Critical Issues in Child Welfare

Reconfigured for easier classroom use, this text begins with the issues facing at-risk children and families and then describes the intricacies of the child-welfare system and the role of protective services, family preservation, out-of-home care, foster care, adoption, and services for adolescents. New material addresses mental health and early childhood education in detail, the critical challenge of poverty and substance abuse, the importance of the community in shaping child welfare services, racial disproportionality, LGBT issues, family advocacy, emancipation, independent living, and changes to families' legal and civil rights.