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.

Preface Acknowledgements Introduction PART I: SOCIAL WORK AND THE PROVISION OF FAMILY SUPPORT Introduction; N.Frost Family Support: Policies for Practice; K.Morris The Legal Foundations of Family Support Work; L.Jordan The Theoretical Foundations of Family Support Work; N.Frost & P.Dolan What Research Findings Tell Social Workers about Family Support; A.McLeod Family Support Work in Practice; J.McCormack PART II: SOCIAL WORK AND CHILD PROTECTION Introduction; J.Smeeton Social Policy and Child Protection: Using the Heart and the Head: M.Little; D.Jodrell & S.Karakurt Legal Perspectives on Social Work in Child Protection; C.Ball The Place that Theory Plays in Child Protection Social Work; S.Hackett The Challenging Nature of Research in Child Protection; H.Sneddon Child Protection Social Work in Practice; J.Smeeton PART III: SOCIAL WORK IN THE FIELD OF ADOPTION AND FOSTERING Introduction; C.Jones Adoption: From the Preservation of the Moral Order to the Needs of the Child; J.Simmonds Legal Perspectives on Social Work in Adoption and Fostering; C.Ball Two Theoretical Fields Relevant to the Practice of Social Work in Adoption and Fostering; C.Jones Milestones in Adoption and Fostering Research; G.Clapton Adoption and Fostering in Practice; S.Holland & C.Love PART IV: RESIDENTIAL CHILD CARE Introduction; A.Kendrick Residential Child Care Policy; J.Stanley Residential Child Care: The Legal Foundations and Requirements; R.Sen Theory in Residential Child Care; M.Smith What Research Tells Us about Residential Child Care Practice; A.Kendrick Residential Child Care in Practice; J.Bolger & J.Millar Index.