ABSTRACT
This chapter suggests that child welfare (CW) is a dynamic and global phenomenon that is shaped by local conditions and which seeks to ensure children's safety and permanence in a wide variety of international contexts. The success of a family group decision-making meeting is linked to the preparation and skill of the facilitator. The Mockingbird Family Model is an innovative approach to delivering foster care services that, like family group decision making, is anchored in family support. Greater utilization of social pedagogic approaches in the U. S. would enable us to respond to James K. Whittaker and Anthony N. Maluccio's call for greater innovation in residential care and enhanced personalization of the services. CW systems working with transnational families are likely to interact with a variety of national and international governmental agencies. In the United States, migration has led to an increase in the number of immigrant families–many from Latin America–who come into contact with CW services.
