Praises Wegar's examination of the debate over sealed birth records and searching for birth parents to explore the meanings of kinship, family, and identity in contemporary culture. Criticizes the work's lack of incorporation of open adoption literature, overlooking of feminist works, and lack of strategies for changing negative attitudes toward…

Reviews "Health Care Reform and Child Welfare" (DeWoody) on addressing the needs of abused and neglected children; and "Deadly Consequences" (Prothrow-Stith and Weissman) on the violence destroying the teenage population and ways to begin solving the problem. (HTH)

Reviews the longitudinal study on special needs adoption examined in Groze's work. Notes that the main strength of the book is showing how these adopted families are different from other families. Criticizes the work's limitations, including small sample size, use of self-reports, and decreased information when the children became adolescents.…

Reviews 17 publications covering a variety of topics including abused disabled children; child placement; helping attachment disordered children; open adoption; family empowerment; teenage fostering; the Children Act of 1989 (Great Britain); family law; social services and child care law; and challenging racism in the early years. (TJQ)

Asserts that O'Neill's book is excellent critique of liberalism and its neglect of children, but that suggestions for implementing covenant theory (rather than contract theory) as the basis for societal thinking and policy-making, although appealing, are problematic; paradoxically, in order to re-establish close relations between people, calls…

Describes the book by Geraldine Youcha as uncovering recurring patterns in American efforts to care for neglected and destitute children. Discusses the book's six chapters, which cover child care on antebellum plantations, 19th-century utopias, the difficulties faced by immigrant women with children, and issues in contemporary child care. (BGC)

Reviews: (1) "Deciding Who Lives: Fateful Choices in the Intensive-Care Nursery" (Renee Anspach); (2) "Maltreatment and the School-Age Child: Developmental Outcomes and System Issues" (Phyllis Howing and others); (3) "Preventing Prejudice: A Guide for Counsellors and Educators" (J.G. Ponterotto and P.B. Pederson); and…

Maintains that Schorr's provocative book omits consideration of the basic question raised: whether the social reform the book seeks is possible without a sea change in national politics. Suggests that the book's insights should spur policy makers, nonprofit sector leaders, agency officials, community builders, and philanthropists to use resources…

Characterizes the focus of Keefer and Schooler's book as being on talking to children who do not have contact with birthparents, while neglecting the issue of helping birth and adoptive families overcome differences inherent in what brought each to adoption. Presents chapter contents of the work. Notes that book is the best available to parents on…

Reviews the following books on early childhood education: (1) "Structural Adjustment Policy and the Child in India. Proceedings of a Seminar held in Madras on December 23, 1992" (M. S. Swaminathan Research Institute); (2) "Classroom Pedagogy and Primary Practice" (David McNamara); and (3) "The Early Years: Laying the…

Reviews five books on child labor, published 1997-2000, with reference to the International Labour Organization's 1999 convention that retreats from its previous hard stance on child labor. Discusses street children; public policy on child labor, child welfare, and school attendance; types of children's work; and working children as agents…

Emotional intelligence involves a cluster of skills, including self-control, zeal, persistence, and self-motivation. Every child must be taught the essentials of handling anger, managing conflicts, developing empathy, and controlling impulses. Schools must help children recognize and manage their emotions. Educators should model emotional…

Reviews Goldstein and others' work concerning identification of the least harmful alternative in complex child custody situations. Notes that the book's major assumption is that children's needs are paramount and families are inviolate except in extreme cases. Maintains that the book has clear assumptions and values, recommendations following…

Reviews three books on family preservation and welfare services: (1) "Families in Crisis: The Impact of Intensive Family Preservation Services" (Mark Frases and others); (2) "Together Again: Family Reunification in Foster Care" (Barbara Pine and others); and (3) "Rethinking Child Welfare in Canada" (Brian Wharf,…

Provides two reviews of "The Child Welfare Challenge," a comprehensive textbook describing the field of child welfare in the United States. Praises the use of theoretical, conceptual, and empirical material which encourages readers to think conceptually and analytically rather than descriptively. Suggests, however, that despite its…