This topical book comprehensively draws together diverse perspectives from key leaders in the field to address critical issues for children in relation to their rights, welfare and protection at a critical time in Ireland.

The broad array of chapters addresses the changing and complex landscape of policy, practice and law. It discusses the politics of children’s rights, the impact of child abuse within the catholic church, diverse approaches to service delivery and professional practice, the media and representations of child protection practice, and the relationship between research evidence and practice. It offers a critique of governance in children’s services and identifies key barriers to fundamental progress in the area of children’s rights and the protection of children.

This original book fills a gap in publications in this area in Ireland. It is vital reading for academics, practitioners, managers, students and policy-makers, as well as being accessible to individuals with a broad interest in child welfare and protection.

1. Politics, democracy and protecting children. Kenneth Burns and Deborah Lynch
2. Child outcasts: the Ryan Report into industrial and reformatory schools. Fred Powell, Martin Geoghegan, Margaret Scanlon and Katharina Swirak
3. Children’s rights in child protection: Identifying the bottom line in critical times. Ursula Kilkelly
4. It is a long way from Kilkenny to here: Reflections on legal and policy developments before and since the publication of the Kilkenny Incest Investigation. Catherine McGuinness
5. Safeguarding children in the Catholic Church in critical times: Some reflections on the Irish experience. Ian Elliott
6. White Children First? Whiteness, child protection policies and the politics of ‘race’. Alastair Christie
7. Making ‘new connections’: The development of a differential response to child protection and welfare. Mark Yalloway, Mary Hargaden and Eilidh MacNab
8. Social work and the media in Ireland: A journalist’s perspective. Carl O’Brien
9. Two countries, one border: The challenges and opportunities for protecting children on an all island basis – A critical turning point. John Devaney and Colin Reid
10. Why is child protection so difficult? Harry Ferguson
11. A serious (suspected non-accidental) injury to a child: Critical issues for assessment and analysis. Pat Kelleher and Deborah Lynch
12. Putting research evidence to work in child and family social work. Helen Buckley and Sadhbh Whelan
13. Young people exiting homelessness: The role of family support. Paula Mayock, Mary Louise Corr and Eoin O’Sullivan
14. Aftercare not afterthought: Supporting children in care’s transition to adulthood. Ann Doyle and Paula Mayock and Kenneth Burns
15. Moving beyond ‘case-management’: Social workers’ perspectives on professional supervision in child protection and welfare. Kenneth Burns
References

Deborah Lynch Kenneth Burns

"In the context of the recent Children's Rights referendum in Ireland and the debate, which surrounded it, this is a seminal book for the social work profession. It is an eclectic book, that looks at the various challenges that exist in the provision of children's and in particular child protection services in Ireland." "In summary, this was a very good book; it is interesting, insightful and educational as well as of practical significance and one that I have no hesitation in recommending it to social work practitioners and students of social work practice."