How can we end the inter-generational cycle of poverty and dysfunction in the US's urban ghettos? This ground-breaking and controversial book is the first to provide a child-centered perspective on the subject by combining a wealth of social science information with sophisticated normative analysis to support novel reforms-to child protection law and practice, family law, and zoning- that would quickly end that cycle. The rub is that the reforms needed would entail further suffering and loss of liberty for adults in these communities, and liberal advocacy organizations and academics are so adult-centered in their sympathies and thinking that they reflexively oppose any such measures. Liberals have instead promoted one ineffectual parent-focused program after another, in an ideologically-driven quest for the magic pill that can save both adults and children in these communities at the same time. This `insider critique' of liberal child welfare policy reveals a dilemma that liberals have yet to face squarely: there is an ineradicable conflict of interests between many young children and their parents, especially in areas of concentrated poverty, and one must choose sides. It is a must read for legal academics, political scientists, urban policy experts, as well as professionals working in social work, law, education, urban planning, legislative offices, and administrative agencies.

"Investing in Children: Work, Education, and Social Policy in Two Rich Countries" presents new research by leading scholars in Australia and the United States on economic factors that influence children's development and the respective social policies that the two nations have designed to boost human capital development.

The volume is organized around three major issues: parental employment, early childhood education and child care, and postsecondary education. All three issues are intimately linked with human capital development. Since both Australia and the United States have created extensive policies to address these three issues, there is potential for each to learn from the other's experiences and policies. This volume helps fulfill that potential.

The authors demonstrate that in both nations, the effects of low family income and income inequality emerge early in life and persist. However, policies that increase parental employment, augment family income, and promote quality preschool and postsecondary education can boost children's development and at least partially offset the negative developmental effects of family economic disadvantage.

Featuring helpful checklists, models of good practice, templates and photocopiable resources that can be used in development work, this highly practical book will be an invaluable resource for anyone involved with implementing Every Child Matters in extended schools and children's centres.

As well as setting out roles and expectations, this unique book clearly and thoroughly explains how to:

• implement and meet the five ECM outcomes for well-being
• provide extended services and wraparound care
• work in partnership with agencies and private, voluntary and community sector providers
• quality-assure and evaluate the impact of provision and care
• self-review, monitor and evaluate the ECM outcomes in line with national standards and OFSTED.

From leaders and managers, to front-line staff and volunteers, everyone will find this step-by-step handbook packed with useful advice and suggestions for further reading, websites and resources.

How to respond to the needs of working parents has become a pressing social policy issue in contemporary Western Europe. This book highlights the politicising of parenthood in the Scandinavian welfare states - focusing on the relationship between parents and the state, and the ongoing renegotiations between the public and the private. Drawing on new empirical research, leading Scandinavian academics provide an up-to-date record and critical synthesis of Nordic work-family reforms since the 1990s. A broad range of policies targeting working parents is examined including: the expansion of childcare services as a social right; parental leave; cash benefits for childcare; and working hours regulations. The book also explores policy discourses, scrutinises outcomes, and highlights the similarities and differences between Nordic countries through analyses of comparative statistical data and national case studies. Set in the context of economic restructuring and the growing influence of neo-liberal ideology, each chapter addresses concerns about the impact of policies on the gender relations of parenthood. "Politicising parenthood in Scandinavia" is a timely contribution to ongoing policy debates on welfare state models, parenthood and gender equality. It will be of particular interest to students and teachers of welfare studies, family policy and gender studies.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC licence. Drawing on comparative research from five countries, What Works in Improving Gender Equality provides an accessible analysis of what gender equality means and how we can achieve it by adapting best practices in care policies from other countries. Realistic policy solutions are reached by examining the contexts in which childcare and longterm care policies are developed, and what difficulties might need to be overcome in applying the lessons from different international models.

This is the book that youth workers who want to put into practice their desire to "meet youth where they're at" have been waiting for. Narrative Approaches to Youth Work provides hope-filled and fresh conversational practices anchored in a critical intersectional analysis of power and a relational ethic of care. These practices help youth workers answer the all-too-common question, what do I do when I do youth work? The concepts and skills presented in this book position youth workers to do youth work in ways that honor youth agency and resistance to oppression, invite a multiplicity of possibilities, and situate youth and youth workers alike within broader social contexts that influence their lives and their relationship together. Drawing on the author's 30-plus years of working alongside young people and training youth workers in contexts ranging from recreation centers to homeless shelters, this book provides a rich and deliberate mix of theoretical grounding, practical application, real-life vignettes, and questions for in-depth self-reflection. Throughout Narrative Approaches to Youth Work, readers hear from a wise and thoughtful squad of youth workers talking about how they strive to do socially just, accountable, critical youth work.

For preschool children with emotional difficulties arising from difficulties in attachment, standard observations used in early years settings are not always helpful in identifying their problems and providing guidance on how they can be helped. Combining an accessible introduction to attachment and child development with a child observation tool for identifying behaviour, and the emotional needs underlying this behaviour, this book enables early years professionals to identify problems and provide appropriate support. 'Case study' boxes help to illustrate typical patterns of attachment, and all aspects of behaviour are covered including play, interaction with peers, neediness and aggression. Written in clear, concise language, Observing Children with Attachment Difficulties in Preschool Settings aims to equip the reader with the knowledge and skills needed to identify and support children's emotional and social difficulties. Suitable for use with children aged 2-5, this will be an invaluable resource for early years professionals, as well as clinicians, teachers and learning support staff.

For every Aboriginal child taken away by the state governments in Australia, there was at least one white family intimately involved in their life. "One Bright Spot" is about one of these families--about "Ming," a Sydney wife and mother who hired Aboriginal domestic servants in the 20s and 30s, and became an activist against the Stolen Generations policy--the removal of Aboriginal children by the Australian government. Her story, reconstructed by her great-granddaughter, tells of a remarkable, yet forgotten, shared history.

Get up-to-date information on children's and parent's rights Children have a basic human right to be free of abuse and maltreatment. The late Dr. John Pardeck's Children's Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition comprehensively explores the latest legal, psychological, sociological, policy, and child advocacy issues dealing with children's rights. Essential issues are clearly discussed involving children at home, in school, in foster care, and in residential facilities. This new edition of The Haworth Social Work Practice Press classic examines the practical and ethical issues inherent in balancing a child's right to self-determination against the same child's need to be protected. Children's Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition delves deep into the causes of abuse and neglect and offers help for families at risk. Techniques are presented for case and cause advocacy, as well as venues for family and individual therapy. Other discussions address the role and function of child protective services and the juvenile justice system, a review of effective social policy to protect and care for children, family health and children's rights issues, and children's rights in schools and day care facilities. This essential exploration includes extensive references and notes, a list of Web sites, and a comprehensive glossary of influential legal rulings focusing on children's rights. Children's Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition includes over 100 pages of new and updated material on: new rulings of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) that have implications for children's rights legal case studies an overview and analysis of the Leave No Child Behind Act children's rights and school violence an expanded discussion on practice interventions focusing on various approaches for helping children adjust to substitute care an expanded examination on advocacy and children's rights, with emphasis on legal case studies as a tool for enhancing the rights of children Balancing theoretical considerations, solid information, and practical advice, Children's Rights: Policy and Practice, Second Edition is an essential resource for child welfare workers, attorneys, educators, students, parents, and social workers.

The Age of Consent; Young People, Sexuality and Citizenship addresses the contentious issue of how children's sexual behaviour should be regulated. The text includes: *A unique history of age of consent laws in the UK, analysed via contemporary social theory *A global comparative survey of age of consent laws and relevant international human rights law *A critical analysis of how protectionist agendas shaped new age of consent laws in England and Wales in the Sexual Offences Act 2003 *In-depth theoretical discussion of the rationale for age of consent laws *An original proposal to reduce the age of consent to 14 for young people who are less than two years apart in age Responding to contemporary concerns about young people's sexual behaviour, sexual abuse and paedophilia, this book will engage readers in law and socio-legal studies, sociology, history, politics, social policy, youth and childhood studies, and gender and sexuality studies; and professionals and practitioners working with young people.

Child welfare, both as an academic subject and an important area of government policy and professional practice, has become increasingly specialised and compartmentalised. It is therefore difficult for students, teachers and professionals to keep abreast of the wide range of policy developments and to appreciate their impact on the welfare of children. issues, policies and practices affecting child welfare, with particular emphasis on the changing nature of the relationship between child welfare and social policy. No other book brings together such a wide selection of material to form an attractive and indispensable teaching and learning resource. of child welfare in England and Wales; high quality contributions from leading authorities in the field; discursive introductions to each section that set individual chapters in the broader context of childhood studies; case study material to bring discussions to life. law, medicine, social work, social theory and child welfare; children's rights and democratic citizenship; children as raw material for 'social investment'. academics in social policy, sociology, education and social work. It is also a useful resource for health and social work professionals wishing to follow current debates in theory and practice.

Life Story Therapy is an approach designed to enable children to explore, question and understand the past events of their lives. It aims to secure their future through strengthening attachment with their carers and providing the opportunity to develop a healthy sense of self and a feeling of wellbeing. This comprehensive overview lays out the theory underlying life story therapy, including an accessible explanation of contemporary research in neurobiology and trauma. Featuring tried and tested ideas, with tools and templates illustrated through instructive case studies, the author identifies how life story therapy can be implemented in practice. Finally, the relationships between life story therapy and traditional 'talking' therapies are explored. Life Story Therapy with Traumatized Children is essential reading for those working with children and adolescents, including social workers, teachers, child psychotherapists, residential care staff, long-term carers, psychologists and other professionals.

Protecting Children in Time provides a highly original analysis of the origins and development of the taken-for-granted notion that it is possible through social intervention to protect children from avoidable harm and even death, to protect children in time . By using case-studies which span the past 120 years of 'modern' practices and drawing on the work of leading social theorists of modernity and risk society it provides a new way of thinking about constructions of child abuse as a social problem and child protection as a late-modern expert system and experience. It proposes new ways of conceptualizing relationships between professionals, children at risk and families and deepens our understanding of what effective interventions have to involve.

Important reforms are taking place in children's services in the UK, with a move towards greater integration. In England, Scotland and Sweden, early childhood education and care, childcare for older children, and schools are now the responsibility of education departments. This book is the first to examine, cross-nationally, this major shift in policy. work best, which welfare states are most effective and the future role of schools; examines why and how the three countries have integrated departmental responsibility for these major children's services and explores the very different consequences; through cross-national comparison, it offers new perspectives on the integration of children's services and the different ways in which it can be taken forward; addresses changing understandings of the child and childhood in each country; provides an invaluable understanding of current and possible future changes, including choices to be made about policy, provision and the workforce. implemented, this book is essential reading for practitioners, managers, politicians, trainers and researchers in children's services, including schools, early years, school-age childcare, leisure and recreation, child welfare and health.

The results of this report from a major international research project, funded by UNICEF, on child rights and child poverty in the developing world are shocking. They show that over one billion children - more than half the children in developing countries - suffer from severe deprivation of basic human need and over a third (674 million) suffer from absolute poverty. The study's findings indicate that considerably more emphasis needs to be placed on improving basic infrastructure and social services for families with children, particularly with regards to shelter, sanitation and safe drinking water in rural areas. Anti-poverty strategies need to respond to local conditions, as blanket solutions to eradicating child poverty will be unsuccessful. (REPORT)

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. Millions of children throughout Africa undertake many forms of farm and domestic work. Some of this work is for wages, some is on their family's own small plots and some is forced and/or harmful. This book examines children's involvement in such work. It argues that framing all children's engagement in economic activity as 'child labour', with all the associated negative connotations, is problematic. This is particularly the case in Africa where many rural children must work to survive and where, the contributors argue, much of the work undertaken is not harmful. The conceptual and case-based chapters reframe the debate about children's work and harm in rural Africa with the aim of shifting research, public discourse and policy so that they better serve the interest of rural children and their families.

Children and child welfare sit at the heart of New Labour's plans for social inclusion but how does the government view children is it reflecting public opinion, or leading it? How does New Labour perceive child welfare? What are the motivations behind, and objectives of, current social policy for children? Are the Rights of the Child being subsumed under duties and responsibilities? This revisionist account provides critical answers to these questions within a historical framework and from a child-centred perspective. the ideological thrust behind them, but also provides an informed historical perspective on the evolution of child welfare during the last century. social policy for children; examines contemporary policies within a historical context; uses the concept of ageism as an explanatory device; and relates concepts of childhood to policy formation and implementation. students, academics, social workers, and policy makers.

What does it mean to be a child or an adolescent growing up on the streets or in a state institution? How do children define their everyday lives in the midst of global processes? This ethnographic study situates childhood and adolescence as social forms within the changing family and political structures of the complex urban world of Caracas, Venezuela. The presence of youngsters on the streets of Caracas embodies social contradictions at the national level, and this book discusses how these contradictions are played out in an oil-producing nation afflicted with hyperinflation, generalized corruption, the deterioration of public services, increasing poverty, and violence. Vivid life stories told by street children themselves portray their relations with family and friends, as well as with people they encounter: police officers, journalists, social workers, and passersby at their local hangouts. The book also describes and analyzes the justice system and institutions for minors, illustrating the constant failures to respond to, contain, or lessen youth violence. Many young people come from shantytowns to the streets of Caracas for a better life, and the author shows how they seek status and power through style, pursuing commodities of the global consumer market, from Nike shoes to cellular phones. Drawing on her ethnographic data and contemporary theories of power, control, and style, the author critiques the inequalities of the Venezuelan class structure and the oil boom's failure to provide adequate social services for a great majority of the population.

The turn of the 1990s saw a number of high profile public inquiries into the handling of child sexual abuse cases in Great Britain. Governing Child Sexual Abuse examines the implications of these inquiries on the regulation of relationships between families and the state. In so doing, Samantha Ashenden brings a number of contemporary debates in social and political theory to bear upon the governance of child sexual abuse. In particular, drawing on the work of Foucault and Habermas, she looks at:

*how to analyze the boundary between public and private spheres
*the legal and scientific determination of legitimate intervention
*the relationship between democracy and expertise in the governance of social life.

This book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of social and political theory, political sociology, the sociology of law, and social policy.

What part should children take in decisions about their lives? Does their need to be involved in decisions conflict with adult responsibility for their welfare? In its search for answers to these questions, Children, family and the state examines different theories of childhood, children's rights and the relationship between children, parents and the state. Focusing on children who are looked after by the state, it reviews the changing objectives of the care system and the extent to which children have been involved in decisions about their care.

Childhood poverty has moved from the periphery to the centre of the policy agenda following New Labour's pledge to end it within twenty years. However, whether the needs and concerns of poor children themselves are being addressed is open to question. The findings raise critical issues for both policy and practice - in particular the finding that children are at great risk of experiencing exclusion within school. School has been a major target in the drive towards reducing child poverty. However, the policy focus has been mainly about literacy standards and exclusion from school. This book shows that poor children are suffering from insufficient access to the economic and material resources necessary for adequate social participation and academic parity. Childhood poverty and social exclusion will be an invaluable teaching aid across a range of academic courses, including social policy, sociology, social work and childhood studies. All those who are interested in developing a more inclusive social and policy framework for understanding childhood issues from a child-centred perspective, including child welfare practitioners and policy makers, will want to read this book. Studies in poverty, inequality and social exclusion series Series Editor: David Gordon, Director, Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research. Poverty, inequality and social exclusion remain the most fundamental problems that humanity faces in the 21st century. This exciting series, published in association with the Townsend Centre for International Poverty Research at the University of Bristol, aims to make cutting-edge poverty related research more widely available. For other titles in this series, please follow the series link from the main catalogue page.

Currently enrolling approximately 900,000 poor children each year, Head Start has served 25 million children and their families since it was established 44 years ago. Presidents and policymakers have embraced and scorned it. At times scientists have misguided it and the media has misunderstood it. Despite its longevity and renown, much of Head Start's story has never been disclosed to the general public.
The Hidden History of Head Start is a detailed account of this remarkable program. Surveying projects that were forerunners of Head Start, its birth during the Johnson administration, its fate during the presidency of George W. Bush, and the many years between--as well as what the future may hold in store for Head Start--Edward Zigler and Sally Styfco offer an inside view of the program's decades of service, detailing the ever-changing waves of politics, ideology, science, media interest, and public mood that oftentimes threatened the program's very existence. Providing a balanced assessment of Head Start's effectiveness, which has been a matter of debate since its inception, the authors also strive to answer questions that continue to pervade discussions about the program and its future. For example, why is Head Start, a leader of early childhood services, still struggling to prove itself? Why does it serve such a narrow segment of the population? And how can Head Start continue its mission as universal preschool becomes a reality? The Hidden History of Head Start will be of great importance to those who shape Head Start's future, and to those who wish to develop, research, and implement new early childhood programs. Students, historians, and scholars in the fields of early intervention and developmental science, as well as policymakers, will find here an invaluable resource as well as a fascinating chronicle of one of the foremost social programs in US history.

DARE To Be You (DTBY) is a program that has both a conceptual foundation and is demonstrably effective in building assets linked to a decrease in problem behaviors. Its success is based on working not only with the individual child, but also with multiple systems that affect the child. These systems include family, peers, school and the broader community. The DTBY curricula is age-appropriate and adapted to account for changing developmental needs. While this volume focuses on the DTBY program for families with 2 to 5 year old children, references are made to the programs for school aged children and teens. This program has proven effective in diverse settings including a Native American community; an urban setting of mixed cultures; a traditional Hispanic and Anglo rural community; and a poor, isolated agricultural region.

Child poverty and the well-being of children is an important policy issue throughout the industrialised world. Some 47 million children in 'rich' countries live in families so poor that their health and well-being are at risk. The main themes addressed are: * the extent and trend of child poverty in industrialised nations; * outcomes for children - for example, the relationship between childhood experiences and children's health; * country studies and emerging issues; * child and family policies. All the contributions underline the urgent need for a comprehensive policy to reduce child poverty rates and to improve the well-being of children. Findings are clearly presented and key focus points identified for policy makers to consider.

The United States spends more on programs for the elderly than it does on programs that enhance child development and improve child welfare. Why has public policy neglected the development phase of young Americans' lives not only in substantive dollars spent, but also in program design and implementation? Noted child care and education policy expert William Gormley highlights the portrayal of children's issues in both the mass media and in public policymaking to explain why children have gotten short shrift. A key explanation is the limited mass media coverage of strong arguments in support of children's programs.

After documenting changes in rhetoric on children and public policy over time and variations across policy domains and government venues, Gormley demonstrates that some "issue frames" are more effective than others in persuading voters. In two randomized experiments, he finds that "economic" frames are more effective than "moralistic" frames in generating public support for children's programs. Independent voters are especially responsive to economic frames. In several illuminating case studies, in Connecticut, Utah, North Carolina, and Pennsylvania, he finds that strong rhetoric makes a difference but that it is sometimes eclipsed by even stronger political and economic constraints.

"Voices for Children" offers a fresh perspective on raging debates over child health, child poverty, child welfare, and education programs at the federal and state levels. It finds some hopeful examples that could transform how we think about children's issues and the kinds of public policies we adopt.