This book captures information about early childhood education and care (ECEC) policies and practices in different countries and aims to question the degree to which these countries have managed to meet the needs of children, families, and the ECEC workforce. The book illustrates how different countries have adapted different strategies focusing on policy when it comes to quality ECEC. The goal of the book is twofold. First and foremost, it aims to present key findings and challenges for improving ECEC as a whole. Second, it aims to highlight problems and concerns which the field of ECEC faces, with respect to delivering high-quality care and education to all children. As neither "ECEC" nor "quality" are universal concepts - but are shaped by social-cultural values, as well as national, economic, and political contexts in which ECEC services are provided - this cross-country volume is extremely relevant for fully understanding issues in the field of ECEC. This book was originally published as a special issue of Early Child Development and Care.

This comprehensive international study provides a cross-national analysis of different understandings of errors and mistakes, as well as lessons to avoid and how to handle them in child protection practice, using research and knowledge from 11 countries in Europe and North America. Divided into country-specific chapters, each examines the pathways that lead to mistakes happening, the scale of their impact, how responsibilities and responses are decided and how practice and policy subsequently change. Considering the complexities of evolving practice contexts, this authoritative, future-oriented study is an invaluable text for practitioners, researchers and policy makers wishing to understand why child protection fails - and offers a springboard for fresh thinking about strategies to reduce future risk.

Can White parents teach their Black children African American culture and history? Can they impart to them the survival skills necessary to survive in the racially stratified United States? Concerns over racial identity have been at the center of controversies over transracial adoption since the 1970s, as questions continually arise about whether White parents are capable of instilling a positive sense of African American identity in their Black children.

" An] empathetic study of meanings of cross-racial adoption to adoptees"
"--Law and Politics Book Review, Vol. 11, No. 11, Nov. 2001"

Through in-depth interviews with adult transracial adoptees, as well as with social workers in adoption agencies, Sandra Patton, herself an adoptee, explores the social construction of race, identity, gender, and family and the ways in which these interact with public policy about adoption. Patton offers a compelling overview of the issues at stake in transracial adoption. She discusses recent changes in adoption and social welfare policy which prohibit consideration of race in the placement of children, as well as public policy definitions of "bad mothers" which can foster coerced aspects of adoption, to show how the lives of transracial adoptees have been shaped by the policies of the U.S. child welfare system.

Neither an argument for nor against the practice of transracial adoption, BirthMarks seeks to counter the dominant public view of this practice as a panacea to the so-called "epidemic" of illegitimacy and the misfortune of infertility among the middle class with a more nuanced view that gives voice to those directly involved, shedding light on the ways in which Black and multiracial adoptees articulate their own identity experiences.

From the 1980s through the 1990s, children in many areas of the world benefited from new opportunities to attend school, but they also faced new demands to support their families because of continuing and, for many, worsening poverty. "Children's Work, Schooling, And Welfare In Latin America" is a comparative study of children, ages 12-17, in three different Latin American societies. Using nationally-representative household surveys from Chile, Peru, and Mexico, and repeatedly over different survey years, David Post documents tendencies for children to become economically active, to remain in school, or to do both. The survey data analyzed illustrates the roles of family and regional poverty, and parental resources, in determining what children did with their time in each country. However, rather than to treat children's activities merely as demographic phenomena, or in isolation of the policy environment, Post also scrutinizes the international differences in education policies, labor law, welfare spending, and mobilization for children's rights. "Children's Work" shows that child labor will not vanish of its own accord, nor follow a uniform path even within a common geographic region. Accordingly, there is a role for welfare policy and for popular mobilization. Post indicates that, even when children attend school, as in Peru or Mexico, many students will continue to work to support the family. If the consequence of their work is to impede their educational success, then schools will need to attend to a new dimension of inequality: that between part-time and full-time students.

This study of children's participation in decisions about their care draws on recent work in sociology and anthropology, psychology and legal philosophy in order to understand this challenging area of social life. It also reports on original and groundbreaking research into children's views of decision-making processes. The book has important theoretical implications and important lessons for social welfare policy and practice. It will be of interest to those involved in childhood studies or in qualitative research methods, as well as in social welfare provision.

Discussion of convergence in the EU in recent years has centred on economic indicators related to monetary union and the single European currency, but it is the convergence of living standards that is the ultimate goal of European integration. This book analyses the living standards of the nearly 80 million children in the EU, who represent over a fifth of the Union's total population. The well-being of Europe's children is important now - and the nature of their progress to adulthood will have a major impact on the shape of Europe's future. By analysing the trends of child well-being in Europe over the last two decades, this book asks: Is the well-being of children in the EU becoming more similar across member states? Or Are countries diverging while their economies converge? These issues are addressed with a wealth of data on different dimensions of the changing welfare of Europe's children - evidence that has not previously been drawn together in a single source. The authors consider in turn the material well-being of children, their health and education, teenage fertility, and young people's own views of their lives. There is careful treatment of conceptual and measurement issues and data quality and comparability, together with reference to a large literature across the different relevant disciplines. This book aims to raise the profile of children in the debate on Europe's future, and in doing so to contribute to the growing discussion of economic and social cohesion in the EU. The analysis is rigorous but it avoids disciplinary jargon and will appeal to a pan-European audience. It is important reading for academics across the social sciences interested in the well-being of children and youth, NGOs working on behalf of the young, and local and national government policy advisers concerned with the issues in a domestic or European context.

The 1990s has witnessed a resurgence of interest and concern in the issue of domestic violence. While women are predominantly targets of this violence, there is now a recognition that children are also significantly affected by violence towards their mothers. This report explores the problems and opportunities presented for child protection workers responding to child abuse that occurred in the context of violence towards the child(ren)'s mother. This particular aspect of domestic violence intervention is frequently overlooked as issues such as policing, child contact, interagency working and offender programmes have gained precedence in the development of intervention strategies. The responses of social services departments to child abuse arising in the context of domestic violence remain some of the most contentious and controversial in this area. This report: gives a detailed account of social work practice in the area of domestic violence, using many case examples which illustrate the barriers to effective intervention; looks in particular at the needs of Asian families in the context of domestic violence and child abuse; recognises the difficulties of developing sensitive child welfare practice in an area where there has been a traditional separation of services for women and services for children; provides good practice examples for overcoming the traditional difficulties in this area. This report is important reading for practitioners, policy makers and managers in social services, and their equivalents in a range of other agencies involved in child protection. It is also valuable reading for social work academics and students interested in the area of domestic violence.

Following the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the case for children's involvement in decision-making processes has been championed by pressure groups and voluntary organisations. Planning with children for better communities argues that there is now a need to transfer these ideas and experiences to mainstream services of local authorities, regeneration agencies and other organisations. In addition to clarifying why the issue of children's participation should be prioritised, the authors use examples and case studies from a variety of professions and disciplines in order to explain different methods which can be used to support participation. The book: analyses children's and young people's contemporary place in local communities; locates debates about children's and young people's participation in local communities within government social and economic policy; captures children's and young people's views and experiences of community life. The authors conclude that there should be greater recognition of the right of children to determine significant decisions affecting them - children have a clear entitlement to involvement in key decisions which influence their lives. Planning with children for better communities is important reading for local authority planners and policy makers, project workers, community development workers, children's rights officers, youth workers, play workers and students of social and community work and politics. It should also be read by those people in the voluntary and community sector concerned with children's issues relating to planning and community development.

In the Beveridge Lecture, delivered on 18 March 1999, Prime Minister Tony Blair committed his government to abolishing child poverty within 20 years. He concluded that the present-day welfare state is not fitted to the modern world, and laid out his vision for a welfare state for the 21st century. Blair's vision, grounded in a particular conception of social justice, is perhaps as challenging as the blueprint laid down by Beveridge. Ending child poverty presents Blair's Beveridge Lecture alongside the views of some of Britain's foremost policy analysts and commentators. This unique collection makes it possible to not only read the ideas of leading current thinkers in this critical area of policy, but also to compare them with the Prime Minister's lecture, and to see which ideas he himself took up and in what form. Ending child poverty is a record of not only the Lecture itself, but also of the ideas available to government and their influence on its leader at an important moment in the formation of policy. It provides a rich tapestry on analysis, insight and reflection that will, it is to be hoped, stimulate critical debate about the future shape of British welfare. This collection is essential reading for anyone interested in the future of modern society and politics and provides an accessible handbook for undergraduate students of politics, social policy and sociology.

This book celebrates good practice in the area of early years and special needs by bringing together authors who are either practitioners or researchers, from a range of different and diverse early years settings including nurseries and units providing special provision. They describe their work with young children who have different and distinctive special needs and disabilities.

"Adoption is the right option for many more types of parents and children than we imagined a few decades ago. However, it is not the right choice for everyone. Is Adoption for You? is a guide to thinking through the issues."—from the Foreword by Jerri Ann Jenista, M.D.

Would adopting a child be a good choice for you? Would you want to adopt an infant or an older child? What about a child from another country? A child of another race? Would you be willing to adopt a child with medical problems? Could you agree to involvement and openness with the birthmother? Would you be better off working with an agency or an attorney? Do you have to be married? How much does it really cost?

Before you decide, make sure you have all the facts. In this warm, straightforward new book, adoption expert—and adoptive parent—Christine Adamec gives you the information you need to make this important decision. From financial considerations to the myriad emotional issues involved, there are numerous questions to explore. Adamec's expert guidance, drawn from personal stories, clinical studies, and academic research, helps you find the answers that are right for you.

The provision of health care services for children is central to improving the nation's health and remains a key feature of every government's policy. This concept has been recognised in the United Kingdom since nineteenth century visionaries prompted increasing interest in the welfare of the country's school children. Successive generations have built upon these foundations and have been diligent in promoting effective service development. It is right that we follow their example, for the young have only one chance of a healthy upbringing. They are totally dependent on others to provide the right services, which are sensitive enough to address individual needs, yet sufficiently comprehensive to enable as many children as possible to reach adulthood with their potential uncom promised by illness. Our objective must be to enable today's children to enjoy a healthy childhood and to equip them to maximise the benefits of a healthy lifestyle in the years to come. We are making an essential investment in the future and must appreciate the challenges which come with that commitment. We need a multi-professional approach, positive management skills and the adoption of good management practice. I therefore welcome this book on managing child health services and commend the initiative of its editors in bringing together such an impressive team of contributors from different disciplines."

Collaborative Practice with Vulnerable Children and Their Families focuses on the knowledge and skills needed by professionals who work across disciplines to meet the needs of parents and children experiencing complex difficulties. It establishes the importance of both interprofessional and interagency collaboration. After detailing the characteristics of parents and children who may be in need of specialized services, the authors describe different approaches to service delivery in theory and practice, provide case examples and exercises, and address the developments in interprofessional education for those currently working in the field. They present evidence supporting collaborative practice as a means of achieving better outcomes for vulnerable children and their families, and explore the difficulties in working successfully across agencies and disciplines. A provocative examination focused on the wellbeing of families in crisis and the care they receive, this book: Introduces terms that are used in collaborative practice Details the legal mandate for working with families experiencing complex problems Provides legal definitions of 'children in need' and with a right to receive "targeted" services Outlines the circumstances that require court action (family law and criminal law) to protect children from "significant harm" Collaborative Practice with Vulnerable Children and Their Families examines the values and ethical standards shared by all professionals who work together to help at-risk children and their families, and serves as a definitive guide to professionals in social work, nursing, general practice, pediatrics and related professions. A volume in the series CAIPE Collaborative Practice Series Series edited by Hugh Barr and Marion Helme

The nation is abuzz with consideration of prekindergarten programs for all children. To better understand the issues involved, funding and staffing considerations as well as policy option, this book is a must read. In this timely book, Matia Finn-Stevenson and Edward Zigler argue that the federal government alone cannot address the need for child care and family support services that, like education, should be addressed locally. The authors use their Schools of the 21st Century (21C) program as an example of how schools can provide child care, outreach services, home visitations, and health and nutrition services--in addition to reading, writing, and arithmetic.Conceptualized in 1987 in response to the child care crisis in this country, 21C has been implemented in over 600 schools in seventeen states. However, schools' involvement with increasingly younger children is not without controversy. The authors also address questions regarding evaluation and effective implementation and scale-up strategies, and consider what changes in teacher training programs should occur to prepare teachers for working in schools of the twenty-first century; what provisions should be made to accommodate for the need to staff schools with personnel trained in early child development; and what changes need to be made in the financial structures of schools to accommodate child care and support services.Whereas Part Two of the book discusses the authors' Schools of the 21st Century program in considerable detail, Parts One and Three address a broader range of issues concerning the effects that prekindergarten education has on later school success and the various policy and conceptual approaches that have been tried, both nationally and internationally. Finn-Stevenson and Zigler also critically review the research on the effects of child care on children and other school reform initiatives that have been implemented in schools."Schools of the 21st Century" is an engaging discussion about the new roles schools are taking and how they are expanding their traditional mission.

The authors of this volume provide discussion on vital issues related to the rights of children in the United States, including: the historical and contextual perspective on the rights of children; the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child; the differing views on children's rights and competencies; and the rights of children within the family, the social service system, the health care system, the educational system, the juvenile justice system and in employment.

Krish Kandiah wants us all to take seriously Jesus's call to 'suffer the little children' by engaging with the needs of the many thousands of children up and down the country who are in care and whom the church could and should be helping. Krish and his wife Miriam have adopted and fostered children themselves and their experience - and that of the many others in this book - is very different from the popular myth which suggests social services seek to prevent Christians from getting involved. Krish argues that whatever the state's stance may be, it is a part of our calling as God's church to get involved where it's hardest, and to help these children out of the tough realities they find themselves in. Filled with stories from people who have adopted or were adopted themselves, alongside practical advice on how it all works and the challenges that will come, this book makes a compelling case that the church can and must make a difference in these children's lives, and asks us all to consider our response.

The idea that Britain, the US and other western societies are witnessing the rise of an underclass of people at the bottom of the social heap, structurally and culturally distinct from traditional patterns of "decent" working-class life, has become increasingly popular in the 1990s. Anti-work, anti-social, and welfare dependent cultures are said to typify this new "dangerous class" and "dangerous youth" are taken as the prime subjects of underclass theories. Debates about the family and single-parenthood, about crime and about unemployment and welfare reforms have all become embroiled in underclass theories which, whilst highly controversial, have had remarkable influence on the politics and policies of governments in Britain and the US. This text addresses the underclass idea in relation to contemporary youth. It focuses upon unemployment, training, the labour market, crime, homelessness, and parenting. It should be of interest to students of social policy, sociology and criminology.

Unitas is an outreach therapeutic program serving Hispanic and African American children in the South Bronx. It is a complex institutional structure based upon philosophical, psychological, and sociological views of how interpersonal relations can be shaped in the interest of a child's healthy social and emotional life. To acheive what Unitas calls the healing of the child's "brokeness," the program has created a network of symbolic families composed of children and teenagers living in the same neighborhoods. The teenagers play the roles of symbolic and surrogate parents and become the caretakers and, indeed, therapists of the younger children. The use of these fictive nuclear and extended families provides institutional meaning to the Unitas pattern of mutual help. This volume is a look inside the program by its principal participant, Dr. Edward Eismann. Eismann, founder and director of Unitas, provides the reader with a rich, first-hand account of how he went about mobilizing the youth who would later become the core of his successful program. He also offers some of the ideas in the social sciences and therepeutic literature which influenced the shaping of Unitas. Unitas also includes a series of training modules for persons interested in replicating this type of social program.

Child care law and policy issues generate very strong emotions and some crucial questions concerning the role of the state. For instance, under what circumstances should the state be able to intervene and use the force of the law to protect children? Do children have similar rights to adults? Such questions are matters of controversial debate and, in the light of well publicised child abuse cases, official inquiries and a government review led to the passing of the Children Act in 1989. Perspectives in Child Care Policy presents four different value perspectives on child care policy - laissez-faire; state paternalism; defence of the birth family and children's rights. These perspectives differ in their underlying values, concepts and assumptions concerning children, families, the rights and powers of parents and the role of the state.

Working with Young People is designed to help you develop the knowledge and skills you need for supporting young people as they learn about themselves, others and society and prepare for the transition to adulthood. It introduces the fundamental concepts and issues that lie at the heart of contemporary work with young people and challenges you to think deeply about:

- the social context of young people - values and principles that underpin practice - the variety of settings in which practice takes place, and

- the importance of informal learning in the lives of young people. Whether you are a new student or returning to study, Working with Young Poeple provides a stimulating introduction and a foundation for further study.

Sheila Curran is Senior Lecturer at The Open University. Roger Harrison is Senior Lecturer at The Open University. Donald Mackinnon is Lecturer at The Open University.

Child safety is everybody's concern, but much professional activity is misinformed or based on a misrepresentation of the facts, and preventative action is rarely adequately evaluated. Written and edited by leading researchers with an active role in social policy, this new book challenges both our understanding of the problem of child safety and points to the impotence of "educational" appraoches based on "knowledge enhancement". The strong message is that improving children's knowledge has little or no effect on their behaviour. From the physical abuse of young children to drug abuse in adolescence, this book presents a radical new perspective on a key social issue.

Child abuse and neglect are intractable problems exacting a terrible toll on children and rending the very fabric of our society. What can be done to reduce the suffering? If there were simple solutions to abuse and neglect they would have been discovered long ago. There are no easy answers, but in this vivid history of child protection in America, John E.B. Myers introduces realistic policies that will reduce maltreatment and strengthen the system that protects our children.
Before it is possible to design viable improvements in today's system, it is necessary to understand how it evolved. The sweeping, beautifully written account of child protection in America traces its growth from colonial days to the present--from the rise and gradual disappearance of orphanages, the growth of foster care, the birth of organized child protection in 1874, and the rise of private societies to prevent cruelty, to the twentieth-century transition to government-operated child protection.
Myers goes on to describe the principal causes of child maltreatment, including intergenerational transmission of violence, poverty, substance abuse, cultural violence, excessive corporal punishment, sexual deviance, evolution, mental illness, and domestic violence. Once the causes of maltreatment are clear, it is possible to create solutions. Some of the proposals outlined have been in play for more than a century, while others are new. Policies to combat poverty, expand nurse home visiting programs, increase access to day care, strengthen a sense of community, outlaw corporal punishment, rethink our attitude toward alcohol, and lower the toxicity in popular culture are rooted in a deep understanding of thecycle of violence and challenge traditional ways of thinking.
Since it will never be possible to prevent all maltreatment, it is critical to strengthen the existing child protection system. Attainable reforms such as dealing with the lingering effects of racism in the child welfare, reworking funding mechanisms, refocusing leadership, creating a less adversarial system, strengthening foster care, and reinventing the juvenile court point to flaws in our system but demonstrate that progress is possible.
This provocative book will challenge all those concerned with children's welfare to move toward real solutions that will make life better for America's most vulnerable children.

EPDF and EPUB available Open Access under CC-BY-NC-ND licence. During adolescence, young people are exposed to a range of risks beyond their family homes including sexual and criminal exploitation, peer-on-peer abuse and gang-related violence. However, it has only been over the past two decades that the critical safeguarding implications of these harms have started to be recognised. Social care organisations are increasingly experimenting with new approaches but continue to experience challenges in supporting affected young people and their families. This book analyses the results of the first rapid evidence assessment of social care organisations' responses to risks and harms outside the home across 10 countries. The authors highlight key areas for service development, give insights into how these risks and harms can be understood, and consider wider implications for policy and practice.

First published in 1979, this book concerns itself primarily with the mothers of mentally handicapped children. It discusses the problems of assistance that they may have experienced from their families, the community, or the available services. Whilst arguing for far more support for mothers when they are the main carer, this book also suggests reasons why some families are more easily able to cope with the problems of caring for severely handicapped children. This study is based on research that was conducted for and funded by the Department of Health and Social Security between 1973 and 1976.

This text is an authoritative analysis of current services for children and young people in the UK. Drawing upon European-wide data, this innovative book critiques the policies that have shaped today's services, argues that the current system is insufficiently joined-up and outlines a radical new model of co-located services for the integrated delivery of children's care. Shaping Children's Services: examines key indicators of children's development; provides a breakdown of the economics of caring for children; explores the way government initiatives such as Sure Start, Extended Schools, Total Place and the Kennedy review of children's health have shaped current policies; charts the key twentieth-century developments of child welfare across health, education and social care and looks at the inter-relationships between health, social care, police, education and the voluntary sector; presents both good and failing examples of children's services. Offering a thoughtful and provocative challenge on how the present system can be better configured to meet the needs of children and young people, this book is an essential read for all those involved in working with children from a range of fields, including health, education, social care, juvenile justice and voluntary sector services.