The strengths and abilities children develop from infancy through adolescence are crucial for their physical, emotional, and cognitive growth, which in turn help them to achieve success in school and to become responsible, economically self-sufficient, and healthy adults. Capable, responsible, and healthy adults are clearly the foundation of a…

Outcomes measurement has become a contemporary requirement for non-profit, government, and private sector child, youth, and family service providers throughout North America as well as in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, and elsewhere. Cost-effectiveness, care planning, service evaluations, and fiscal audits are now commonplace…

The stress-strain-coping-support model of how adult family members are affected by a relative's substance misuse is equally relevant to children who live with parental or familial substance misuse. To date, the main beneficiaries of the 5-Step Method have been adult family members, yet children can benefit from familial intervention generally and…

This article draws upon biographical interview material from a mixed-method British study of workers caring for vulnerable children: residential social workers, family support workers, foster carers and community childminders. It has two aims: (1) to identify the contexts--the particular events, circumstances and life course phases--that…

The present review summarises literature on the needs of disabled children and their families and draws on research identifying promising service provision. The review took 1997 as its starting point to build on two thorough reviews that were written prior to that time. The findings of the current review largely echo earlier work in terms of what…

Gives an overview of recent changes in legislation and social policy with respect to child welfare in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. Discusses the effect of the Children Act 1989 on children's services in England and contrasts England's services with the organization of child welfare services in Scotland and Northern Ireland.…

Describes and assesses the impact of the 1989 Children Act on the family support aspects of statutory child-care social work. Outlines ideological challenges to family support work and traces the main themes in relevant professional and research literature. Presents the family support clauses of the act and an account of the dominant concerns that…

This article reflects on a number of key concepts and planning tools that have been developed or adapted through the inter-agency planning of services for children and young people in Northern Ireland (Children's Services Planning). These conceptual models have been developed between 1999 and 2005 and illustrate the key contribution of Children's…

This paper presents findings of an evaluation of a one-off, small scale, pilot project. Picking up where Sure Start, the government programme for families of newborns to threes, leaves off, "Families in Focus" works with children aged four to 16 on a disadvantaged council estate in London. Through this route, the programme also reaches…

Presents salient features of workshop discussion examining child abuse. Topics discussed include cross-cultural definitions of abuse, prevalence rates, family-centered versus child-centered approaches, educational perspectives on child protection work, the need for international research, abuses of child protection systems, emotional demands on…

A previous project by the Foundation for People with Learning Disabilities analysed data that had been collected by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) in 1999 in their survey of the mental health of children and adolescents in Great Britain. The Foundation found that in this nationally representative sample of just over 10,000 children, 39%…

Describes development of the Sure Start program in the United Kingdom, focusing on the level of government support, policy development, and implementation. Maintains that the program is a prime example of "joined-up government" and evidence-based policy making. Outlines the program's evaluation strategy, including indicators of success.…

Examines drug-prevention programs in the United Kingdom and the United States which have included parents within their intervention strategies. Reviews implications for practice, describes a small number of model programs, and identifies critical issues for policy and practice regarding identifying, recruiting, and retaining parents within the…