Unearthed challenges in rural child welfare and what a state-wide study reveals
This edition surveys the conditions of rural children in West Virginia, showing how poverty, schooling gaps, and household instability affect young lives—and why care programs must reach beyond cities. Clear, fact-based chapters invite readers to consider how laws, guardianship, foster care, and community efforts shape the futures of rural kids.
The book argues that rural children have been overlooked by popular child welfare efforts and presents documented findings from field work, county agencies, and volunteers. It explains how dependency and delinquency emerge from home life, schooling, and local resources, and it highlights the role of guardians, courts, and social workers in protecting vulnerable children.
- Concrete examples of how rural families are affected by poverty, illness, and disrupted schooling
- Examinations of the systems that place, protect, or fail dependent children
- Discussion of laws, such as guardianship, mothers’ pensions, and child labor rules, and how they are applied
- Insight into the challenges of delivering services to open-country communities
Ideal for readers interested in history, social reform, and rural life, as well as students and professionals in social work and public policy.