I've probably read dozens of recession-causing-more-child-abuse stories. Almost all of them are about how the recession supposedly is causing parents to snap and beat up their kids, so taking more kids away supposedly is the inevitable and logical result.
This story, from reporter Shannon McCaffrey of the Associated Press Atlanta Bureau, finally gets it right. It's the first story I've seen that explains what's really going on – people who love their children but have run out of options, or people forced to take a night shift job who wind up charged with lack of supervision. The very fact that the local "child advocate lawyer" brands being too poor to care for the children "economic neglect" speaks volumes about child welfare – and the field of child advocacy law.
