the confidentiality and denial of access laws ... more often than not fail to serve the overall, long-term best interests of children.

The child protection system needs real changes and real solutions to underlying problems, not attacking symptoms with band-aids. It needs to prevent disturbing issues and tragic incidents from occurring rather than applying a cosmetic to a preventable wound. For that to happen the public's chief informant, the media, has to get into the game.

whether it is sufficiently meeting systemic needs is largely left up to whether we trust the government.

supplying enough of the right resources for the child protection system to carry out its three-fold mission (protecting children, preserving families and providing permanent homes for children.)

it's been my experience that the responsible press can carefully protect the identity and identifying information on the individual case while still discussing the public policy issues.

You can almost create a formula for it. The greater the denial at the front end, the longer the term of penance to get free on the back side.