Handbook for Child Protection Practice


Book Description

"The timing of the publication with the revised Working Together guidelines could not be more advantageous. This book is a unique and important contribution to child care literature. No agency should be without." - Child Abuse Review Professionals concerned with the protection of children face many challenges. This work demands knowledge from several disciplines, a wide variety of skills, and interdisciplinary collaboration. The editors, Howard Dubowitz, a pediatrician, and Diane DePanfilis, a social worker, together with over 70 experts in this field offer what is known about how best to work with maltreated children and their families, in a very practical, concise, and user-friendly way. Structured to follow the life of a case from the time a report of child maltreatment is made through the various pathways in the child protection system, this edited volume synthesizes the best practice principles for responding to reports of child abuse and neglect; engaging children and other family members in intervention; developing cross-cultural practice competencies; assessing risk, evaluating safety, and conducting family assessments; defining outcomes and planning intervention; evaluating risk reduction; and making permanency decisions; and discusses the unique legal, medical, ethical, and other practice issues that work in the child protection field involves. Professionals facing tough dilemmas in practice should find valuable guidance in these pages.




Child Protective Services


Book Description

From the Preface: This manual, Child Protective Services: A Guide for Caseworkers, examines the roles and responsibilities of child protective services (CPS) workers, who are at the forefront of every community's child protection efforts. The manual describes the basic stages of the CPS process and the steps necessary to accomplish each stage: intake, initial assessment or investigation, family assessment, case planning, service provision, evaluation of family progress, and case closure. Best practices and critical issues in casework practice are underscored throughout. The primary audience for this manual includes CPS caseworkers, supervisors, and administrators. State and local CPS agency trainers may use the manual for preservice or inservice training of CPS caseworkers, while schools of social work may add it to class reading lists to orient students to the field of child protection. In addition, other professionals and concerned community members may consult the manual for a greater understanding of the child protection process. This manual builds on the information presented in A Coordinated Response to Child Abuse and Neglect: The Foundation for Practice. Readers are encouraged to begin with that manual as it addresses important information on which CPS practice is based-including definitions of child maltreatment, risk factors, consequences, and the Federal and State basis for intervention. Some manuals in the series also may be of interest in understanding the roles of other professional groups in responding to child abuse and neglect, including: Substance abuse treatment providers; Domestic violence victim advocates; Educators; Law enforcement personnel. Other manuals address special issues, such as building partnerships and working with the courts on CPS cases.




The Children's Bureau Legacy


Book Description

Comprehensive history of the Children’s Bureau from 1912-2012 in eBook form that shares the legacy of this landmark agency that established the first Federal Government programs, research and social reform initiatives aimed to improve the safety, permanency and well-being of children, youth and families. In addition to bios of agency heads and review of legislation and publications, this important book provides a critical look at the evolution of the Nation and its treatment of children as it covers often inspiring and sometimes heart-wrenching topics such as: child labor; the Orphan Trains, adoption and foster care; infant and maternal mortality and childhood diseases; parenting, infant and child care education; the role of women's clubs and reformers; child welfare standards; Aid to Dependent Children; Depression relief; children of migrants and minorities (African Americans, Hispanics, Native Americans), including Indian Boarding Schools and Indian Adoption Program; disabled children care; children in wartime including support of military families and World War II refugee children; Juvenile delinquency; early childhood education Head Start; family planning; child abuse and neglect; natural disaster recovery; and much more. Child welfare and related professionals, legislators, educators, researchers and advocates, university school of social work faculty and staff, libraries, and others interested in social work related to children, youth and families, particularly topics such as preventing child abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption will be interested in this comprehensive history of the Children's Bureau that has been funded by the U.S. Federal Government since 1912.




Child Welfare and Child Protection


Book Description

Child Welfare and Child Protection: An Introduction prepares future child welfare professionals to tackle the complex and challenging work associated with responding to child maltreatment. Developed by a former child protection professional and a social work scholar, this book draws upon current research and features cases that simulate those child welfare professionals are likely to encounter in the field. After an historical examination of the evolution of child protection in the United States, the book focuses on understanding the causes of child maltreatment and risk assessment. Readers are presented with a compelling case and the opportunity to see how it develops over the course of three chapters that address the investigative process, the delivery of ongoing services to assist families in addressing high-risk behaviors, and helping children achieve timely permanency when returning home is not an option. Other chapters present foster parent and foster child perspectives, additional considerations for special needs populations, and suggestions for working effectively on a child protection team. Every effort is made to prepare readers for the stresses and strains associated with working in child protection, including a dedicated chapter on self-care. Featuring foundational and critical information for future professionals, Child Welfare and Child Protection is well-suited for introductory undergraduate and graduate courses. For a look at the specific features and benefits of Child Welfare and Child Protection, visit cognella.com/child-welfare-and-child-protection-features-and-benefits. Learn more about how Child Welfare and Child Protection can support Title IV-E funded education and training programs.




Child Welfare for the Twenty-first Century


Book Description

This up-to-date and comprehensive resource by leaders in child welfare is the first book to reflect the impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997. The text serves as a single-source reference for a wide array of professionals who work in children, youth, and family services in the United States-policymakers, social workers, psychologists, educators, attorneys, guardians ad litem, and family court judges& mdash;and as a text for students of child welfare practice and policy. Features include: * Organized around ASFA's guiding principles of well-being, safety, and permanency * Focus on evidence-based "best practices" * Case examples integrated throughout * First book to include data from the first round of National Child and Family Service Reviews Topics discussed include the latest on prevention of child abuse and neglect and child protective services; risk and resilience in child development; engaging families; connecting families with public and community resources; health and mental health care needs of children and adolescents; domestic violence; substance abuse in the family; family preservation services; family support services and the integration of family-centered practices in child welfare; gay and lesbian adolescents and their families; children with disabilities; and runaway and homeless youth. The contributors also explore issues pertaining to foster care and adoption, including a focus on permanency planning for children and youth and the need to provide services that are individualized and culturally and spiritually responsive to clients. A review of salient systemic issues in the field of children, youth, and family services completes this collection.




Introduction to Child Welfare


Book Description

Introduction to Child Welfare: Building a Culturally Responsive, Multisystemic, Evidence-Based Approach helps future and current child welfare professionals cultivate a practice that employs an intersectional approach and embraces the concept of cultural humility. This dynamic approach recognizes the intersectionality and diversity of children, youth, and families, and empowers workers to engage with and consider myriad identities and cultural experiences. Opening chapters provide an overview of the history of the child welfare and foster care system in the United States; our modern multisystemic approach to child welfare practice; and the history and current status of evidence-based child welfare practice. Additional chapters address the impact of trauma on children, youth, and families, as well as multidimensional engagement in child welfare. The text covers various populations involved in child welfare, including domestic children of color, native peoples, immigrant children and families, victims of human trafficking, LGBTQIA youth, and more. Each chapter provides an overview of the history of child welfare interventions and culturally responsive practices with these populations, as well as relevant policies and current practices. Introduction to Child Welfare is an ideal text for future and current child welfare professionals who wish to improve their personal practice.




New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research


Book Description

Each year, child protective services receive reports of child abuse and neglect involving six million children, and many more go unreported. The long-term human and fiscal consequences of child abuse and neglect are not relegated to the victims themselves-they also impact their families, future relationships, and society. In 1993, the National Research Council (NRC) issued the report, Under-standing Child Abuse and Neglect, which provided an overview of the research on child abuse and neglect. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research updates the 1993 report and provides new recommendations to respond to this public health challenge. According to this report, while there has been great progress in child abuse and neglect research, a coordinated, national research infrastructure with high-level federal support needs to be established and implemented immediately. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research recommends an actionable framework to guide and support future child abuse and neglect research. This report calls for a comprehensive, multidisciplinary approach to child abuse and neglect research that examines factors related to both children and adults across physical, mental, and behavioral health domains-including those in child welfare, economic support, criminal justice, education, and health care systems-and assesses the needs of a variety of subpopulations. It should also clarify the causal pathways related to child abuse and neglect and, more importantly, assess efforts to interrupt these pathways. New Directions in Child Abuse and Neglect Research identifies four areas to look to in developing a coordinated research enterprise: a national strategic plan, a national surveillance system, a new generation of researchers, and changes in the federal and state programmatic and policy response.




The Management of Child Protection Services


Book Description

First published in 1999, The Management of Child Protection Services is not about child abuse but about child protection. It is about the arrangements that professionals from different disciplines make to ensure they operate together effectively to protect the most vulnerable children in society. The book examines five different contexts of child protection: historical, cross-cultural, structural, managerial and professional and consideration of the operation of Area Child Protection Committees. In exploring these contexts, the book seeks to address such questions as: ‘how can universal standards be applied to protect vulnerable children whilst avoiding ethnocentrism?’ and ‘from where are derived, historically, and cross-culturally, the models of child protection adopted in the UK today?’ It also seeks to identify the different professional contexts, roles and contributions of agencies involved in child protection, with a view to promoting interdisciplinary understanding. These questions and understandings are necessary if changes currently being contemplated are to enhance the effectiveness of child protection.




The Child Protection Handbook


Book Description

This title is directed primarily towards health care professionals outside of the United States. The new edition of this popular handbook gives an authoritative, informative and accessible account of key areas of child protection practice. Covering research, policy and practice it is relevant to all professionals working in child care. No other book on child protection offers such comprehensive coverage of policy and practice. It provides research findings in all areas of child abuse, latest policies and indications of good practice, plus specialist chapters for different professionals. Chapters have been contributed by known experts in the field, both distinguished academics and practitioners. By combining the latest factual information with sophisticated analysis, it is the ideal course text for child protection programmes as well as meeting the needs of more experienced practitioners, academics and trainers. Practical. Examines the issues grounded in reality, and therefore gives the reader confidence in practice, coupled with an understanding of the responsibilities of colleagues in other professions. Comprehensive. Covers a broad review of what constitutes child abuse and characteristics of the abused and the abusers; medical, social and legal management of the process of protection; the actions involved in intervention. and training and new directions for research and practice. Authoritative. Contributors are senior professionals known nationally and internationally for their specific expertise in this area. Research based. All books should be, but amongst the professionals most closely involved in child protection, the heavy workload often means there is little time to catch up on and assimilate up-to-date research fully. This book offers a through guide to what research and policy initiatives can give to the practice of the reader. new chapters addressing issues of culture and parenting.. each chapter contains key messages for practitioners. key websites have been listed. a website on Evolve with supplementary material.




Understanding System Change in Child Protection and Welfare


Book Description

This book provides an account of the experience of a multifaceted system-change programme to strengthen the capacity of Ireland’s statutory child protection and welfare agency in the areas of prevention, early intervention and family support. Many jurisdictions globally are involved in system change processes focused on increasing investment in services that seek to prevent children’s entry into child protection and welfare systems, through early intervention, greater support to families, and an increased emphasis on rights and participation. Based on a four-year in-depth study by a team of University-based researchers, this text adds to the emerging knowledge-base on developing, implementing and evaluating system change in child protection and welfare. Study methodological approaches were wide ranging and involved a number of key stakeholders including children, parents, social workers and social care workers, service managers, agency leaders and policy makers. Since the change process involved an agency-university partnership encompassing design, technical support and evaluation, the book also contributes to understandings of the potential and limits of such partnerships in the child protection and welfare field. Uniquely, the book gives voice to the experience of both agency personnel and academic in the accounts provided. It will be of interest to all scholars, students and practitioners in the areas of child protection and welfare.