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Gelles examines the case of a little boy suffocated by his mother to show how opportunities to save the child were missed and why. Besides individual misjudgments and bureaucratic folderol, there was, Gelles argues, a larger culprit: the reigning presumption that keeping a family together is more important than ensuring a child’s safety. Once an advocate of family preservation, Gelles now calls for a child-centered policy that first puts children out of harm’s way. Specific reforms he recommends include sharpening vague verbiage in child welfare laws and regulations, separating child welfare investigation from the case management and service responsibilities of social workers, and giving much better training to child welfare workers. –Ray Olson, Booklist