Child maltreatment is a significant public health concern that affects children's health and well-being throughout their life. Children who are maltreated are at an increased risk of developing a disability or delay and are more vulnerable to a range of mental health-related problems, including depression, anxiety, substance abuse, criminality,…

Purpose: The rates of children looked after by local authorities in England have been rising for more than two decades. This study was conducted to determine what approaches local authorities have adopted that they perceive to be the most effective in preventing the need for children to come into care. It also considers how they evaluate these…

School absenteeism and its underlying causes can have negative effects on the cognitive, psychosocial and health development of a child. Research in primary education shows high rates of sickness absence. Many stakeholders are involved in addressing school absenteeism, including primary school professionals, child and youth healthcare physicians,…

This article assesses the evolving dimensions of sympathy education in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. It focuses on the League of Pity, the juvenile branch organisation of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). In its early years the League sought to emphasise Christian service and self-denial,…

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…

This brief describes the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) and Chapin Hall's partnership to build momentum and consensus for child welfare system transformation by bringing together human services agency leadership, experts with lived experience, and national partner organizations to advance cross-sector recommendations for shared…

Six percent of children in the United States enter foster care by age 18. We estimate the effects of foster care on children's outcomes by exploiting the quasi-random assignment of child welfare investigators in Michigan. We find that foster care improved children's safety and educational outcomes. Gains emerged after children exited the foster…

The Program of Intervention for Prevention of Institutionalization (P.I.P.P.I.) is a programme that integrates research, training, and intervention in working with families living in vulnerable situations. It is funded by the Italian Ministry of Welfare and, since 2011, has cumulatively involved roughly 8000 professionals from Social and Health…

This research brief is one of a series of six briefs, which provide an overview of available evidence shown in the Campbell-UNICEF Mega-Map of the effectiveness of interventions to improve child wellbeing in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Five of the six briefs summarize evidence as mapped against the five Goal Areas of UNICEF's…

Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) can negatively influence development. However, the lifelong effects of positive childhood experiences (PACEs) can mitigate the detrimental effects of adverse ones. By integrating existing knowledge about ACEs with developmental research on preventing, buffering, and treating the effects of adversity, stress,…

The aim of this article is to discuss the social justice implications for educational psychologists working with orphans and vulnerable children (OVC) who comprise 3.7 million of the population in South Africa. The author begins with a global conceptualisation of social justice and then discusses the nature of social justice in South Africa. This…

This series of briefs draws on the findings of multi-country research based on first-hand migration experiences of 1,634 children and young people moving between Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt1 (available at www.unicef-irc.org/child-migration-hoa). The briefs highlight findings that can inform decision makers when designing child-sensitive…

About one-fifth of children involved in investigations for abuse or neglect are placed in foster care. Although some return to their families quickly, others may remain in foster care for years without permanent family relationships. In this article, Mark Testa, Kristen Woodruff, Roseana Bess, Jerry Milner, and Maria Woolverton examine the…

Foster care provides round-the-clock substitute care for nearly 700,000 U.S. children who are temporarily or permanently separated from their family of origin each year. Each state manages its own foster care system according to federal regulations. Despite numerous large-scale federal policy reforms over the past several decades, substantial…

This article spotlights Colorado and Rhode Island's collaboration efforts on the Keeping Children and Families Safe Act (PL 108-36, 2003), which reauthorized the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA, 2018) and Part C of the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA, 2018). These two key pieces of federal legislation require…