The Lost Children of Wilder: The Epic Struggle To Change Foster Care by Nina Bernstein is a sad tale, but a compelling one. The subtitle is a bit of a misnomer because the core of the book is not really about the epic struggle per se, the lawsuit at the center of the book itself is not comprehensively discussed.* It is more about the story of the lead plaintiff -- Shirley Wilder -- a teenager lost in the New York foster care system as was her son, born when she was fourteen.
The book reads like a novel with a cast of characters that come alive on the page, only more so as we discover their tragic tales. ["Tragic" in the classic sense -- flawed individuals in a flawed system not intending to do harm, but apparently destined to do some anyway.] This includes Judge Justine Wise Polier, a family court judge who spent her career trying to fix the system, dying in her eighties right after the Wilder case was settled (a settlement she strongly opposed as not doing enough for the children), and Marcia Lowry, the fervent children rights lawyer who ultimately wondered just how much good she really did. And, the many foster parents and staff that did the best they could to care for Shirley's son Lamont.
The book ends in the year 2000, but the stories live on. Looking into the matter, I noticed a ruling for rehearing on Lakisha Reynolds [the mother of Lamont's child] v. Giuliani was handed down but a few weeks ago. The case involves illegitimate delay of food stamps and other benefits. And, so the epic struggle continues.
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* "State Supported Foster Care: The Interplay Between The Prohibiting of Establishing Religion and the Free Exercise Rights of Parents and Children: Wilder v. Bernstein," Brooklyn Law Review (1990) was cited by the author as the most insightful constitutional discussion of the case. Reading it, I too would recommend it for those interested in that aspect of the subject.