Child Protection Systems: International Trends and Orientations (International Policy Exchange) - Hardcover

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0199793352 ISBN 13: 9780199793358

Publisher: Oxford University Press, 2011

Synopsis

Child Protection Systems is a comparative study of the social policies and professional practices that frame societal responses to the problems of child maltreatment in ten countries: USA, Canada, England, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. Focusing on the developments in policy and practice since the mid-1990s, this volume provides a detailed, up-to-date analysis of the similarities and differences in how child protection systems operate and their outcomes. The findings highlight the changing criteria that define child maltreatment, trends in out-of-home placement, professional responses to allegations of maltreatment, and the level of state responsibility for child and family welfare, providing an in-depth understanding of the different ways modern welfare states assume the sensitive responsibility of balancing children's rights and parents' rights.

The changing character of child protection systems worldwide reflects dramatic and rapid organizational, policy, and legislative changes; the expansion of child welfare systems; the rise of formal procedures and evidence-based initiatives; the increased challenges posed by race and ethnicity; and the extent to which countries adopt either a child protection or a family service approach to child abuse. Each chapter analyzes these developments and the directions in which they are heading, such as movements toward privatization and devolution of child welfare service delivery. Against this backdrop, a third approach begins to emerge-a child-focused orientation-that aims to promote and improve children's development and well-being.

A vital book for understanding contemporary trends and policy issues in the design of child protection systems, this will be must reading for comparative scholars of child welfare, family policy, and the welfare state.

About this title

About the Author

Neil Gilbert, PhD, is Chernin Professor of Social Welfare at the School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley, and Co-Director of the Center for Child and Youth Policy.
Nigel Parton, PhD, is NSPCC Professor in Applied Childhood Studies, University of Huddersfield.
Marit Skivenes, PhD, is Senior Researcher, Bergen University College.

Review

"The seismic change in child protection systems both in the United States and around the world are clearly illustrated and analyzed in this wonderful book. The creative, disruptive approaches toward child protection adopted by various countries around the world lead to new and promising orientations toward preserving the welfare and future of children. This is the most important contribution toward international understanding of child protection currently available." -- Duncan Lindsey, Professor of Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles and Editor-in-Chief, Children and Youth Services Review

"This is a superb contribution to the understanding of the evolution of child protection in ten European and Anglo-American countries. It is an essential text for policy makers and practitioners, as it clearly delineates and compares central changes in approaches and guiding assumptions, and the compelling ways in which states fashion their interventions as a response to the competing claims and philosophies of child protection, family service, and child focus approaches. Outstanding, well written, and destined to become a benchmark for the field as a whole." -- Jim Torczyner, Professor of Social Work and Founder/Director, Montreal Consortium for Human Rights Advocacy Training, McGill University

"This timely volume provides an illuminating look at how child welfare systems operate in ten countries, including several representatives each from the Anglo-American, Continental European, and Nordic groups. Written by country experts, the chapters document the approaches these disparate countries have taken to address the challenge of protecting children while also supporting families. The results not only shed light on different program models and approaches but also offer some larger lessons as to what advanced societies can and should do to promote the well-being of their most vulnerable children." -- Jane Waldfogel, Professor of Social Work and Public Affairs, Columbia University School of Social Work

"Child Protection Systems is a well-written, thought-provoking work that updates Combatting Child Abuse: International Perspectives and Trends... This book is an excellent tool for graduate students and professionals to compare and contrast child protection systems, how those systems reflect a society's history and cultural thinking, and how systems address the world-wide problem of child abuse and neglect." -- Journal of Sociology & Social Welfare

"This volume succeeds on multiple levels. First, it makes a strong and coherent
case for the desirability of cross-national perspectives in child welfare policy and
practices.... Second, this slim volume attempts at least in a beginning way to connect the
dots from social expenditure (including benefits and supports) to preventive
and remedial services." -- James K. Whittaker, Social Service Review

Edition details

• Publisher: Oxford University Press
• Publication date: 2011
• ISBN 10: 0199793352
• ISBN 13: 9780199793358
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 288
• Editor: Gilbert Neil, Parton Nigel, Skivenes Marit