There is a growing literature that describes the benefits and challenges of collaboration among schools, counsellors, and the families of students. This literature, however, is largely drawn from Western cultural settings and from situations where the different collaborators exist as essentially separate entities. This article seeks to add to and…

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…

Discusses the Medical Foster Parent Program of the Children's Home and Aid Society of Illinois and La Rabida Children's Hospital and Research Center in Chicago. The program provides foster care for seriously ill children who are wards of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services who would benefit from staying outside of a hospital.…

Describes the progress of a therapy group for four sexually abused children aged 8-12 years. Details the program evaluation procedure and insights gained from the experience. (RJC)

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)

Notes that open adoption is less typical in adoptions of special-needs children; presents a model for openness in special-needs adoptions. Notes that the primary benefit of openness for an adopted child is loss minimization and maintenance of familial connections even in cases of abuse or neglect, as children continue to form significant…

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…

The Foster Care Charter and the philosophy of the United Kingdom's National Foster Care Association are described. The philosophy distinguishes between "foster carers" and foster parents. (BC)

A new evaluation instrument was developed to measure the performance of caseworkers at a private foster care agency. It was designed to correlate directly with the caseworker's job description and to provide better data than the previous evaluation tool. Scoring forms were developed to compare the previously used evaluation instrument and the new…

From in-depth interviews with 15 public and volunteer agency caseworkers in states with and without statewide parental visiting policies, the elements that tend to determine or control the planned frequency of parental visiting of placed children are discussed. (BB)

Examined the effectiveness of long-term treatment foster care placements. Results indicated that: much depends on change as well as stability in a family; a small number of children accounts for a disproportionate number of placement changes; supports after permanent placements into adoption or reunification are desirable; and a continuum of…

This study queried caseworkers for 77 New York children in out-of-home care still waiting for placement to determine obstacles to permanent adoption. Questionnaires sought demographics, placement efforts, and caseworker opinions. Findings indicated several obstacles, including the following: child's strong emotional ties to family (foster or…

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…

This practicum was designed to improve the level and quality of involvement of foster parents and social workers in the development of timely and compliant foster care plans at a child care agency in Ontario. The writer developed: (1) an agency policy that defined the unique relationship between foster parents and the child welfare agency and…

This descriptive study explores the relationships between the degree to which structured decision-making procedures were used in child welfare intake and child welfare workers' characteristics, client-case characteristics, and the agency service unit in which the decisions were made. (Author/BB)