Child Protection Systems is a comparative study of the social policies and professional practices that frame societal responses to the problems of child maltreatment in ten countries: USA, Canada, England, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. Focusing on the developments in policy and practice since the mid-1990s, this volume provides a detailed, up-to-date analysis of the similarities and differences in how child
protection systems operate and their outcomes. The findings highlight the changing criteria that define child maltreatment, trends in out-of-home placement, professional responses to allegations of maltreatment, and
the level of state responsibility for child and family welfare, providing an in-depth understanding of the different ways modern welfare states assume the sensitive responsibility of balancing children's rights and parents' rights. The changing character of child protection systems worldwide reflects dramatic and rapid organizational, policy, and legislative changes; the expansion of child welfare systems; the rise of formal procedures and evidence-based initiatives; the
increased challenges posed by race and ethnicity; and the extent to which countries adopt either a child protection or a family service approach to child abuse. Each chapter analyzes these developments
and the directions in which they are heading, such as movements toward privatization and devolution of child welfare service delivery. Against this backdrop, a third approach begins to emerge-a child-focused orientation-that aims to promote and improve children's development and well-being.A vital book for understanding contemporary trends and policy issues in the design of child protection systems, this will be must reading for comparative scholars of child welfare,
family policy, and the welfare state.
Child Protection Systems is a comparative study of the social policies and professional practices that frame societal responses to the problems of child maltreatment in ten countries: USA, Canada, England, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany and Norway. Focusing on the developments in policy and practice since the mid-1990s, this volume provides a detailed, up-to-date analysis of the similarities and differences in how child
protection systems operate and their outcomes. The findings highlight the changing criteria that define child maltreatment, trends in out-of-home placement, professional responses to allegations of maltreatment, and
the level of state responsibility for child and family welfare, providing an in-depth understanding of the different ways modern welfare states assume the sensitive responsibility of balancing children's rights and parents' rights. The changing character of child protection systems worldwide reflects dramatic and rapid organizational, policy, and legislative changes; the expansion of child welfare systems; the rise of formal procedures and evidence-based initiatives; the
increased challenges posed by race and ethnicity; and the extent to which countries adopt either a child protection or a family service approach to child abuse. Each chapter analyzes these developments
and the directions in which they are heading, such as movements toward privatization and devolution of child welfare service delivery. Against this backdrop, a third approach begins to emerge-a child-focused orientation-that aims to promote and improve children's development and well-being.A vital book for understanding contemporary trends and policy issues in the design of child protection systems, this will be must reading for comparative scholars of child welfare,
family policy, and the welfare state.
1. Introduction
Neil Gilbert, Nigel Parton, and Marit Skivenes
I. ANGLO-AMERICAN SYSTEMS
2. Trends and Issues in the U.S. Child Welfare System
Jill Duerr Berrick
3. Canadian Child Welfare: Child Protection and the Status Quo
Karen Swift
4. Child Protection in England
Nigel Parton and David Berridge
II. NORDIC SYSTEMS
5. The Dark Side of the Universal Welfare State? Child Abuse and
Protection in Sweden
Madeleine Cocozza and Sven E. O. Hort
6. Combatting Child Abuse in Finland: From Family to Child-Centered
Orientation
Tarja Pösö
7. Denmark: A Child Welfare System Under Reframing
Anne-Dorthe Hestbæk
8. Norway: Towards a Child-Centric Perspective
Marit Skivenes
III. CONTINENTAL SYSTEMS
9. Child Protection in an Age of Uncertainty: Germany's
Response
Reinhart Wolff, Kay Biesel, and Stefan Heinitz
10. Policy Towards Child Abuse and Neglect in Belgium: In Search of
a Democratic Approach
Kristof Desair and Peter Adriaenssens
11. Child Welfare in the Netherlands: Between Privacy and
Protection
Trudie Knijn and Carolus van Nijnatten
IV. CONCLUSION
12. Changing Patterns of Response and Emerging Orientations
Neil Gilbert, Nigel Parton, and Marit Skivenes
Neil Gilbert, PhD, is Chernin Professor of Social Welfare at the
School of Social Welfare, University of California at Berkeley, and
Co-Director of the Center for Child and Youth Policy.
Nigel Parton, PhD, is NSPCC Professor in Applied Childhood Studies,
University of Huddersfield.
Marit Skivenes, PhD, is Senior Researcher, Bergen University
College.
"The seismic change in child protection systems both in the United
States and around the world are clearly illustrated and analyzed in
this wonderful book. The creative, disruptive approaches toward
child protection adopted by various countries around the world lead
to new and promising orientations toward preserving the welfare and
future of children. This is the most important contribution toward
international understanding of child protection currently
available." -- Duncan Lindsey, Professor of Social Welfare,
University of California, Los Angeles and Editor-in-Chief, Children
and Youth Services Review
"This is a superb contribution to the understanding of the
evolution of child protection in ten European and Anglo-American
countries. It is an essential text for policy makers and
practitioners, as it clearly delineates and compares central
changes in approaches and guiding assumptions, and the compelling
ways in which states fashion their interventions as a response to
the competing claims and philosophies of child protection, family
service, and child
focus approaches. Outstanding, well written, and destined to become
a benchmark for the field as a whole." -- Jim Torczyner, Professor
of Social Work and Founder/Director, Montreal Consortium for
Human
Rights Advocacy Training, McGill University
"This timely volume provides an illuminating look at how child
welfare systems operate in ten countries, including several
representatives each from the Anglo-American, Continental European,
and Nordic groups. Written by country experts, the chapters
document the approaches these disparate countries have taken to
address the challenge of protecting children while also supporting
families. The results not only shed light on different program
models and
approaches but also offer some larger lessons as to what advanced
societies can and should do to promote the well-being of their most
vulnerable children." -- Jane Waldfogel, Professor of Social Work
and Public
Affairs, Columbia University School of Social Work
"Child Protection Systems is a well-written, thought-provoking work
that updates Combatting Child Abuse: International Perspectives and
Trends... This book is an excellent tool for graduate students and
professionals to compare and contrast child protection systems, how
those systems reflect a society's history and cultural thinking,
and how systems address the world-wide problem of child abuse and
neglect." -- Journal of Sociology
& Social Welfare
"This volume succeeds on multiple levels. First, it makes a strong
and coherent
case for the desirability of cross-national perspectives in child
welfare policy and
practices.... Second, this slim volume attempts at least in a
beginning way to connect the
dots from social expenditure (including benefits and supports) to
preventive
and remedial services." -- James K. Whittaker, Social Service
Review
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