Lowry and a few equally idealistic, angry colleagues believed the system served most children poorly because it placed them according to religion and convenience, rather than their needs. In 1990, as Bernstein studied 17 years of Wilder documents, Lowry's fierce lawyering had succeeded in partially dismantling the New York City system, and had caused other locales to rethink their foster-care placements. Bernstein became curious about Shirley Wilder as she read the documents. The son, Lamont, had ended up in foster care himself, separated from his mother. Finding Lamont was not easy.
Confidentiality permeates the child-care system.
The confidentiality theoretically is meant to protect the children but it often hides the ineptitude, callousness and corruption of adults earning their livings from the system. Even the best-intentioned government social workers fail to help most children because the caseloads are so huge, the money so scarce, the alternatives so bleak. When Bernstein finally did find Lamont, he agreed to cooperate with her book project. His mother cooperated separately, and they eventually met one another. Bernstein's detailed accounts of their lives separately and occasionally together is bound to make lots of lawyers, judges, social workers, private-sector providers, elected and appointed officials unhappy.