To do research that really makes a difference--the authors of this book argue--social scientists need questions and methods that reflect the complexity of the world. Bringing together a consortium of voices across a variety of fields, "Methods that Matter" offers compelling and successful examples of mixed methods research that do just…

All OECD governments want to give parents more choice in their work and family decisions. This book looks at the different ways in which governments support families. It seeks to provide answers to questions like: Is spending on family benefits going up, and how does it vary by the age of the child? Has the crisis affected public support for…

This book presents the story of a young boy who overcame the obstacles of a neglectful home life, juvenile crime, and abusive foster parents, to become a successful professional. It provides an account of growing up in poverty and neglect, explaining the complexities of juvenile gangs and deviant behavior. The book also discusses the shortcomings…

This factbook presents 87 pages of pictures, graphs, diagrams, quotations, statistics, and text aimed at portraying the current status of children in America. The major areas examined include: (1) children in poverty; (2) child health; (3) family changes and day care; and (4) special child care needs for handicapped, abused, or neglected children.…

Designed to provide a basis for sound child welfare policy decisions, this book presents current state and national data, as well as data from many cities and counties, on child maltreatment. The six chapters in the book present statistics on: (1) child abuse and neglect, including child abuse fatalities; (2) out-of-home care; (3) adoption; (4)…

This volume documents the rise in violence in our communities and explores its impact on children's physical, psychological, and social development. Focal themes are: the necessity for better information about the kinds of violence to which children are exposed, the necessity of beginning to build intervention strategies aimed at violence, and the…

This collection documents how far we still are in the United States from putting our knowledge about child well being and policy into practice. It provides an overview of the changing nature of child poverty in the United States through the contributions of authors who use a number of qualitative and quantitative approaches to look at children in…

It is estimated that by the year 2010, 50 percent of the population of southeast Asia will be under 15 years of age. Based on a research project completed in 1993, this book provides a regional overview of the quality of life for these children, and is targeted not only at those with an academic and professional interest in child care and social…

This book tells the story of the lives of 34 children who attend an urban elementary school, Lafayette Elementary School, highlighting how they do the best they can under trying life circumstances. The intention is to get underneath the stereotypes of at-risk children and adults in their lives by describing the variety and complexity of their…

Concerned with social contexts and culture as they apply to parenting, this volume, the fourth of five on parenting, deals specifically with socially defined groups of parents and social conditions that promote variations in parenting. The volume consists of the following 15 chapters: (1) "Ethnic and Minority Parenting" (Cynthia Garcia…

The situation for "street children" has degenerated over the past two decades following the economic and political transitions in much of Latin America. Drawing on scholarly materials, interviews with child rights advocates, and the words of the children themselves, this book explores the abuse, limited choices, despair, loyalty, and…

This illustrated book lists 46 facts relating to child care, families, nutrition, health, and public services. The book was prepared to call attention to the needs of young children in Texas. The information was collected from such sources as the U.S. Census Bureau and the State Department of Health's Bureau of Vital Statistics, as well as from…

Although the United States has seen a record influx of infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children into the foster care system in the past decade, there has not been an accompanying shift in policy or practice to attend to the developmental issues these younger children bring to child welfare. This textbook addresses the spectrum of child…

Based on a study conducted in an intervention program for parents of maltreated children, this book examines the well intended but often ineffective efforts of the child welfare system to prevent maltreatment, as illustrated by the experiences of three parents targeted by the state's child protection agency, and urges more far-reaching policy…

This report on the well being of the children of Wisconsin is motivated in part by growing evidence of the adverse circumstances of many children today. The report is descriptive, rather than analytic, and does not attempt to explain relations among variables. Section 1, the introduction, is followed by county-based information in section 2 on a…