The thirty-five chapters in this book are edited versions of papers presented at the Advanced Research Workshop, State Intervention on Behalf of Children and Youth, which took place in Maratea, Italy, February 20-24, 1989. The Workshop was attended by leading child welfare researchers from most of the Western countries. Represented were scholars and practitioners from disciplines as diverse as law, social work, neurology, economics, political science, education, psychology, and psychiatry. This variety of disciplines considerably enriched the discussions at the Workshop and is reflected in a set of interesting and, we believe, potentially useful research papers. This book is divided into four sections, each dealing with dominant themes of state intervention. The first section deals with research on organizing for state intervention and related ways of providing accountability. The second section deals with research on young persons in conflict with the law, the third with research on child abuse and the final section with research on children in care. Many of the matters addressed in these papers relate to more than one of the topical theme headings and, therefore, might well have been located in different sections of the volume. Each section is introduced by an introductory statement that provides an overview of the papers and issues addressed, and suggests an agenda of research work to be undertaken. These introductions are based largely on workshop discussions and do not necessarily represent the views of their identified authors.

I Introduction: Research On Organization and Accountability For State Intervention.- 1. Independent Representation of Children in Protection Proceedings.- 2. Adolescent Childbearing and Prevention Strategies: Battleground for Testing the Limits of Government Intervention.- 3. The American Indian Child Welfare Act: Achievements and Recommendations.- 4. Policy Development as a Hegemonic Strategy: Example of the Child and Family Services Act in Ontario.- 5. Decentralizing Child Welfare Services: An Assessment of Service Impact, Costs and the Morale of Staff.- 6. Managing the Family Contacts of Children Absent in Care, Professional and Legislative Issues: The Experience of England and Wales.- 7. Efficiency in Foster Family Care: Proceeding with Caution.- 8. The State as Parent: Assessing Outcomes in Child Care.- 9. Child Care Placement Outcomes.- II Introduction: Research On Young Persons In Conflict With The Law.- 10. Social Change, Legal Transformation, and state Intervention: Youth Justice in the Arab Republic of Egypt.- 11. The Scottish Children's Hearing System: Community or State Control?.- 12. Custodial Control or Community Alternative?: An Examination of the Impact of the 1982 Criminal Justice Act in One Local Authority.- 13. Evaluating Conflicts Between Intention and Outcome Within Changing Canadian Juvenile Justice Policy: Just Listen to What the Data Says!.- 14. Tackling the Conflict: A Framework Analysis of Dispute Settlement.- 15.Closed Units in Institutions for Children.- 16.Law Policies and Implications for the Youth Welfare System: The Hamburg Example.- 17. Hind the Gap: The Creation of the Non-Divertible.- 18. Deviant Interventions or Deviant Youth?.- III Introduction: Research On Child Abuse.- 19. Child Abuse, Social Theory, and Everyday StatePractices.- 20. Intrafamilial Child Sexual Abuse: State Intervention in Canada.- 21. Sexual Abuse Prevention Training: Issues of State Intervention.- 22. False Allegations of Child Sexual Abuse: Implications for Policy and Practice.- 23. The Use of Criminal Sanctions in Child Abuse and Neglect.- IV Introduction: Research On Children In Care.- 24. Evaluation of Foster-Family-Based Treatment in Comparison with Other Programs: A Preliminary Analysis.- 25. Foster Care Breakdown: A Study of a Special Teenager Fostering Scheme.- 26. Intensive Home-Based Family Treatment: Client Outcomes and Issues for Program Design.- 27. A Belgian Approach to Work Rehabilitation.- 28. Research on Trends in Intervention on Behalf of Children and Youth in Aarhus, Denmark.- 29. In Care, In Contact?.- 30. The Effectiveness of Permanent Substitute Family Placement for Older Children in Care.- 31. An Examination of Long Term Foster Family Care for Children and Youth.- 32. Patterns of Care: The First Twelve Months.- 33. Effectiveness Analysis of Residential Child Care Services in Belgium.- 34. Integrating Professional and Community Resources for Young Persons.- 35. The Transition From Long Term Care to Adoption.- Authors.- Name Index.