Wattenberg, EstherPearson, Yvonne2019-09-202019-09-201997S1063http://hdl.handle.net/11299/208205Can the community accept the burden of Minnesota's policy for assuring the safety of maltreated children? A symposium held in June 1997 at the University of Minnesota examined this question. This summary of the proceedings examines the eroding of public child welfare services during a period of severe budget cuts. A standard child protection response has been the funnel effect that reduces voluminous reports of maltreatment to a trickle of cases opened for service. Partnerships between public authority and the informal and formal resources of communities are providing promising experiments in changing the system. Evaluations of what works and what doesn't work are sorely needed, but these partnerships provide the most recent hope for improving the lives of families and children.enchild welfarechildrencommunity partnershipsComunidades Latinas Unidas En Servicio (CLUES)familiesfederal aidLatinosRamsey CountyreformwelfareReport