Although the United States has seen a record influx of infants, toddlers, and preschool-aged children into the foster care system in the past decade, there has not been an accompanying shift in policy or practice to attend to the developmental issues these younger children bring to child welfare. This textbook addresses the spectrum of child…

As babies, toddlers, and preschoolers spend more and more time in child care programs, those programs have an increasingly significant effect on their healthy social and emotional development. The impact and quality of caregivers' relationships with children contribute to the quality of young children's mental health. A mental health consultant…

Although much is available in the child welfare literature about families and casework process and procedures, there is little literature available that has the child as its primary focus. This book focuses on a child's feelings, needs, and behaviors once the decision has been made to place the child in foster care. Several themes evident…