Social worker

Social worker Ladore Winzer, left, looks for a crack-addicted mother who reportedly failed a mandatory drug test, leaving her vulnerable to having her child removed. Audio slideshow  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Social worker Wendy Luke drives the streets of South Los Angeles as she investigates a child abuse report.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies approach a home where children were allegedly neglected. Their guns are drawn as they escort social worker Ladore Winzer. The residents were cooperative, and Winzer was allowed to tour the home and interview them all.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Social worker Wendy Luke leaves a South Los Angeles apartment building as she searches for a young mother who went missing after leaving her baby with her parents. Emergency workers like Luke often call for police escort if they believe a contact is potentially dangerous.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Social worker Ladore Winzer interviews a woman in an investigatin of a child neglect allegation. Decisions on whether to remove a child are made by a computer program.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Darlene, a recovering addict who relapsed, sobs moments before giving up her 11-month-old son to social worker Ladore Winzer.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Social worker Ladore Winzer looks over paperwork as she tells Darlene that she is taking her son. Winzer says she’s thankful to have the computer program’s process backing up her assessment, making sure that all factors are considered.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Ladore Winzer holds the boy moments before taking him from his mother.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Darlene zips her son’s jacket as social worker Ladore Winzer, right, takes him away.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Darlene wipes away tears as she watches her son being driven away by the social worker.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Winzer starts the process of finding a home for a child moments after taking him from his mother.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

A boy removed from his home hours earlier explores the Compton Family Services office as a foster home is sought for him. Late into the night, the baby was finally delivered to a foster parent.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

Social worker Ladore Winzer loads an infant into a vehicle as she prepares to deliver him to a foster home.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)

At the end of a long day, social worker Ladore Winzer leaves a child with a foster parent hours after taking him from his mother.  (Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times)