One thing that seems to be missing from your replies is an acknowledgement that the criminal justice system is likely not a particularly effective way to repair the problem(s) that you've highlighted. I think we'd do well to at least discuss the possibility that there are better ways to handle your child neglect example than locking up the parents and throwing away the key. We need to focus on harm reduction and the medical treatment of addiction if we really care about the safety of the child in your example.