A Culture of Fear takes readers inside the largest child protective services agency in the country, Los Angeles County's Department of Children & Family Services (DCFS). Julian J. Dominguez and Melinda Murphy, current and former DCFS employees, respectively, expose some of the most serious deficiencies of the agency. They detail systemic core issues that include a lack of integrity in DCFS court report writing, and describe how reunification of families is marginalized or set aside and eclipsed by other priorities, including personal opinions, departmental positions, personality conflicts, prejudices/biases, and "cover your ass at all costs." The authors shine a light on the struggles of social workers in this agency, where values can stray far, far, from the publicly proclaimed mission, which is supposed to protect children and reunify families. This book is very unique by all measures, and is meant to serve as a starting point, not a solution or finish line. It will hopefully evoke meaningful dialogue resulting in reform and needed change.

With an annual budget of $2.2 billion, the County of Los Angeles, Department of Child and Family Services (DCFS) is the largest locally administered child welfare program in America ("Department of Children and Family Services," 2017). It is predicted that DCFS investigates approximate 150,000 child abuse cases and works with about 90,000 families each year ("Department of Children and Family Services," 2017). This research study explores if physical contact between DCFS Children's Social Worker and families' increase child safety. Quality child welfare service is essential to providing effective services to families' and increases child safety. The result of this study will contribute to the concept that physical contact between CSW and families' increases child safety.