Purpose – Out‐of‐home care has been a subject for policy debate since child welfare policies were first developed. Too often the debate is marked by ill‐informed sound‐bites linking “care” with negative descriptors such as “drift” or “languish”. The purpose of this paper is...

This article is an extended version of an ‘experts’ briefing' commissioned to inform senior child welfare managers in English local authorities and voluntary agencies about the available evidence to inform the provision of effective services in complex child protection cases. It starts by...

This article describes the contrast between the clearly expressed and optimistic intentions of section 17 of the Children Act 1989, namely to produce a genuine service continuum that will promote and safeguard the welfare of children, and the reality of the post‐1989 implementation process. It...

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify the particular characteristics and strengths of mainstream undergraduate and postgraduate university education for social workers. Design/methodology/approach A brief summary of the establishment of the honours degree or M-level qualification as...

How accountable are decisions about terminating parental rights to ensure an adoption from care? In this paper we examine if the proceedings in eight European jurisdictions are accountable to: a) the private parties, i.e. individuals that are concerned – such as parents, child; b) the general...