Full Description
Over the last decade there has been a series of Government policy initiatives in respect of children's services and social work education in England, many of which aim to de-regulate or privatise aspects of these services. Critically considering the impact of the MacAlister Review, this book explores the past, present and future of children's services in the UK from a range of perspectives - lived, professional and academic.
This accessible guide provides a timely and incisive overview of the current children's services reform agenda in the UK. It identifies current challenges, analyses both strengths and weaknesses in the current policy agenda and sets out alternative policy and practice directions for a system that can meet families' needs.
Contents
Foreword - June Thoburn
1. Introduction: Critical Perspectives on Children's Services Reform - Christian Kerr and Robin Sen
2. Where Now? Children's Rights in England Into the 2020s - Carolyne Willow
3. More of Memes than Schemes: Networked Propagation in Children's Social Care - Joe Hanley
4. Reclaiming Social Work, the Social Work Complex and Issues of Bias in Children's Services - Robin Sen and Christian Kerr
5. Humane Social Work Practice: A More Parent Friendly System? Hopes and Challenges in the 2020s - Taliah Drayak
6. Exploring and Re-Imagining Children's Services in England Through a Decolonial Frame - Isobel Drew, Rebekah Pierre and Robin Sen
7. Kinship Care for England and Wales in the 2020s: Assumptions, Challenges, and Opportunities - Paul Shuttleworth
8. If Adoption Is the Answer, What Was the Question? - Avery Bowser
9. Caring for Children and Young People in State Care in the 2020s - John Radoux
10. Protecting Children: A Social Model for the 2020s - Brid Featherstone and Anna Gupta
11. Conclusion: Children's Services Reform Looking Back and Forwards - Robin Sen and Christian Kerr
