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Kelley FongA report by Kelley Fong, assistant professor in the School of History and Sociology, was mentioned in the article "Are there child welfare practices to keep from COVID-19?," published Nov. 5, 2020 in the Deseret News.
The article examines how child welfare practices have adapted to changes imposed by the Covid-19 pandemic and mentions the report that Fong authored as an example of how authorities that monitor child welfare can become conflated with police.
Excerpt:
Others have raised similar points brought up in the panel discussion. In August, a briefing report for the Council on Contemporary Families by assistant professor Kelley Fong of Georgia Tech’s School of History and Sociology highlighted parallels between child protective services and policing. She said that “with the fraying of the social safety net in recent decades, efforts to help families take the form of summoning an agency that can forcibly separate them.” She warned of “fear and mistrust” by families who are not mistreating children.
Professionals required to report what they think might be abuse or neglect usually hope families will be given supportive services, she said, but the power differential between the state and the family can create strain. Families may feel pitted against government employees who have the power to take their children.
