The need for services that respond to the ‘maltreatment’ of children and to the struggles of families is at the core of social service systems in all developed nations. While these child and family welfare systems confront similar problems and incorporate common elements, there are substantial differences in philosophy, organization, and operation across international settings and models.

In this new collection of essays, Nancy Freymond and Gary Cameron have brought together some of the finest international minds to provide an original and integrated discussion of child protection, family service, and community caring models of child and family welfare. The volume not only examines child protection and family service approaches within Western nations – including Canada, the United States, England, the Netherlands, France, and Sweden – it is also the first comparative study to give equal attention to Aboriginal community caring models in Canada and New Zealand.

The comparisons made by the essays in this volume allow for a consideration of constructive and feasible innovations in child and family welfare and contribute to an enriched debate around each system. This book will be of great benefit to the field for many years to come.

Nancy Freymond is an associate professor in the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University.

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Gary Cameron is the Lyle S. Hallman Chair of Child and Family Welfare at the Faculty of Social Work, Wilfrid Laurier University. His current program of research focuses on the lives of families involved in child welfare and children’s mental health services, international comparisons of systems of child and family welfare, and systems of care for children and families involved in residential mental health placements.

Nick Coady has been with the Faculty of Social Work at Wilfrid Laurier University since 1994. His teaching and research interests focus on the importance of relationship and other common factors in social work practice. Recent publications include a co-edited textbook on theories for clinical social work and a journal site on good helping relationships in child welfare.

Gerald R. Adams is a professor of family relations and human development at the University of Guelph. He is interested in the study of adolescence to adulthood, and identity development during childhood and adolescence. Recent books include the Blackwell Handbook on Adolescence and the Handbook of Adolescent Behavioral Problems: Evidence-Based Approaches to Prevention and Treatment.

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