Understanding Child Welfare
Will be published approx. on 28. January 2026
Book
Hardback
258 pages
978-1-0353-5911-0 (ISBN)
Description
Co-authored by eminent scholars in the field, this book surveys the processes and outcomes of child welfare services in the US, drawing global parallels in order to capture the challenges, tensions, and opportunities facing child welfare services.
Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book outlines which welfare system reforms are likely to have the greatest benefit for at-risk and maltreated children and families. Chapters cover crucial debates and initiatives mapping the evolution of child welfare services in the US and presenting comparisons with other approaches to child welfare services across the globe. The authors adopt a chronological approach, from initial contact to case closings, beginning with the prevention of child maltreatment and extending through out-of-home care, with a particular emphasis on services to older youth. The book also considers how to approach issues stemming from the importance of understanding and addressing diversity in race, ethnicity, and culture among child welfare involved families and offers opportunities for the evolution of child welfare services.
Understanding Child Welfare is an illuminating read for students and scholars in social work, psychology, public health, and sociology. It is also a useful resource for practitioners, policymakers and other actors involved in child welfare services internationally.
Written in a clear and accessible manner, the book outlines which welfare system reforms are likely to have the greatest benefit for at-risk and maltreated children and families. Chapters cover crucial debates and initiatives mapping the evolution of child welfare services in the US and presenting comparisons with other approaches to child welfare services across the globe. The authors adopt a chronological approach, from initial contact to case closings, beginning with the prevention of child maltreatment and extending through out-of-home care, with a particular emphasis on services to older youth. The book also considers how to approach issues stemming from the importance of understanding and addressing diversity in race, ethnicity, and culture among child welfare involved families and offers opportunities for the evolution of child welfare services.
Understanding Child Welfare is an illuminating read for students and scholars in social work, psychology, public health, and sociology. It is also a useful resource for practitioners, policymakers and other actors involved in child welfare services internationally.
Reviews / Votes
'Within and beyond the United States, societies face enduring and increasingly complex challenges of protecting children from abuse and neglect, and providing safety and helpful support services. In Understanding Child Welfare, a team of some of the most experienced thinkers in the field provides an invaluable resource for researchers, policy-makers, practitioners, and the public, presenting a holistic state of the art summary of core topics. Barth et al. have crafted a scholarly yet accessible, measured and thoroughly referenced synthesis of key dimensions of contemporary child welfare services. Their comprehensive treatment draws on decades of deep expertise and careful scholarship, blending theory and practice, science and normativity, social policy and individual need. Marked by a commitment to precision, the book is built on a solid foundation of the true nature and intrinsic limits of child welfare services, which highlights and overcomes common misconceptions while facilitating a nuanced account on which readers can rely. The book takes on the difficult challenge of considering the spectrum of human experience and social determinants that so often present difficulties in case-based decision-making and broader ongoing practice for child welfare services collectively and practitioners individually. Given the inherent limits of the field, the authors appropriately acknowledge the imperfectibility of child welfare services and ongoing critical debates, but in their strategy of repeatedly providing "glimmers of change" point to strategies and developments that offer hope for current and future generations. The prevalence of child abuse and neglect and their massive associated long-term burdens on individual health, family wellbeing and community flourishing mean governments have a moral and economic stake in enhancing child welfare services. This book can play an important role in contributing to this ongoing imperative.' -- Ben Mathews, Queensland University of Technology, Australia 'At a time of intense and often polarizing disagreement about the nature, purpose and existence of child protection systems, this book informs and challenges readers across the ideological spectrum. Whether one is new to the field of child protection or has been around for years, this book provides a valuable framework for promoting engagement and discourse around the "critical debates" of modern child protection.' -- Sarah Font, Washington University in St Louis, USA 'These seven North American authors are uniquely qualified to provide this authoritative analysis of the present state of child welfare knowledge. Though the data and systems described originate in the USA, the overview of principles and the child welfare knowledge base should be welcomed by practitioners and researchers across the world.' -- June Thoburn, University of East Anglia, UKMore details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Cheltenham
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 156 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-0353-5911-0 (9781035359110)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Richard P. Barth, Distinguished University Professor, University of Maryland School of Social Work, Jill Duerr Berrick, Distinguished Professor and Zellerbach Family Chair, Berkeley Social Welfare, University of California, Berkeley, Melissa Jonson-Reid, Ralph and Muriel Pumphrey Professor of Social Work Research, Brown School, Washington University, Antonio R. Garcia, Professor, School of Social Work, North Carolina State University, Johanna K.P. Greeson, Associate Professor, School of Social Policy & Practice, University of Pennsylvania, John Gyourko, Assistant Professor, Department of Social Work, James Madison University and Brett Drake, Professor of Data Science for the Social Good in Practice, Brown School, Washington University, USA
Content
Contents
Preface
1 Understanding the aims and tensions of child welfare services
2 Pursuing safety: Understanding harm, trauma, and
interventions in families
3 Foster care and beyond: Pathways, practices, and permanency
4 Child welfare and the challenge of difference: Universalism,
accommodation, and reform
5 Adolescents in child welfare: Distinctive pathways, services,
and outcomes
6 Will the kids be alright? CWS and the unfinished work of
protection and beyond
7 Child welfare myths and misunderstandings
8 Workforce dynamics in child welfare: Investing in the people
who protect children
9 Looking ahead: Toward a smaller, smarter, stronger child
welfare system
References
Preface
1 Understanding the aims and tensions of child welfare services
2 Pursuing safety: Understanding harm, trauma, and
interventions in families
3 Foster care and beyond: Pathways, practices, and permanency
4 Child welfare and the challenge of difference: Universalism,
accommodation, and reform
5 Adolescents in child welfare: Distinctive pathways, services,
and outcomes
6 Will the kids be alright? CWS and the unfinished work of
protection and beyond
7 Child welfare myths and misunderstandings
8 Workforce dynamics in child welfare: Investing in the people
who protect children
9 Looking ahead: Toward a smaller, smarter, stronger child
welfare system
References