San Antonio College Library

"This resource by leaders in child welfare is the first book to reflect the impact of the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) of 1997. The text serves as a reference for a wide array of professionals who work in children, youth, and family services in the United States and as a text for students of child welfare practice and policy."--Jacket.

"Roll Away the Stone" cuts to the core of the United States dilemma about persistent poverty and the political debate about change. The author shows that what holds us back is the outdated thinking of both political parties. In this very readable book he outlines a generative way of thinking that is responsive to the challenges of the 21st century. Roll Away the Stone demonstrates how a modern exodus from poverty is morally demanded and humanly possible...

This is a book about how a system designed to help children is instead helping to destroy them. By trying to preserve families, Patrick Murphy charges, the child welfare system is too often placing children in danger. State agencies and the courts are stuck in hundred-year-old realities and the politics of the 1960s and the 1970s. As the Public Guardian of Cook County, Illinois (an office unique in the United States), Mr. Murphy for almost thirty...

In Raised in Captivity, cultural critic Lucia Hodgson examines the contradictory and even harmful responses Americans give when faced with the issues that most dramatically affect children's lives. Hodgson illustrates her points with references to several cases that became media hotbeds: the Baby Jessica case, the Menendez brothers, Amy Fisher, the McMartin Pre-School abuse trial, Susan Smith's murder of her children. Hodgson's approach, however,...

"In an era when headlines often seem dominated by horrific stories about abused children, Solomon's Sword weaves together the elements of two painful custody battles into a memorable book that no reader who cares about children will be able to put aside. The first story unfolds around Gina Pellegrino, who, in 1991, hours after giving birth to a daughter, abandons the child in a Connecticut hospital, and Cynthia and Jerry LaFlamme, a childless New...

Endangered Children traces the history of dependent, neglected, and abused children from the colonial era to the present. LeRoy Ashby poses the question "Who speaks for the children?" He finds that the adults who spoke for children throughout American history did so with specific agendas in mind. The welfare of endangered children has become a salient issue during periods of social crisis. Economic anxiety, concerns about the family, and racial and...

The Vulnerable Child takes us beyond stereotypes and superficial categorizations to provide a thorough examination of the true nature of childhood disadvantage. Richard Weissbourd interviewed hundreds of children and professionals from areas as diverse as Danville, Arkansas; New York City; Seattle; Boston; Chicago; and Baltimore. He also reexamined a broad spectrum of past and present research. What he found is that, while poverty and racial prejudice...

"For many parents, a knock on the door from a state agency with the power to take their children is their worst fear. This experience is widespread and concentrated overwhelmingly in poor communities and communities of color. One in three children nationwide-and over half of Black children-come into contact with Child Protective Services during childhood. This book draws on in-depth fieldwork to examine the U.S. child welfare system, providing a window...

"By official count, more than one out of every six American children live beneath the poverty line. But statistics alone tell little of the story. In Invisible Americans, Jeff Madrick brings to light the often invisible reality and irreparable damage of child poverty in America. Keeping his focus on the children, he examines the roots of the problem, including the toothless remnants of our social welfare system, entrenched racism, and a government...

"As part of a re-examination of our societal values and obligations, this book focuses on illuminating the various meanings and issues of entitlement in relation to the basic needs of children in our society. Drawing on the perspectives of philosophy, law, education, sociology, child development, economics, and public health, the authors discuss the implications of their vision of entitlement for the well-being of America's children. The book also...