The high profile cases of child endangerment that receive extensive media coverage demonstrate the necessity for youth welfare offices to develop effective strategies and measures to respond to crises in a manner that safeguards the wellbeing of children and young people. In reference to the case of Kevin from 2006, the author elucidates the challenges confronted by youth welfare offices in instances of egregious child endangerment. She delineates methodologies through which specialized authorities can respond to adverse media coverage without compromising their credibility and formulates guidelines for communication between the youth welfare office and the media in the event of sensationalized and/or erroneous case histories becoming public knowledge.
