A three-hour series examining problems in the U.S. child welfare system

Building on the riveting story of one child, Logan Marr, and one state agency, Maine’s Department of Human Services, “FRONTLINE” devotes three exceptional hours to a comprehensive examination of the child welfare system in the United States. “The Taking of Logan Marr,” the first program, retraces the murder of the five-year-old girl who was placed in foster care although she had never been abused by her mother. With unprecedented access to several social workers in Maine’s Department of Human Services, the second program, “The Caseworker Files,” lays out the dilemmas social workers face as they try to balance a child’s life against a parent’s ability to cope. Finally, “A National Dialogue” is a discussion of child welfare policies produced in collaboration with the Fred Friendly Seminars. Together these programs provide deep insight into the issues of government’s responsibility for monitoring and protecting America’s children.

“Failure to Protect”: “The Taking of Logan Marr,” Rachel Dretzin, Barak Goodman, producers; “The Caseworker Files,” Rachel Dretzin, Barak Goodman, Muriel Soenens, producers; “A National Dialogue,” John Hockenberry, moderator; for Fred Friendly Seminars, with the Institute for Child and Family Policy, Richard Kilberg, executive producer; for “FRONTLINE,” Michael Sullivan, executive producer, special projects; David Fanning, executive producer.

Original stories: pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/fostercare/