Showing Provoke Not The Children by Michael W. Anderson

In the United States, in the not-too-distant future, Americans are focused on one thing to the exclusion of all else: self-maximization. Every aspect of life which impedes the pursuit of Maximization is pushed aside, including the raising of children. Within one week of birth, all children are permanently turned over to professional child-rearing experts – Proxies – to be raised, educated and cultivated.

Chase Stern, a Proxy Review Officer tasked with the regulation of the Proxy Industry, is plagued by guilt – the consequence of his own dogged pursuit of Maximization. Seeking redemption, he has pledged his life to save the lost but dangerous youth of the Deep Suburbs – the poverty-stricken and crime-ridden majority of society located far from the wealthy, civilized Inner Cities. What Chase uncovers there threatens to tear the country apart.