A recommendation from the Social Work Task Force was that all employers of social workers should conduct a regular "health check" of the social work profession to learn from practice as part of a continuous cycle of improvement. This article documents how the London Borough of Tower Hamlets has gone about this. I describe the…

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 ("Fostering Connections Act") fundamentally changed the nature of federal support for young people in state care by extending entitlement funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to age 21 beginning in FY2011. While the Fostering Connections Act provides states…

For too many years the phrase "after care, an after thought" summed up the lack of attention given to preparing young people in care for adult life and to the development of leaving-care and aftercare services. That stance has changed in the United Kingdom, however, and indeed has shifted positively and dramatically over the last decade. In 2010…

It is generally accepted (for example, Stein and Wade) that those young people who are able to establish positive relationships with their family in care and/or when transitioning from care are more likely to have a positive self-identity and self-confidence, and overall better outcomes. Conversely, poor or non-existent family links may contribute…

EPIC is an independent voluntary organisation in the Republic of Ireland that advocates for the rights of children in care and young people who have care experience. One aspect of EPIC's work is the Aftercare Advocacy and Support Service, which provides confidential advice and support to young people who are preparing to leave care, those in…

It is widely acknowledged that, across the United Kingdom and the USA, childcare practitioners often struggle with cases of child neglect, because of the difficulties involved in attempting to define the problem at hand, and balancing these cases with others in the caseload that may appear more pressing, such as physical abuse. Consequently, in an…

This article presents findings from a study that investigated child protection policies and practices, and focuses on data gathered in a child protection agency located in Quebec, Canada. This research project draws upon a qualitative case-study methodology, involving a documentary analysis of both national and local child protection policies, as…

In 2009 the National Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Children published "Partner Exploitation and Violence in Teenage Intimate Relationships". This publication reports on the first major study in the United Kingdom to systematically document the incidence rates and dynamics of intimate partner violence in the lives of young people. It…

This article considers the launch of the Revised Best Practice Guidance 2010 by the Children Order Advisory Committee. The original guidance was launched in 2003 and the revised guidance reflects the changes in policies and practices over the past seven years.

In the United Kingdom, the Children Act (1989) states that children are best brought up with their families. However, if a child is suffering from or likely to suffer from significant harm, then the local authorities may initiate care proceedings under section 31 of the Children Act (1989). The Public Law Outline is a judicial case management tool…

Despite huge investment over the past 10 years, improving outcomes for looked-after children remains elusive. A challenge for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers alike has been the absence of a shared conceptual framework for considering and responding to the needs of looked-after children. A second challenge relates to the measurement of…

Older adults have always been important parts of children's lives, playing a variety of roles including grandparent, caregiver, friend, and neighbour. Grandparents also play a variety of roles in families. Often a child's first encounter with serious illness or death involves a grandparent or other older adult. Grandparents are also increasingly…

The adoption of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) in 1989 and its ratification by the UK government two years later came at a time of considerable progress in youth justice. The Convention itself set clear standards of treatment, in terms of both processes and disposals, which appeared at the time to provide positive…

The 40 substantive rights contained within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) 1989, have applied, without discrimination, to all children in the United Kingdom since 1992. However, recurrent tragedies starkly highlight the potential vulnerability of some children when their parents experience mental health…

In her welcome and opening remarks, Lynne Peyton--a consultant specialising in children's services in Northern Ireland--set the scene for the proceedings of this seminar on marital separation. She confirmed that the escalating extent of marital separation is a worldwide phenomenon and certainly one that represents an increasing challenge for…