Poor Relations - The Children of the State in Illinois, 1818-1990 (Paperback)

This comprehensive history traces the care of dependent, delinquent, and disabled children in Illinois from the early nineteenth century to current times, focusing on the dilemmas raised by both public intervention and the lack of it. Joan Gittens explores the inadequacies of a system that has allowed problems in the public care of children to recur regularly but at the same time insists that the state's own history makes it clear that the potential for improvements exists.