Disabled children experience increased risk of abuse and neglect. Concurrently, serious concerns and practical impediments persist regarding the capacity of statutory child protection and welfare services to respond adequately to their needs. Specifically, the focus in this article is on the assessment stage of the social work process within child…

In the Republic of Ireland Section 3(1) of the Child Care Act 1991 places an obligation and legal duty upon the State child protection services "to promote the welfare of children in its area who are not receiving adequate care and protection." This article focuses on a specific element of this duty; the social worker's responsibility to…

This study reports a grounded theory study of the process of how children tell of their experiences of child sexual abuse from the perspectives of young people and their parents. Individual interviews were conducted with 22 young people aged 8 to 18, and 14 parents. A theoretical model was developed that conceptualises the process of disclosure as…

Taking account of the needs and views of children is problematic, particularly in Ireland where children have been "owned" by their parents and social policy has been directed at the family rather than the individual child. The 1980s and 1990s may be said to be the decades where abuse, in its many forms, reared its head and Irish society…

A study evaluated the effectiveness of the Stay Safe Programme, a school-based safety skills program, in facilitating the disclosure of sexual abused among 145 sexually abused Irish children and adolescents. More participants, particularly female adolescents, made disclosures of suspected sexual abuse than did 443 non-participants. (Author/CR)

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.…