiss University Professor of Law and Sociology at the University of Pennsylvania, where she directs the Penn Program on Race, Science, and Society. The author of four books, including _Killing the Black Body_, she lives in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. 

**Number of Pages:** 384

**Dimensions:** 1.5 x 9.3 x 6.2 IN

**Publication Date:** April 05, 2022

## Details

- **Price:** 32.0 USD
- **Vendor:** Books by splitShops
- **Type:** Books
- **Tags:** Books by splitShops, Shopify Collective

## Variants

| Variant | Price | Available |
|---------|-------|-----------|
| Default Title | 32.00 USD | In stock |

## Images

- Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--And How Abolition Can Build a Safer World - Hardcover

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> Updated: 2026-07-23