Drawing on original research, this book provides a major critique of contemporary child protection research, policy and practice. In particular, it challenges current attempts to reorder priorities and reconstruct the balance between family support and child protection. In the process, it provides a unique insight into the nature of child protection work and the way practitioners respond to the inherent tensions and difficulties involved. It is essential reading for anyone interested in this major personal and social issue.
NIGEL PARTON is Professor in Child Care at the University of Huddersfield, UK. He has published widely in the areas of child care, child protection and social work and is the author of The Politics of Child Abuse and Governing the Family: Child Care, Child Protection and the State.
DAVID THORPE is Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Lancaster, UK. He has published and researched in the areas of child welfare, juvenile justice and child protection in the UK and Australia. His previous publications include Evaluting Child Protection.
CORINNE WATTAM is Reader in Childhood Studies at the University of Huddersfield, UK and is also Coordinator of the Concerted Action on the Prevention of Child Abuse in Europe. Her particular areas of research are in child abuse and sexual abuse. She is the author of Making a Case in Child Protection.