In Wednesday's Letters to the editor, readers express concern -- and some tough love -- for today's kids.

Martine Singer of Los Angeles, executive director of Hollygrove, a nonprofit focused on child welfare, defends a computer system Los Angeles County uses to help determine when children should be removed from their homes:

By portraying Structured Decision Making, or SDM, as a Big Brother-ish computer that dehumanizes social work, The Times' article fails to place this tool in the context of enlightened child-welfare practice.

Far from replacing human judgment, SDM enhances it -- because social workers no longer rely on instinct or bias when deciding whether to put kids in foster care. Across the county, everyone uses the same methods and plays by the same rules.

Beyond guiding crucial decisions about whether to detain children, SDM also prompts workers to find community-based mental health and family-supportive services to treat drug abuse, domestic violence and other serious issues that often lead to child abuse.

SDM ensures consistency and transparency. That's good news for L.A.'s kids and families.

But Thomas H. Wolfe, of Anaheim, shows little empathy for young adults facing a difficult job market:

Only a bunch of hand-wringers would let this recession "define" them. I lived through bad times in the '70s and '80s -- but they did not define my life or my generation.

Stop feeling sorry for yourselves. Go out and buy some lunch or dinner or fix up your house -- that will speed up the end of this problem. This too will pass.

The page features letters about Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), a dispute over water and power in Inyo County, and low-key philanthropist Bruce Lindsay, too.

Photo: Mother must surrender her child to county authorities.  Credit: Los Angeles Times