Expert guidance for child welfare and youth care professionals looking to increase their knowledge about, and skills in, working with transgender and gender expansive youth and their families. Many professionals working in child welfare and youth service (including line workers, supervisors, managers, and administrators), lack adequate knowledge about trans or gender expansive identities, which means they are not sufficiently prepared to address or respond to the needs of trans or gender expansive youth. This guide will provide readers with the information they need to do their jobs effectively with youth of all genders, including guidance on relationships, discrimination, mental health, foster care and homelessness. It provides examples of successful practice in a variety of case narratives from youth and their families.

The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), which became law in 1997, elicited a major shift in federal policy and thinking toward child welfare, emphasizing children's safety, permanency, and well-being over preserving biological ties at all costs. The first edition of this volume mapped the field of child welfare after ASFA's passage, detailing the practices, policies, programs, and research affected by the legislation's new attitude toward care. This second edition highlights the continuously changing child welfare climate in the U.S., including content on the Fostering Connections Act of 2008. The authors have updated the text throughout, drawing from real-world case examples and data obtained from the national Child and Family Services Reviews and emerging empirically based practices. They have also added chapters addressing child welfare workforce issues, supervision, and research and evaluation. The volume is divided into four sections -- child and adolescent well-being, child and adolescent safety, permanency for children and adolescents, and systemic issues within services, policies, and programs.Recognized scholars, practitioners, and policy makers discuss meaningful engagement with families, particularly Latino families; health care for children and youth, including mental health care; effective practices with LGBT youth and their families; placement stability; foster parent recruitment and retention; and the challenges of working with immigrant children, youth, and families.

The first book to approach child welfare from a gay- and lesbian-affirming perspective, "Let's Get This Straight" uncovers and challenges the pervasive presence of "heterocentrism" within the social work profession. It draws upon case examples and in-depth interviews to illustrate the degree to which myths and stereotypes about gay and lesbian youth detrimentally affect those most in need of assistance.

Gerald P. Mallon uses an ecological perspective to highlight the five areas of child welfare:

(1) family support / preservation;

(2) protection from abuse and neglect;

(3) adoption services;

(4) out-of-home care services; and

(5) the development of foster and adoptive homes.

He discusses the implications of this ecological perspective for service delivery, the impact of laws and legislation, and the role gay and lesbian professionals can play in these areas to provide unbiased care to lesbian, gay, and bisexual clients.