Protecting children: Messages from Europe. This item is unavailable.Protecting children: Messages from Europe

The challenging material presented in this book is based on action-research in eight European child protection systems. The book offers perspectives and opportunities for the development of systems which balance family support and children protection. Whether these challenges arise from the many changes in the structure and resourcing of services, or from the intrinsic difficulties of the work, "Protecting Children: Messages from Europe" provides the opportunity to learn from the different systems and practices in child welfare and child protection employed in the UK and on the European continent.

This text looks at the different systems of child welfare and child protection in six countries - Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Holland and the UK. The systems are compared and contrasted, outlining the problems of balancing family support and child protection. What do we really mean when we say "child centred"? What sort of support might a family find helpful? What is "working in partnership" and who are the partners? These are some of the questions raised by the comparison made with the systems in the countries mentioned. The book looks at the possibility of reinterpreting the dilemmas of English practice in the light of these comparisons, and considers how use might be made ot the messages from abroad to develop family support without losing child protection.