Recognizing the need for child welfare workers to appreciate the role of culture in a family's life, this book emphasizes the importance of the need for cultural knowledge, sensitivity, and skill on the part of caseworkers and policy makers for putting permanency and stability into the lives of at-risk children. The articles in the book are: (1) "Introduction: Achieving Permanency for All Children in the Child Welfare System" (Gary R. Anderson); (2) "Personal Reflections on Permanency Planning and Cultural Competency" (Carol W. Williams); (3) "Developing Diversity Competence in Child Welfare and Permanency Planning" (Elaine Pinderhughes); (4) "African American Men, Child Welfare, and Permanency Planning" (Bogart R. Leashore); (5) "Machismo, Fatherhood and the Latino Family: Understanding the Concept" (Yolanda Mayo); (6) "Cultural Diversity and Help-Seeking Behavior: Sources of Help and Obstacles to Support for Parents" (JoDee Keller and Katherine McDade); (7) "Preventing Substance Abuse from Undermining Permanency Planning: Competencies at the Intersection of Culture, Chemical Dependency, and Child Welfare" (Irene R. Bush and Anthony Sainz); (8) "Broadening Our View: Lessons from Kinship Foster Care" (Faith Johnson Bonecutter and James P. Gleeson); (9) Grandmother Caregivers in Inner-City Latino Families: A Descriptive Profile and Informal Social Supports" (Denise Burnette); (10) "Guide for Effectively Recruiting African American Adoptive Families" (Wilfred Hamm); (11) "Training Child Welfare Workers to Meet the Requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act" (Raymond L. Bending); (12) "Why the Need for the Indian Child Welfare Act?" (Lila J. George); (13) "Toward a Competent Child Welfare Service Delivery System for Gay and Lesbian Adolescents and Their Families" (Gerald P. Mallon); and (14) "Lessons Learned from Programs for Unaccompanied Refugee Minors" (Angela Shen Ryan). Each chapter contains references. (KB)