This article examines the community-level impact of concentrated child welfare agency involvement in African American neighborhoods. Based on interviews of 25 African American women in a Chicago neighborhood, the study found that residents were aware of intense agency involvement in their neighborhood and identified profound effects on social…

This paper identifies some of the obstacles to telling the truth that are found in the work and practice of social agencies for children. (MS)

High stress levels experienced by child protection workers have been well documented. This study examined the effectiveness of a stress management program in a child protection agency. Subjects were case workers, immediate supervisors, and clerical staff; 320 subjects participated in pretesting and 279 subjects participated in posttesting.…

Potential problems of agency sponsorship of programs for disadvantaged children are discussed. (BRT)

Rather than being a by-product of the social activism of the 1960s, modern child advocacy began and evolved immediately after World War II in the context of the welfare state. The rise and fall of the Citizens' Committee for Children of New York, begun in 1945, illustrates the changing content and meaning of postwar child advocacy. (TM)

Reports on adoption placement services for older children provided by the Lutheran Social Service of Kansas and Oklahoma. (SB)

Discusses the changing role of social agencies and the need for a reexamination of the counseling services offered in the adoption process. (SP)

The paper presents an analysis of learning disabilities (LD) issues from a systems perspective. Noted are the possible causative factors, different manifestations of the condition, and maturational delays in age appropriate ego functioning. Difficulties of parenting a handicapped child are said to be magnified for families with limited resources.…

Contemporary proposals to revive orphanges raise two questions: Is returning to orphanage care feasible? and; Would children benefit? The historical record of the 19th and early 20th centuries suggests that creating a new system of orphanges would be expensive and highly unfeasible. Past criticisms based on the perceived harm caused by…

Findings of a study on child abuse reporting practices are presented in this paper. A survey of 1,196 professionals (social workers, psychologists, and doctors) and 267 elementary and secondary principals yielded response rates of 59 and 69 percent, respectively. Findings indicate that although school district policy and resource limitations…

Presents some characteristics of abusive parents and abused children, suggests the magnitude of the abuse problem, and describes steps that have been taken by school personnel and social service agencies to facilitate detection and treatment. (BRT)

North Carolina's Child Abuse Reporting Law makes all citizens legally responsible for reporting incidents of child abuse and neglect. Professionals, such as doctors and teachers, must also give their professional opinions as to the nature, extent, and causes of the damaged child's condition. The basic purpose of the law is to identify children at…

Describes the nature of the godparent relationship, which is prominent in Hispanic family culture. Cites results of a study of Hispanic godparents, and urges more effort by the child welfare system to explore the availability of godparents as placement resources. (SKC)

Based on the work of the National Council on Research in Child Welfare (NCRCW), this handbook is designed to help social service agency executives cope with changing times for child welfare agencies, strengthen traditional services to meet today's needs, and analyze and plan for the future. The manual aims to demystify quality improvement theory…

Article describes the Older Children's Unit of the Adoption Services Section, San Diego Coutny of Public Welfare, San Diego, California. (CB)