ABSTRACT

This text is an authoritative analysis of current services for children and young people in the UK. Drawing upon European-wide data, this innovative book critiques the policies that have shaped today’s services, argues that the current system is insufficiently joined-up and outlines a radical new model of co-located services for the integrated delivery of children’s care.

Shaping Children’s Services:

  • examines key indicators of children’s development;
  • provides a breakdown of the economics of caring for children;
  • explores the way government initiatives such as Sure Start, Extended Schools, Total Place and the Kennedy review of children’s health have shaped current policies;
  • charts the key twentieth-century developments of child welfare across health, education and social care and looks at the inter-relationships between health, social care, police, education and the voluntary sector;
  • presents both good and failing examples of children’s services.

Offering a thoughtful and provocative challenge on how the present system can be better configured to meet the needs of children and young people, this book is an essential read for all those involved in working with children from a range of fields, including health, education, social care, juvenile justice and voluntary sector services.

chapter 1|13 pages

Introduction

chapter 2|11 pages

“The five giant evils”

An historical perspective on services for children

chapter 3|24 pages

The troubled and troublesome

Short-term schemes for children

chapter 4|16 pages

Indices of childhood

Comparable European data

chapter 5|12 pages

The costs of caring for children

chapter 7|17 pages

The case for integration

chapter 9|6 pages

Whose children?