Examines the notion of cultural safety in relation to the duty of care mandate assigned to child welfare workers when the state intervenes in family life, focusing on the vulnerabilities of rural and indigenous youth in New Zealand to cultural racism. Asserts that child welfare professionals have a professional obligation to enhance their cultural…

Explores the deep-rooted perception that mothers are most responsible for child neglect and the evolution of this attitude in 19th-century Canada. Suggests that this focus on mothers has been at the expense of understanding and trying to change the social and economic context in which neglect occurs. (TM)

Introduces this special issue focusing exclusively on care for children by family relations separate from their parents (kinship care). Addresses kinship care issues of policy, practice, caregiver support and advocacy, and research. Contains general definitions, program history and development, and descriptions of the care issues explored in the…

Studied associations between type of placement in out-of-home care (kinship versus nonrelative) and selected outcomes in adulthood. Found few differences in adult functioning despite significant differences in functioning during care between children in kinship care and those in nonrelative family foster care. (Author/SD)

Analyzed visibility of mother, father/partner, and child(ren) during child welfare placement process in Finland. Found little case-handling information concerning quality of the parent-child relationship. Fathers/partners and children were less visible than mothers, mothers were neglected by social workers after placement, and marital…

Describes a time-limited model for service delivery in kinship programs that provides a system of services to the child, biological parent, and relative caregiver as a union. The model utilizes a family preservation approach and focuses on permanency for the child within a cultural context. (Author/SD)

Proposed a conceptual framework for analyzing kinship care policy that uses five new permanency outcomes. Concluded that, in formulating their own policies, states must separate a caregiver's need for support (money and services) from a child's need for supervision (casework oversight). Concludes that states must proceed cautiously in altering…