ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book examines the history of British residential child care and the roots of welfare provision for the poor and vagrant, and assesses the development of more specialist provision for children and young people. It focuses on the post-war period beginning with the Children Act 1948 and the key landmarks of the Children and Young Persons Act 1969, and then subsequent legislation. The book explores how the concept of empowerment can be applied to working with children and young people in residential child care settings. It describes the concept of children’s rights, the applicability of this concept in residential child care and a critical reflection on the theory and practice associated with this concept. The book discusses the issue of abuse in residential child care, which has been crucial in stimulating the current level of interest in residential child care.
