Assessed child behavior problems and parent-child communication behaviors during problem solving in three groups of families with adolescents: foster families, birthfamilies with a child at risk for behavior problems, and birthfamilies with a child not at risk. Found that levels of positive and negative communication behaviors in foster families…

A 16-week pilot program, sponsored and carried out by mental health practitioners, created a neutral setting for structured visits of biological parents, their children in placement, and the children's foster parents. Results were sufficiently promising to warrant planning for a more extensive, research-based program. (GLR)

Compared developmental functioning, health and caregiving needs, visits by biological parents, and case dispositions of 204 infants of various prenatal drug-exposure status. Found that infants with verified drug exposure had significantly more health and caregiving needs, received fewer biological parent visits, and were more frequently placed…

Notes that attachment behavior in infants is a facet of normal child development, and that children with attachment problems require special attention during and after the adoption process. Presents actions needed to increase the probability that such children can be successfully adopted, detailed attachment patterns, and parenting strategies and…

Discusses the needs of incarcerated mothers for child welfare services. Explores why working with women in jail and their children is within the scope of the child welfare system's mandate. Describes pressures on criminal justice and child welfare systems that prevent either from working effectively with these families; suggests a collaborative…

Discusses issues related to the shifting beliefs of placed children entering adolescence concerning parental love and the meaning of placement. Issues include children's uncertainty about earlier explanations and ways foster and adoptive parents can help adolescents.

Describes and evaluates the replication of the Mother Child Home Program by a Canadian child welfare agency in a rural setting to determine its effectiveness in fostering a positive emotional relationship between mother and child with families at risk of abuse and neglect. (BB)

Addressed to judges and the legal profession in juvenile justice, this article argues that social attachment theory, particularly parent-child bonding, can be valuable in conceptualizing child abuse and neglect and making decisions about intervention in child abuse and neglect cases. Three categories of deficient parent-child bonds are described…

Details the author's experiences in helping her adopted four-year-old daughter from Bangladesh cope with the loss of her biological family and her adjustment to a new culture, and offers suggestions for professionals and parents helping young children make similar adjustments. (HOD)

Examines the emotional and situational factors that influence the child victim's role in sexual assult by adults, and the social implications of blaming the victim. (Author/CM)

Tested the validity of the Brigid Collins Risk Screener (BCRS) to assess child abuse risk in a sample of 49 expectant mothers. Found that at 3 months postpartum, high-risk mothers scored significantly lower on the quality of infants' physical, social, and emotional environments than moderate or low-risk mothers. Concluded that the BCRS appears to…

Studies placements and placement outcomes in a large voluntary foster care agency system, the Casey Family Program. Focuses on prediction of maintenance of foster placement when foster children have been matched with foster parents in what is intended to be a long-term, stable relationship. (BB)

Outlines three major differentiating categories of children who were sexually abused by sex rings: level of fear, ability to trust, and disclosure confusion. Addresses denial and resistance regarding child sexual exploitation by a ring among practitioners in the child welfare system. (Author/BB)

Maintains that parents and physicians should adopt a tender love, rather than a tough love, approach when dealing with adolescents with behavior problems. The discussion is highlighted by a case study of a 15-year-old boy. (BB)