Primarily intended for the professional child and youth care worker, this new book challenges the most basic methods and beliefs of contemporary practice. Written in the form of a novel, the central issues of child care are brought to life through the subjective experiences of a young practitioner. Each issue and experience is analyzed through the dialogues between the practitioner and his supervisor. As the story unfolds, the reader is invited to reconsider many of the most fundamental and time-tested assumptions that lie at the heart of child and youth care. One by one, the layers of professionalism are peeled back to reveal the essence of it all--the practitioner's own sense of self. This results in the inevitable conclusion that personal and professional development are inextricably interrelated. From this perspective, it becomes clear how current trends in training and practice often provide a tragic formula for methods that focus upon the control of the youngster and result in the breakdown of relationships and the burnout of the practitioner.Being in Child Care: A Journey Into Self uses the experiences of everyday life to establish themes and draw conclusions. As the story moves from the drama and minutiae of life in a small residential treatment program to the broadest existential questions, the reader will explore his or her own personal experience. Since it can be understood at many different levels, this book will appeal to the student as much as to the seasoned practitioner. (Fewster says parents can read it too.)

Recognizing child maltreatment as a complex phenomenon requiring multifaceted responses, this volume provides a current and comprehensive assessment of the problem, and argues for an expanded conception of helping on the part of those who work with maltreated children, their families, and their communities. Contributions follow a general outline that addresses current theory and models of practice, and empirical knowledge regarding the problem, intervention, and outcomes.
Presenting and up-to- date and encompassing view of how to combat child abuse and neglect, this book discusses the concerns of service providers as well as academics. All the prevalent ways of responding to child maltreatment are addressed, and each is discussed in terms of theory, implementation and evidence for its effectiveness.
For use as an undergraduate or graduate level text for courses in child welfare, sociology, family studies, and community psychology. This text would also be insightful for professionals, academics, and policymakers concerned with child welfare.

This account of emotional and behavioural problems in young children is also a practical guide to the assessment and management of such children. It should prove of interest to health visitors, clinical medical officers, clinical and educational psychologists, nurses and child psychiatrists.

Newly available in paperback, this thorough and engaging examination of an institution and its young charges is set in the wider social, cultural, demographic and medical context of the eighteenth century. By examining the often short lives of abandoned babies, Levene illustrates the variety of pathways to health, ill-health and death taken by the young and how it intersected with local epidemiology, institutional life and experiences of abandonment, feeding and child-care. Child fostering, paid nursing and family formation in different parts of England are also examined, showing how this metropolitan institution called on a network of contacts to try to raise its charges to good health. Of significance to scholars working in economic and social history, medical and institutional history and histories of childhood and childcare in the early modern period, the book will also appeal to anthropologists interested in child-rearing and feeding practices, and inter-family relationships.

Here is an informative guide to help directors and staff of residential treatment centers (RTCs) cope with the financial and administrative problems resulting from today's financially turbulent times. Financial problems have closed some centers and managed care or other health care changes will soon reach others. Managing the Residential Treatment Center in Troubled Times deals directly with current difficult financial and management problems in RTCs and presents practical advice, discussions of current problems, and possible solutions. Authors explore a wide range of topics from dealing with community hostility to planning for the future. Specifically, chapters discuss: the application of total quality management to RTCs reasons and rationale for the decline of residential establishments in England how changes in an RTC affect the youngsters who live there privatization and purchase of service contracting profit vs. nonprofit organizations one agency's experience in establishing an RTC in a resistant neighborhoodManaging the Residential Treatment Center in Troubled Times offers fresh perspectives and alternatives for professionals involved with RTCs, including directors, government regulators, social and child care workers, and psychiatrists and psychologists.

Bringing together professionals from sociology, economics, psychology, and family studies, this volume presents papers from a symposium on child care that sought answers to each of the four questions listed in the table of contents. A lead speaker provided an answer, and discussants had a chance to critique the main presentation and set forth their own views. Each session also included a policy person to deal with issues from an applied perspective. The lead papers, review papers, and rejoinders constitute the contents of this volume. Interdisciplinary in scope, it deals with the central issue in a systematic way and attempts to present divergent points of view on each question. As such, it provides the reader with current information and a review of issues intended to provoke new ways of thinking about child care.

First Published in 2017. In this book the authors move easily and often between the worlds of policy, practice, and research in child and family welfare. Their own research delineates- better than any other to date- the particular factors associated with success>ful and unsuccessful older, special-needs adoptions.

Your child has been diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder and you are feeling overwhelmed and alone. Suddenly you need to become an expert in treatment, diet, language development, social skills, special education law, insurance and a million other things! What you'd really like to know is how to deal with Aunt Martha's questions at the family reunion! Autism: Parent to Parent is your guide to all of this and more. Veteran parent Shannon Penrod hosts Autism Live, the #1 rated Autism Podcast worldwide, now she is giving you all her best resources, strategies, tips and information to help you and your child survive and thrive. Autism: Parent to Parent covers everything you need to know such as: What do you say to pushy relatives? How do you get the best treatment options? How do you deal with school? Most importantly, how do you deal with all the emotions that come with day-to-day life? Ms. Penrod covers all a parent of an individual with ASD needs to know, with honesty, humor and humility while empowering you to rise to meet all the challenges and triumphs on your journey.

What assistance can be provided to disadvantaged youngsters to help them conquer the many challenges they face while growing up? At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored analyzes the results from accumulated research on the risk and resiliency of children and youth in Ireland. Author Niall McElwee explains many of the challenges faced by children, including poor literacy and numeracy skills, poverty, distrust, and other difficult issues. Practical strategies are presented to help disadvantaged children and youth to overcome societal and self-imposed barriers for improvement. A detailed review and assessment is provided on the efficacy of Ireland's Youth Encounter Projects. This important resource focuses on what works and what does not in youth services. At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored closely examines risk factors, and what it specifically means to be 'at-risk'. Going further beyond the standard risk factors usually considered such as drug use or dropping-out of school, this probing text explores the full range of factors and coping and healing mechanisms. The author challenges several of the views and beliefs about risk and resiliency generally held by many in child and youth services and in society. This book is extensively referenced and includes helpful figures tables to clearly present information. Topics in At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored include: A breakdown of terms for risk behaviors and predictors of risk Issues of social class and social exclusion The impact of school difficulties on students, including truancy and poor academic standing Strategies to build on student strengths The quality of the entirety of the school experience as a determination of success Strategies for intervention A review of literature on risk and resiliency A relational research model, including methodology and ethical issues Description and functions of Youth Encounter Projects-and an assessment of their value Results of risk studies over the past decade Recommended changes in policies At-Risk Children & Youth: Resiliency Explored is a valuable addition to the libraries of educators, students, and child and youth service providers everywhere.

Here is a major new volume for practitioners, researchers, and those concerned with future policies to promote the welfare of children and families. The patterns of support and the ability of family members to care for each other have changed along with the problems for the health and functioning of families. In Families as Nurturing Systems, respected scholars examine the new and emerging directions in the design and implementation of family resources and support programs. They describe and analyze a wide range of program models in the areas of prevention, social support, family resource, and empowerment that have been implemented in schools, the Afro-American church, early intervention programs, the workplace, and the public policy arena, reflecting the needs of families at different stages in the family life cycle.

Childrens Services: Working Together brings together contributions from a number of authors in the field. The book covers policy, theory, research and practice relevant to students and professionals working with children in a wide range of roles. The emphasis on working collaboratively with other professionals, where appropriate, and the holistic approach to children make this a valuable resource to anyone working with children today.

This popular and bestselling book provides an important practical resource for all professionals engaged with planning, implementing and evaluating multi-professional teamwork and practice in children's services. This new third edition builds on the success of earlier editions, retaining its classic chapters of enduring value while incorporating some fresh new content. Four new chapters - chosen to highlight and consider contemporary new developments in the field - explore safeguarding children; the challenges of information sharing; new integrated approaches to SEN; and multi-agency responses to child sexual exploitation. Combining theoretical perspectives, research evidence from the 'real world' of children's services, and reflections on policy and practice, this new edition retains its popular approach and is fully updated to reflect the numerous changes to policy, practice, and research. The book:*Exemplifies what multi-professional work looks like in practice*Examines real dilemmas faced by professionals trying to make it work, and shows how these dilemmas can be resolved*Considers lessons to be learnt, implications for practice and recommendations for making multi-professional practice more effective Featuring helpful guidance, theoretical frameworks and evidence-based insights into practice, this book is a key resource for students studying on a wide range of courses related to children and families, as well as qualified social workers, teachers, support workers in children's centres, family support workers, health workers, and managers of a range of children and youth services.

The Sesame Effect details the wide-ranging work of Sesame Workshop and its productions across the world. With an emphasis on impact and evidence from research on projects in low- and middle-income countries, the book tells the stories behind the development of an international family of Muppet characters created for the locally produced adaptations of Sesame Street. Each chapter highlights the educational message of international co-productions and presents the cultural context of each project. Readers will understand the specific needs of children living in a given locale, as well as gain insight into the educational drivers of each project. These projects often deal with difficult issues, from race relations in the United States, to HIV/AIDS education in South Africa, to building respect across cultural divides in the Middle East. Readers will see how local productions have helped build a new mindset that values the importance of early childhood education, and how Sesame Street promotes a brighter future by building children's academic skills, encouraging healthy habits, and by fostering attitudes that counter negative stereotypes and create appreciation of and respect for others. The Sesame Effect shows how, when magnified across the millions of children touched by the various international programs, Sesame Workshop and its projects are making a difference around the world.

This will be a concise and practical resource for a range of carers and practitioners working with children who experienced trauma. It will highlight their characteristics in contrast with those for children living in stability, and will describe specific techniques and strategies to help them in different environments and situations. The aim will be to equip practitioners with a range of approaches for these groups of vulnerable children, which are appropriate to sensitively meet their needs and make a difference to their emotional well-being. Key features: case studies; work-sheets; and, evidence-based interventions. It is authored by Dr Panos Vostanis, Professor of Child Psychiatry, University of Leicester; Consultant Child Psychiatrist, Leicestershire Child Mental Health Service.

The Sesame Effect details the wide-ranging work of Sesame Workshop and its productions across the world. With an emphasis on impact and evidence from research on projects in low- and middle-income countries, the book tells the stories behind the development of an international family of Muppet characters created for the locally produced adaptations of Sesame Street. Each chapter highlights the educational message of international co-productions and presents the cultural context of each project. Readers will understand the specific needs of children living in a given locale, as well as gain insight into the educational drivers of each project. These projects often deal with difficult issues, from race relations in the United States, to HIV/AIDS education in South Africa, to building respect across cultural divides in the Middle East. Readers will see how local productions have helped build a new mindset that values the importance of early childhood education, and how Sesame Street promotes a brighter future by building children's academic skills, encouraging healthy habits, and by fostering attitudes that counter negative stereotypes and create appreciation of and respect for others. The Sesame Effect shows how, when magnified across the millions of children touched by the various international programs, Sesame Workshop and its projects are making a difference around the world.

Children and young people in care who have been traumatized need a therapeutic environment where they can heal and which meets their emotional and developmental needs. This book provides a model of care for traumatized children and young people, based on theory and practice experience pioneered at the Lighthouse Foundation, Australia. The authors explain the impact of trauma on child development, drawing on psychodynamic, attachment and neurobiological trauma theories. The practical aspects of undertaking therapeutic care are then outlined, covering everything from forming therapeutic relationships to the importance of the home environment and daily routines. The book considers the totality of the child's experience at the individual, group, organization and community levels and argues that attention to all of these is essential if the child is to achieve wellness. Case material from both children and carers are used throughout to illustrate both the impact of trauma and how children have been helped to recovery through therapeutic care. This book will provide anyone caring for traumatized children and young people in a residential setting with both the understanding and the practical knowledge to help children recover. It will be essential reading for managers and decision-makers responsible for looked after children, child care workers such as residential and foster carers, youth workers, social workers, mental health workers and child welfare academics.

Expansion of Publicly Funded Health Insurance in the United States introduces the issues, policies, and future concerns of health care within the United States to scholars of social sciences. Through research and outreach projects with the Child Health Insurance Program, Jennie Jacobs Kronenfeld expresses concerns with the United States health care system with a focus on government regulations in conjunction with the health care of children and less affluent Americans. By looking at the precision in which the Child Health Insurance Program performed and examining case studies, Kronenfield is able to parallel government polices with regard to health insurance to the attack on the World Trade Center in 2001. This engaging volume is well suited to courses involving the study of social issues and the American government.

Over the past decade, our understanding of the fundamental differences in child development, behavior, and emotional maturity between boys and girls has increased dramatically, and as a result, many gender-specific interventions and support programs have been developed to meet the needs of parents, teachers, and mental health professionals. However, these all take the form of responses designed to minimize an already disruptive behavior pattern. What has been needed is a pro-active program whose goal is to instill positive skills and patterns in 'at-risk' boys, rather than waiting to address problems after they are already visible. The BAM! Boys Advocacy and Mentoring program fills this need by providing the first guidebook for group facilitators who want to lead preventative boys groups designed to foster communication skills and emotional connections. Based on years of research and refined over the course of countless sessions run by the authors, the program has been field-tested and tailored for use either in the school setting or outside. Over a series of group sessions, participants are encouraged to understand their emotions and interpersonal interactions without losing a sense of 'maleness' as a result of emotional growth and communication with peers about personal issues. The activities are designed to be engaging across age groups, and the individual exercises and program structure can be modified to fit into any existing school- or community-based mentoring system. The guidebook contains all of the information and tools a facilitator needs in order to implement and maintain these boys groups.

This book represents a significant contribution to the highly contested debate surrounding how allegations of child sexual abuse should be evaluated. Despite decades of substantial research in this sensitive area, professional consensus remains elusive. A particular source of contention is the sensitivity vs. specificity debate; whether evaluators should give priority to reducing the number of true allegations that are labelled false or to reducing the number of false allegations that are labelled true. This edited collection aims to address directly and offer new insights into this debate. It responds directly to Kuehnle and Connell's edited volume, The Evaluation of Child Sexual Abuse Allegations: A Comprehensive Guide to Assessment and Testimony (2009), which included chapters which advocated strong specificity positions at the expense of sensitivity. The chapters in this collection feature both challenges to, and replies by, the authors in Kuehnle and Connell's book, making this an essential resource that moves the debate forward. This book was originally published as a special issue of the Journal of Child Sexual Abuse.

This is a book about how a system designed to help children is instead helping to destroy them. For almost thirty years Patrick Murphy has represented abused and neglected children in court cases at every level of the state and federal judiciary, including the U.S. Supreme Court. He has labored in the trenches of the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. In Wasted, Mr. Murphy charges that the child welfare bureaucracy is stuck in hundred-year-old realities and the politics of the 1960s and 1970s. The concern of state agencies and the courts for family preservation, he argues, has now gone too far. Keeping families together by lavishing public resources on abusive parents who can't and won't change their behavior is harming their children. Too many of them are suffering continued abuse, degradation, neglect, injury, even death. The system is sending all the wrong messages, Mr. Murphy insists: struggling poor parents are ignored by the government while abusers get help; confidentiality protects state agencies that make mistakes; a resistance to trans-racial placement and adoption ensures that many African-American children will never find a permanent home. Meanwhile America's underclass continues to grow and ossify because we refuse to grapple with its racial implications. Wasted pulls no punches in describing the mess, but Mr. Murphy also offers a prescription for fixing what's broke.

For over thirty years, Rita J. Simon and Howard Altstein have been studying transracial and intercountry adoptions. The families they have studied include white parents; African American, Hispanic, and Korean children; and Jewish Stars of David families, among others. This book summarizes their findings and compares them with other studies. It is an invaluable source of data on the number and frequency of transracial and intercountry adoptions and on the attitudes toward them. Moreover, it strongly advocates and demonstrates the positive effects of transracial and intercountry adoptions, countering public policy initiatives that emphasize 'same race' adoption practices.

So, you've passed your degree and have started your first job. But are you confident about translating the theory into practice? Are you prepared to juggle the workload of a busy social worker? Do you have a plan for your continuing professional development? This practical guide provides a wealth of suggestions to help you to hit the ground running in the early stages of your new career. Fully revised and updated with the latest national frameworks for NQSWs, this survival guide provides a range of strategies for managing your time and workload, and offers suggestions for finding support, coping with stress and maintaining job satisfaction. It addresses different ways of handling challenging and unfamiliar situations with colleagues, managers, other professionals and service users. Each chapter concludes with a checklist of key points as a ready reference for practitioners preparing to face the daily challenges of their new professional status. This invaluable guide will be an essential support for all students, post-qualification and returning practitioners who need to make a smooth transition to practice and be successful in the workplace.

Services for young children have gone through a period of rapid transformation in recent years, which have been paralleled by great advances in our knowledge of early child development. However, care and education in the first three years of life continues to be a neglected area.

Thoroughly updated to take account of key policy and practice changes in childcare provision, this landmark text translates child development theory and research into everyday practice. All the practical ideas in the book have been developed and tested in nurseries, family and children s centres and include the importance of providing opportunities for adventurous and exploratory play for babies and toddlers, understanding and responding to children's emotional needs and offering personalized and sensitive care. The book also explores different ways of working with parents and the role of early years settings and practitioners in helping to keep children safe. It includes chapters on:

• Childcare policy and services
• Planning spaces for living, learning and playing
• Babies in day care
• Heuristic play with objects
• Mealtimes
• Learning out of doors
• Leading and managing a childcare centre
• Involving and working with parents
• Safeguarding children

People Under Three" is an established practical text for all those training to work with young children or managing day care facilities. Focusing on the care and learning of very young children, it is designed specifically for those who look after them day by day, as well as being a useful resource for social work students and policy makers."

Children in immigrant families represent nearly one-fourth of all children living in the United States. As this population of children has increased, so has their representation among children involved in child welfare and related systems. Once immigrant families come to the attention of these systems, they often have multiple and complex needs that must be addressed to ensure children s safety and well-being.

Culturally competent practice with Latino, Asian, and African immigrants requires that professionals understand the impact of immigration and acculturation on immigrant families to conduct adequate assessments and provide interventions that respond appropriately to their needs. Professionals also need to be familiar with federal and state policies that affect immigrant families and how those policies may affect service delivery. At the system level, child welfare agencies need to educate and train a culturally competent workforce that responds appropriately to children and families from diverse cultures.

This book addresses these critical issues and provides recommendations for the development of culturally competent assessment, intervention, and prevention activities in child welfare agencies. This information can be used as a resource by child welfare administrators, practitioners, and students to improve the child welfare system s response to immigrant children and families and promote culturally competent practice.

This book was published as a special issue of the Journal of Public Child Welfare."

She was dirty and dusty. Her curly hair had seen neither a comb nor water for months. In one hand she carried a package of cigarettes and in the other a solvent rag. Young Namusisi had no home, no family, no money for school fees, and no one to love her or care for her. She survived in the culture of the buy aye on the streets, parking lots, and porches of the city of Kampala, Uganda. But one day she met Daddy Kefa and her life was changed. He took her to his children's home where she was provided for and was shown the love of Christ. Namusisi was just one of more than 6,000 Ugandan street children who were rescued from a meaningless and hopeless life by the efforts of a compassionate, selfless, and godly man. The book contains the poignant stories of many of those destitute children stories of how they came to live on the streets and of how their lives were changed. Here are stories of a people ravaged by a demonic dictator, a people who had lost all sense of humanity and were struggling under emotional, physical, and spiritual poverty. From the Dust tells how the efforts of one man made a difference to so many who were groping in a dark world of sin and hopelessness. It is the story of the love of God to the lost and dying, and of how that love made a difference to so many Africans and can still make a difference to those who will trust in him.