Social Work And Foster Care

Working with children in foster care is a demanding and rigorous aspect of social work practice. Difficult decisions in fast-moving and often complex situations have to be made, and for students and practitioners alike, there is a vast array of legislation, law and social policy to understand. This book is written to help social workers and social work students get to grips with the complexity of foster care. The child is placed at the heart of the text and there are substantial chapters on law, policy frameworks and the overreaching theoretical and research evidence to support good practice. There is also a strong focus on practical skills such as empathy and relationship-based practice. This is an essential text for experienced social workers or those currently in training.

Rhodes-Courter spent nine years of her life in 14 different foster homes. In this unforgettable memoir, the author recounts her years growing up in the foster care system, revealing painful memories but also her determination to discover the power of her own voice.

There are great rewards that come along with being a foster parent, yet there are also great challenges that can leave you feeling depleted, alone, and discouraged. The many burdens of a foster parent's day--hurting children, struggling biological parents, and a broken system--are only compounded by the many burdens of a foster parent's heart--confusion, anxiety, heartache, anger, and fear. With the compassion and insight of a fellow foster parent, Jamie C. Finn helps you see your struggles through the lens of the gospel, bringing biblical truths to bear on your unique everyday realities. In these short, easy-to-read chapters, you'll find honest, personal stories and practical lessons that provide encouragement and direction from God's Word as you walk the journey of foster parenting.

How Does Foster Care Work? is an international collection of empirical studies on the outcomes of children in foster care. Drawing on research and perspectives from leading international figures in children's services across the developed world, the book provides an evidence base for programme planning, policy and practice. This volume establishes a platform for comparison of international systems, trends and outcomes in foster care today. Each contributor provides a commentary on one other chapter to highlight the global significance of issues affecting children and young people in care. Each chapter offers new ideas about how foster care could be financed, delivered or studied in order to become more effective. This book is important reading for anyone involved in delivering child welfare services, such as administrators, practitioners, researchers, policy makers, children's advocates, academics and students.

This revised edition details organisational systems and structures that are part of the assessment and planning process for looked after children. This is closely interwoven with discussions about their emotional development, educational, health and cultural needs and how these needs can be met through social work and a range of other services. The views of looked after children are highlighted through case studies and summaries of research findings, and the range of skills and knowledge necessary to support looked after children through the key events they experience, including loss, change and the development of new relationships, are explained and illustrated.

This brief examines the U.S. foster care system and seeks to explain why the foster care system functions as it does and how it can be improved to serve the best interest of children. It defines and evaluates key challenges that undermine child safety and well-being in the current foster care system. Chapters highlight the competing values and priorities of the system as well as the pros and cons for the use of foster care. In addition, chapters assess whether the performance objectives in which states are evaluated by the federal government are sufficient to achieve positive health and well-being outcomes for children who experience foster care. Finally, it offers recommendations for improving the system and maximizing positive outcomes. Topics featured in this brief include: Legal aspects of removal and placement of children in foster care. The effectiveness of prior efforts to reform foster care. The regulation and quality of foster homes. Support for youth aging out of the foster care system. Racial and ethnic disparities in the foster care system. Foster Care and the Best Interests of the Child is a must-have resource for policy makers and related professionals, graduate students, and researchers in child and school psychology, family studies, public health, social work, law/criminal justice, and sociology.

A compilation of life stories and experiences of 18 former youth in care in Alberta.

Child Welfare: Preparing Social Workers for Practice in the Field is a comprehensive text for child welfare courses taught from a social work perspective. This textbook provides a single source for all material necessary for a contextual child welfare course. As well as combining history, theory, and practice, the authors integrate different practice perspectives to teach social workers how to engage children and families at the micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Covering both broad issues, such as child welfare, child maltreatment, and responses to child maltreatment, and current issues in social care, including mandated reporting and evidence-based policy prevention and preservation, the material is designed to meet the needs of social work students entering the child welfare workforce. Child Welfare provides students in social work courses at both the undergraduate and graduate levels with a single source for all material necessary to successfully navigate their studies and careers.