This report examines the range of factors that might influence the decision by social care professionals on the use of boarding schools as an intervention option for Children in Need (CiN) or children on a Child Protection Plan (CPP). Attempts to conduct a randomised controlled trial (RCT) failed to recruit participants. Initially, failure to…

Using administrative sources in the history of education and childhood involves a range of methodological and ethical considerations. This article discusses these problems, as well as the role of archives and archival policies in preserving history and shaping our understanding of past childhoods. Using Finnish child welfare archives from the…

Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes's article represents an important effort to critically examine the foundation of thought and empirical evidence associated with the rise in prominence of differential response (DR) within child welfare systems throughout the United States. The insights and criticisms offered are an important…

This is a response to the document by Hughes et al. in this issue that offers a critique of the status of differential response (DR). We find the document to be helpful in intent, but do not find that it reflects scientifically sound methods, and contains many mischaracterizations of the status, impetus, research, and evaluation of DR to date. We…

This article is a response to "Issues in Differential Response", a review of the current evidence pertaining to differential response (DR) programs in child protective services (CPS). In my view, the Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes article suffers from several weaknesses. First, DR programs are critiqued as if they were…

The Hughes et al. paper is critiqued generally and in specific areas. The weak nature of the authors' empirical work is discussed along with their enigmatic writing and vague and incorrect use of references, and their simultaneous use of sweeping statements of opinion and narrow analytical focus. This review examines the authors' errors…

This article is an invited commentary and analysis of the authors' completed systematic evaluation of Child Protective Services (CPS) differential response (DR) models. I write this commentary based on 25 years of public child welfare experience followed by 13 years as a social work professor and researcher. In their review of DR, the…

This reaction article highlights areas of agreement and disagreement with the study conducted by Hughes, Rycus, Saunders-Adams, Hughes, and Hughes on the current state of research and practice in differential response (DR). Overall, we agree with several of the arguments put forth by Hughes et al. regarding the limitations of DR research and the…

In this article, the authors responded to nine commentaries by 17 contributors to their article, "Issues in Differential Response." The authors found that a majority of the respondents agreed with the major conclusions of "Issues in Differential Response." However, there were varying degrees of disagreement regarding the…

Differential response (DR), also referred to as alternative response (AR), family assessment response (FAR), or multiple track response, was developed to incorporate family-centered, strengths-based practices into child protective services (CPS), primarily by diverting lower risk families into an assessment track rather than requiring the…

From year to year, child welfare directors allocate resources in the hope that their efforts will improve children's outcomes. Recently, with the help of the federal government, states have invested significant resources in the sort of information technology needed to run a smarter, more accountable child welfare system. In addition, science has…

This paper provides a summary of a baseline study of Canadian child welfare services from 1959 to 1977. The nation-wide study relates main trends in the services to a background of demographic, social, legislative and organizational change. Progress of the research project is outlined to illustrate some of the constraints on research in Canada at…

Examines implications of having data on only the resident parent in child support analyses and in ignoring nonresident parents. Findings indicate that the characteristics of nonresident parents are central to understanding levels of child support, underscoring the need for data collection that includes resident and nonresident parents. (RJM)

Presents highlights from the Third International Congress on Child Abuse and Neglect. The topic of child sexual abuse dominated the Congress; other topics included malnutrition, research problems, and concerns of Third World countries. Recommendations of the Congress are summarized.

Papers in this volume explore indicators of children's well-being in the following areas: cross-cutting issues; population, family, and neighborhood; and social development and problem behaviors. The first section includes: (1) "Potential and Problems in Developing Indicators on Child Well-Being from Administrative Data" (Robert M.…