The Family at Risk: Issues and Trends in Family Preservation Services (Social Problems and Social Issues)

The Family at Risk offers a comprehensive overview and assessment of the family preservation movement, a relatively new and highly controversial form of service delivery to families at imminent risk of child removal. Mandated by federal legislation and hotly debated by politicians, practitioners, and public citizens, family preservation programs provide flexible, labor-intensive, home-based services that allow families to remain intact while addressing issues that threaten their safety and survival. Marianne Berry examines such programs, which have proliferated throughout the United States, and speculates on the future of this emotionally charged aspect of social work policy and practice.Berry measures the overall effectiveness of several family preservation models currently in use throughout the United States; defines many commonly misused terms, including "imminent risk" and "reasonable efforts;" and illustrates how principles of family preservation programs are often at odds with the philosophy and constraints of larger public child welfare and child protective services systems.

the Family At Risk Offers A Comprehensive Overview And Assessment Of The Family Preservation Movement, A Relatively New And Highly Controversial Effort To Deliver Services To Families At Imminent Risk Of Child Removal. Mandated By Federal Law And Hotly Debated By Politicians, Practitioners, And Citizens, Family Preservation Programs Offer Intensive, Home-based Services That Allow Families To Remain Intact While Addressing Issues That Threaten Their Safety And Survival. Marianne Berry Takes Stock Of The Promise And Challenges Associated With These Programs, Used Increasingly Throughout The United States, And Speculates On The Future Of This Emotionally Charged Aspect Of Social Work Policy And Practice. Rather Than Present A Single Model Of Intensive Family Preservation Service, Such As The Widely Publicized Homebuilders Program, Berry Compares Several Models Currently In Use And Measures The Effectiveness Of Individual Models With Various Subpopulations Of The Child Welfare System. In Addition, She Defines Many Commonly Misused Terms, Including Imminent Risk And Reasonable Efforts, And Illustrates How Principles Of Family Preservation Programs Are Often At Odds With The Aims And Constraints Of Larger Child Welfare And Protective Service Systems.

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the Often Wrenching Question Of Whether Children Should Remain With Families Even When Conditions Are Considerably Less Than Optimal Informs This Well-researched Book By Berry (social Work And Director Of The Ctr. Of Child Welfare, Univ. Of Texas At Arlington). Mandated By Recent Federal Legislation, Family Preservation Is Of Concern To Policymakers, Practitioners, And Public Citizens. Berry Provides A Comprehensive Examination Of Family Preservation In Four Major Sections That Consider Its Philosophical, Practical, Programmatic, And Political Aspects. Although Her Goal Is To Keep The Family Together, She Does Not Prettify The Picture As She Details The Labor-intensive Work Involved. This Is An Important Contribution To The Growing Literature On Family Preservation And Is Appropriate To Academic, Law, Agency, And Larger Public Libraries.ellen Gilbert, Rutgers Univ., New Brunswick, N.j.

The call to preserve families The policy framework of permanency planning and family preservation The empirical base for family preservation principles Intensive family preservation service models Family preservation programs and their effectiveness Administrative and organizational issues Determining "risk" and targeting appropriate cases The relative efficacy of hard and soft services Combining research and practice tools Future directions for family preservation. Family preservation programmes provide flexible home-based services which allow families to remain intact while addressing issues threatening their safety and survival. This text offers an overview and assessment of the programmes in the United States and measures their effectiveness.