Shortlisted for the Orwell Prize for Political Writing

'Brilliant . . . I love this book' LEMN SISSAY
'A must-read book' JACQUELINE WILSON
'Extraordinary' OLIVER BULLOUGH
'Everyone should read this book' HILARY COTTAM
'Important' IAN BIRRELL
'Vital' HANNAH JANE PARKINSON

Meet the mother whose children were taken away, and the father who fought for his son. Listen to the radical social worker, the judge, the lawyer. See inside the homes of foster carers, adoptive parents and children in care. Because behind closed doors, a scandal is ongoing.

We now remove more children from their parents than ever before. Children's Care is a system where fathers are ignored, and mothers are punished for experiencing abuse. Rife with prejudices about race, ableism and class, determined by a postcode lottery. Blind to poverty and its effects on family life. And, at its very worst, an exercise in social engineering that can never replace parental love.

From North to South, rich and poor, Black and white, these are the people who know, first-hand, what is going wrong - and how we can fix it.