′An excellent introduction to social work with children and families. It links practice with legislation and highlights relevant research findings′. - Mr Dan Burrows,Cardiff School of Health Sciences, Cardiff Metropolitan University Working with children and families is one of the most challenging, skilled, but ultimately rewarding, areas of social work practice. Social workers need to be able to work with a diverse group of children and their families: from babies to teenagers, single parents to two-parent families and multi-carer families, as well as with a diverse group of professionals, such as the police, schools, hospitals, health centres and various community organisations. They need to be able to understand the law, policy and legislation that surrounds social work with children and families, while continually developing their own skills. Such skills include communication, preparation and planning, intervention, recognition, identification and assessment of significant harm, recording and report writing, managing oneself and the work, problem solving, research and analysis and decision making. This fully revised new edition aims to guide you through all of these areas and more. There are chapters on safeguarding, substitute care for children, family support for children and families, life story work and direct work with children.

Drawing on 20 years of practical experience, research and teaching in the field, this book is a comprehensive guide on the use of Motivational Interviewing (MI) in child protection and family social work. MI increases the likelihood of behavioural change, working with client resistance to encourage a constructive environment when initiating difficult conversations. This makes it particularly effective for child and family social care. Drawing on over 500 studies spanning 11 local authorities, this book uses recordings of real meetings between social workers and families to explain what MI is, how it can be used in child and family social work and how to improve MI skills. An invaluable resource for frontline child protection and family social workers, this book will enable to help you to better understand the needs of the people you support and be more effective in providing the right kind of support.

This book will provide you with the initial developing knowledge and skills needed to practice ethically and effectively with children and families. It will take you on a journey, introducing you to all the relevant theory, legislation and skills for practice, using case studies, activities and research summaries to help you navigate the complexities and challenges along the way. Since launching in 2003, Transforming Social Work Practice has become the market-leading series for social work students. These books use activities and case studies to build critical thinking and reflection skills and will help social work students to develop good practice through learning. This best-selling student series is: · Affordable · Written to the Professional Capabilities Framework · Mapped to the social work curriculum · Practical with clear links between theory and practice

Social workers are constantly making decisions under pressure. How do policy, law, research and theory influence what they do? This important book provides the answers with a crystal-clear map of the field of social work with children and families. Focused on four major themes - family support work, child protection, adoption and fostering, and residential child care, and reveals in detail all the challenges that social workers face every day. Edited by the highly respected Martin Davies, this authoritative and illuminating book argues that the skill of the social worker can have life-enhancing consequences for some of the most vulnerable people in society. It is an essential investment for students, educators and practitioners alike.

Social work with children and families is constantly in the headlines and social workers′ decisions are subject to ever increasing scrutiny at all levels. This aspirational book supports students and newly qualified social workers and suggests practical ways in which they might thrive, rather than just survive, in practice Written at a time when Social Work Reform Board and the Munro Enquiry are charged with looking at issues of effectiveness within children and families social work, the book tackles the different challenges that students and practitioners can be faced with, outlining common pitfalls and how to avoid these. Key topics covered include: - Legislation and policy - Child development - Safeguarding and child protection - Assessment - Communication - Looking after yourself Reflective questions are used throughout the book, ensuring that students critically evaluate their own practice. Case examples and case studies drawn from the authors′ recent practice are included throughout the book to illuminate the realities of contemporary social work with children and families. This text will be essential reading for undergraduate and postgraduate students, particularly as they prepare to go on placement. It will also provide valuable reading for qualified social workers who are interested in fresh and effective approaches to practice.

Written from a unique interprofessional perspective, this book is an essential introduction to working with children, young people and families. It covers policy, practice and theory, exploring key themes and developments, including: - poverty and disadvantage - ethical practice - child development - education - child protection - children and young people's rights - doing research. The book introduces students to a range of theoretical perspectives, links the key themes to the existing and emerging policy and practice context and supports students in engaging with and evaluating the central debates. With case studies, reflective questions and sources of further reading, this is an ideal text for students taking courses in childhood studies, working with children, young people and families, interprofessional children's services, early years, youth work and social work.

Solve toddler challenges with eight key mindshifts that will help you parent with clarity, calmness, and self-control. In Why is My Child in Charge?, Claire Lerner shows how making critical mindshifts—seeing children’s behaviors through a new lens —empowers parents to solve their most vexing childrearing challenges. Using real life stories, Lerner unpacks the individualized process she guides parents through to settle common challenges, such as throwing tantrums in public, delaying bedtime for hours, refusing to participate in family mealtimes, and resisting potty training. Lerner then provides readers with a roadmap for how to recognize the root cause of their child’s behavior and how to create and implement an action plan tailored to the unique needs of each child and family. Why is My Child in Charge? is like having a child development specialist in your home. It shows how parents can develop proven, practical strategies that translate into adaptable, happy kids and calm, connected, in-control parents.

This user-friendly book presents research-based best practices for serving families of children with special needs from birth to age 6. Expert contributors demonstrate how early intervention and early childhood special education can effectively address a wide range of family concerns, which in turn optimizes children's development and learning. Tightly edited, the volume offers indispensable tools for assessing families; identifying and capitalizing on their strengths; providing information, support, and coaching; collaborating with parents and teachers to address children's functional needs in the context of everyday routines; and coordinating care. Over a dozen reproducible checklists and forms help professionals immediately implement the techniques and strategies described.

For preservice students taking special education courses as well as inservice educators seeking professional development. An engaging discussion of the legal, ethical, practical, and cultural considerations of working with families of special needs children. With a strong focus on the families of special needs children, this first edition text provides students with both the information to understand the challenges and needs of these families as well as the skills and strategies required of educators working with such families. Containing a thorough discussion of the common legal and ethical concerns surrounding children with special needs and their families, this book also emphasizes the many individual differences among families. With that in mind, the authors focus on diversity in families with special needs children, cultural considerations, age, and communication with special needs families. In addition, a distinctive final chapter called "A Family's Voice," gives students the special opportunity to hear about the unique thoughts and experiences of a large selection of family members of children with special needs.

Public libraries can increase their impact on knowledge development, innovation, and social change by promoting parent and family engagement in children's learning. Libraries are increasingly focusing on families. Educational research confirms that family engagement in children's learning and development predicts school readiness, positive social behaviors, high school graduation, interest in STEM careers, and post-secondary education. A Librarian's Guide to Engaging Families in Learning will inspire libraries and librarians to innovate and promote family learning from a child's earliest years through adolescence. By bringing together research and practice, it will deepen librarians' understanding of families' role in education and help them to learn new ways to build positive and trusting family partnerships that honor diverse cultures and languages, as well as to develop leadership for community impact. Written by thought leaders in the fields of family engagement and library science, each of the three main sections of the book begins with a framework followed by case studies illustrating key concepts of the framework. Cases are followed by reflections from practicing librarians. All chapters focus on practical family engagement in the social infrastructure, lifelong learning, and diversity and social justice.