Inequality and poverty are endemic to capitalism. The U.S. welfare state operates to regulate members of the working class who experience poverty, disability, and unemployment. Workfare policies and means-tested provision of aid reinforce labor discipline and perpetuate capitalist ideology about who "deserves" support. This talk will examin how child welfare agencies in particular work to reproduce capitalist social relations and promote racist and sexist ideology about the private family. It will also will put forward perspectives for socialists on these issues and imagine what systems of care might look like under workers' democratic rule.