While in the 1960s and 1970s, child sexual abuse and child abuse in general was almost invisible, in recent year the issue
is constantly in the pages of newspapers and magazines, and in portrayals on television and in movies. It sometimes appears that there has been a radical increase in the abuse of children, although experts believe most of this is the result of better reporting and changes in the perception of abuse. Still, there is a need for response; often that response leads to an intervention by human service agencies, including the possibility of removing the child from the home. The paper questions the
effectiveness of these agencies in
protecting children and improving their situation. The paper looks at the evolution of child welfare concepts, explores the current state of human service agency activity regarding children and comes to a conclusion about the effectiveness of human service agencies in protecting children.