This article provides a collection of websites related to children affected by war, terrorism, and disaster. These online resources are intended to provide information about various organizations and their efforts to improve the lives of children in crisis around the world.

This article describes the work of the Circle of Courage, a cross-cultural group committed to improving the cultural competence of organizations providing services to Aboriginal populations in a midsized city in Canada. Rather than concentrating on individuals' cultural competence, the Circle targets mainstream organizations. Many of its…

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)

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)

Through a survey of conference attendees, this study identified major goals and objectives for youth camping programs. Implications are drawn for the future of camping as a recreational, educational, and therapeutic tool of social institutions. (SJL)

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…

This issue presents information about the Concern for Children in Placement (CIP) project which promotes a cost-effective case monitoring system to assist courts and agencies in knowing where children under their supervision are placed and why. The CIP pilot test is described and plans for wider dissemination are presented. (JMB)

The focus of a child caring facility had changed from caring exclusively for orphans to serving a broader population of abandoned, abused, and neglected children. Because no effective marketing tool existed within this child caring agency to make agency identification and information readily accessible to county departments of social services…

Summarizes this special issue, which aims to illustrate the importance of, and stimulate interest in, child welfare history; demonstrate links between historical and current child welfare practice and policy; and encourage inclusion of child welfare in research perspectives. Topics include rise of child welfare services, responses to the need for…

Finds the author most effective when recounting personal experiences of dealing with regulations and bureaucratic procedures of adoption. Finds the book ineffective as a critique of adoption because of a fallacious premise that there is a shortage of children available for those waiting to adopt due to a defective adoption system. (Author/SD)

This study used focus group discussions with formal kinship caregivers in Maryland to examine the need for support services. Findings revealed that kinship caregivers were committed to providing safety and stability for the children placed with them and suggested that caregiving can be a significant adjustment for many kinship caregivers. Findings…

To eliminate mishandling of child abuse cases caused by a lack of interagency cooperation, the state of Georgia mandated that formal interagency committees be established. This article discusses the committees' activity levels and changes in organizational patterns brought about by the committee system. Offers insight into how nonfunded mandates…

Research and experience from throughout the child welfare system have established that maintaining a strong connection between children and their families is critical to ensure positive outcomes for children in out-of-home care. Ways in which administrators and managers in out-of-home care agencies bring a family focus to their policy,…

This paper reports on a practicum designed to teach foster-care caseworkers how to improve the specificity and clarity of item definition on Individual Service Plans (ISPs) for children in foster care. Most agencies require that within 30 days of accepting a child for foster care, agency caseworkers must complete an ISP which establishes goals for…

This report describes family support through the experiences and testimony of eight families. The eight families, who had children with very difficult health and behavioral problems, were participants in the Macomb-Oakland Regional Center's Family Support Program, near Detroit, Michigan. Interviews were conducted to give voice to the families who…