Streetwise (1984) review

In the early eighties, Bell followed around several very young kids who were living on the streets of Seattle, doing whatever they can for money, which includes prostituting themselves, begging for change, stealing or selling blood (for those over the age of 18 ... or those with a fake ID).  It feels authentic and natural - he and his wife Mary Ellen Mark (who passed away in 2015) did a good job earning their trust - but the problem is that it raises far more questions than it could even begin to address: for example, where is Child Protective Services?  Why can't the police do anything? You mean to tell me no one was bothered that 13 year old girls are getting into cars with older men for "dates?"  Don't get me wrong, all of them came from bad home lives - Tiny's mother is "proud" she made $200 (even knowing where how she got it), Dewayne visits his father in prison - but in no civilized society should this be tolerated.  As if it isn't grim enough, it finishes out with one of the kids committing suicide and only a few people going to the service.  Time would be cruel to the rest of them, too: Lulu was stabbed, Roberta was a victim of the Green River Killer, Patrice was shot ... and the others just barely survive.