Library of Essays in Child Welfare and Development – serie

This book provides a good foundation for understanding influences on children’s health and development. The volume brings together in a single reference source the world’s leading thinkers on children’s health and development. It sets out the basic concepts that underpin the study of child development and response to impairments to development, including attachment, changes in brain structure, and resilience. The book explores the idea of life-course development, explaining how experiences at each stage in a person’s life shapes his or her future. It goes on to example the relative contribution of societal, neighbourhood, school, family and individual influences to child well-being. This includes a look at the way these forces interact, such as when genes shape environments, and vice versa. The book summarises the evidence on the incidence and consequences of impairments to children’s health and development, covering both the majority of typical children and the minority who experience significant problems.

Need is a popular but controversial concept in social policy. 'Needs-led' has become a mantra in children's services in recent years, yet theorists still argue about the meaning and value of the concept of 'need'. There are lots of needs assessment at the individual child and population levels, but case files vary enormously in quality and reports of need analyses frequently gather dust on shelves. How, then, should we define and measure children's needs, and how should this influence the design of services? This edited collection answers these questions in order to help policy makers, managers, practitioners and researchers with identifying and serving children in need. It offers a critical appraisal of the state of play regarding the theory of need, the needs that children have, methods for assessing children's needs at the individual and group levels, and approaches to designing services to meet identified needs.

This volume brings together a selection of the most influential and informative English language refereed journal articles on children in out-of-home care, their birth relatives and carers. The articles, which include empirical research and critiques of policy and practice, are mainly from the UK and USA, but include some coverage of child placement policy and practice in Australia and mainland Europe. The volume starts with a joint introductory chapter by the two distinguished authors (one American, one British) reviewing the state of knowledge on children in care and drawing attention to other important sources not included as chapters.

Children’s services in The Developing World brings together evidence relating to the health and development of children in the global South. It is essential reading for students, scientists, policy makers and practitioners in economically developing countries. The book deals with the effects of catastrophe, disease, war and poverty on children's development. There is strong coverage of the ways in which children cope with even the most inauspicious of circumstances. Evidence is provided on the incidence of impairment to health and development. As well as establishing the risks to child well-being in the economic South, the book shows how to intervene to address those risks. Examples of good practice rigorously evaluated will be of interest to everyone seeking to improve the lives of children, whether that be in economically developed or developing nations.

This volume asks what legal and socio legal scholarship can contribute to understanding the role of law in the care and development of children. The editors have selected key articles ranging from theoretical analysis to empirical data based research that address the law's approach in the United States and the United Kingdom to resolving parenting disputes after separation, protecting children from abuse and neglect, and affording children procedural protections in the juvenile justice system. Their introduction to these important and often distressing areas of the law confirms the importance of understanding how law works in practice, and reaffirms that law itself remains responsible for articulating and protecting society's values.

This book sets out the current state of knowledge about what works in reducing impairments to children’s health and development. Little and Maughan’s book applies a high standard of proof and reproduces only the work of the leading intervention scientists from around the world. After discussing the real world challenges to more effective children’s services, the book goes on to cover policy and practice proven to change the lives of all children, and extends also to effective programmes targeted at children with specific disorders. Examples include changes in household income, early years support, moving families to less disadvantaged communities, improving parenting and using schools to better mental health. The benefits of evidence-based programmes are specified, as are the costs to society of not intervening. The evidence is used to make recommendations about getting effective policy and practice into routine use, and includes illustrations of successful applications of these ideas.

This book provides a good foundation for understanding influences on children’s health and development. The volume brings together in a single reference source the world’s leading thinkers on children’s health and development. It sets out the basic concepts that underpin the study of child development and response to impairments to development, including attachment, changes in brain structure, and resilience. The book explores the idea of life-course development, explaining how experiences at each stage in a person’s life shapes his or her future. It goes on to example the relative contribution of societal, neighbourhood, school, family and individual influences to child well-being. This includes a look at the way these forces interact, such as when genes shape environments, and vice versa. The book summarises the evidence on the incidence and consequences of impairments to children’s health and development, covering both the majority of typical children and the minority who experience significant problems.

Children’s services in The Developing World brings together evidence relating to the health and development of children in the global South. It is essential reading for students, scientists, policy makers and practitioners in economically developing countries. The book deals with the effects of catastrophe, disease, war and poverty on children's development. There is strong coverage of the ways in which children cope with even the most inauspicious of circumstances. Evidence is provided on the incidence of impairment to health and development. As well as establishing the risks to child well-being in the economic South, the book shows how to intervene to address those risks. Examples of good practice rigorously evaluated will be of interest to everyone seeking to improve the lives of children, whether that be in economically developed or developing nations.