Although family-centeredness is a tenet of early intervention, families often report struggling to meaningfully participate in decision-making. To increase family involvement, in the United States Parent Training and Information Centers (PTIs) and service coordinators are charged with educating and empowering families to advocate for their…

This study examines the challenges child protection efforts face in Greece within the broader context of European child welfare systems in the 21st century. Despite legislative mandates, Greece struggles with the effective implementation of child protection legislation and out-of-home placement of abused and neglected children. Drawing on the…

Objective: To describe trends of felony sexual abuse prosecutions between 1992 and 2002 for two districts of a large urban city that differed primarily in their use of children's advocacy centers (CACs) for sexual abuse evaluations in children. Methods: Aggregate data for two districts of a large urban city were provided from 1992 to 2002 from the…

It was November of 2006, when the author was attending a guardianship conference in Ft. Lauderdale. The author attended as Prosperity Life Planning (www.prosperitylifeplanning.org) a small, educational nonprofit organization, through which he educates and advocates for parents through the special needs planning process with area attorneys, benefit…

Children in out-of-home care due to familial maltreatment and other developmental and behavioral problems remain at risk for abuse and neglect in the very placements designed for care and treatment. The background of federal involvement in Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) requirements, as well as the states' responses for…

This article sets out results from a Welsh Assembly government-funded study of complaints involving children and their use of advocacy services commissioned by local authorities in Wales. As this is the first study of its kind in Wales there is no baseline against which to compare the findings, hence we discuss the data in the context of a wider…

Discusses the use of judicial review in breaking the cycle of multiplacements of children in foster homes. Also discusses the Court Appointed Special Advocate program which screens and trains volunteers to provide the attention necessary for cases of abused and neglected children. (RJC)

The author examines the concept of advocacy as a new helping relationship. (Author)

This paper addresses the concept of child advocacy as a service strategy for troubled youth, particularly juvenile delinquents. The shortcomings of more traditional approaches to these youth and the concomitant recommendations for the use of advocacy are reviewed. The lack of clearly specified operating principles and techniques for advocacy…

California is spending over four billion dollars a year to feed, educate, punish, shelter, and care for children. Numerous studies have concluded, however, that these services are frequently uncoordinated, duplicative, wasteful, and ineffective. Yet when corrective actions are proposed, they deal only with fragments of the system. The Assembly…

Describes funding and types of research done at the National Children's Bureau in Britian, an independent organization concerned with all aspects of children's needs. (SB)

Describes the Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program for child welfare proceedings. Examines the current literature regarding the impact of CASA across the nation and discusses the findings and implications of an empirical study that evaluated a CASA program in terms of placement outcomes in a major U.S. city. (MOK)

Noting that over 90 percent of private child welfare agencies in the United States are church related, this book expands the rather limited professional literature on the distinctive characteristics of a church context for providing social services to children and families. The two parts of the book deal with the foundations of the church's care…

In 1994, the Carnegie Corporation released "Starting Points: Meeting the Needs of Our Youngest Children," which called for an action agenda to promote responsible parenthood, guarantee quality child care choices, ensure good health and protection, and mobilize communities to support young children and families. In 1996, the Carnegie…

Outlines the purpose, organization, themes, and usefulness of the research agenda formulated by the National Council on Research in Child Welfare (NCRCW). The agenda's four areas of focus are information technologies, prevention of child abuse and neglect, child protection and reunification, and out-of-home care. (TJQ)