Describes strategies of retrenchment currently used by social agencies in response to federal funding cuts, including attrition, lobbying, and across the board cuts. Alternative approaches are offered that might be more effective and garner public support for social welfare programs, such as improving management and setting priorities. (JAC)

Explores how family therapy can allow social workers to engage in social casework and at the same time fulfill the advocate's role and functions. The social casework method attempts to effect better adjustments between individuals and their environments and includes both case advocacy and policy advocacy. (Author/JAC)

Suggests social work recording has languished, due to administrative regulations and a decrease in confidentiality. Describes client recording, where the client actively participates in the recording process. Proposes client recording provides structure for the interview, creates continuity between sessions, and serves as a therapeutic tool in the…

The rapid growth of kinship foster care--full-time parenting of children by relatives or other adults who have a kinship bond with a child--has caught many child welfare agencies off guard. This monograph presents information needed by professionals, agencies, institutions, communities, and organizations to develop and provide services to kinship…

Distinguishes authority from power and argues that authority is congruent with social work values and practice theory and is related to both the function of agencies and the tasks of workers. Many social workers are reluctant to seek authority and thereby fail to engage their clients. (Author/JAC)

Suggests that, despite the growing popularity of case management in caring for clients' multiple needs, the concept lacks clarity, focusing variously on psychotherapy or provision of services. Explores the potential for claiming case management as a social work domain, citing the conceptual commonality between social work and case management.…

Noting that risk assessment models are controversial and vary in definition, purposes, and risk criteria, reviews and contrasts 10 models used to guide decision making concerning the placement of maltreated children in out-of-home care. Found that models varied on pertinent criteria for assessing child risk, and identified six areas for further…

Despite the increasing popularity of systematic risk assessment models by child protective services agencies, relatively few are empirically based. Reviews the empirical literature on 10 risk assessment models and concludes that although each model contains generally sound psychometric properties, there is still a need for further model…

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…

This book assesses the current state of foster care in the United Kingdom and Ireland, the pressures which have shaped it, and the challenges it faces. Emphasizing the importance of fostering within a coherent child care policy, the contributors examine the latest research into key areas of foster care, and explore how practice can be improved.…

This book provides a comprehensive guide to recent development in the research and practice of assessing children in need. The book examines the policy framework for assessment, the process of assessment, and how to assess a child's developmental needs and the capacity of that child's parents and family to respond to those needs. Following an…