Alan Dettlaff's research examines the racist origins of the modern child welfare system, also known as the family policing system, to demonstrate that the harm and oppression that result from child welfare intervention are the clear intents of the system and the clearly foreseeable results of policies that have been put in place over decades. His work also explores the history of family separations in the United States to demonstrate that the intended outcomes of the separations that occurred during chattel slavery are the same intended outcomes of the separations done by today’s child welfare system - the subjugation of Black Americans and the maintenance of White supremacy. Lastly, Dr. Dettlaff’s research explores the origins of the abolition movement in the United States and the historical connections to the modern movement to abolish the police, prisons, and other aspects of the carceral state.