Welfare Reform on the Web (July 2002): Child Welfare - Overseas

BURNOUT ACROSS THIRTEEN CULTURES: STRESS AND COPING IN CHILD AND YOUTH CARE WORKERS

V. Savicki

London: Draeger, 2002

A comparison of attitudes to coping with burnout within different cultural settings and what it means for future child and youth care workers.

POVERTY AND WELFARE PATTERNS: IMPLICATIONS FOR CHILDREN

K. A. Moore and others

Journal of Social Policy, vol. 31, 2002, p. 207-227

Article discusses the effects of US welfare reforms introduced under the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act on children. The Act limited entitlement to public assistance to 5 years, required work after 24 months, and allowed states to impose sanctions. After taking into account background differences, research showed that children who experienced stable but disadvantaged economic conditions fared no worse than children who were never poor. Children whose family circumstances improved were in no danger of poor outcomes. However children in families whose economic position worsened or fluctuated were more at risk of behavioural problems and scored worse on reading tests than those who had never been poor.

RETHINKING "CHILD PLACEMENT": A REFLECTIVE ESSAY

J. K. Whittaker and A N. Maluccio

Social Service Review, vol. 76, 2002, p. 108-134

Article reviews the system of child welfare in the US in its multiple facets through the prism of child out-of-home placement. Explores the key question of the relationship between the child and the state through a re-examination of substitute care services.

WHY DO FRENCH WOMEN HAVE MORE CHILDREN THAN GERMAN WOMEN? FAMILY POLICIES AND ATTITUDES TOWARDS CHILD CARE OUTSIDE THE HOME

J. Fagnani

Community, Work and Family, vol. 5, 2002, p. 103-120

Article compares and contrasts French and German family policies. In France, extensive public provision of child care and nursery education has enabled women to easily balance home and work, to have children and pursue careers. In Germany, the persistence of the male breadwinner model has led to a lack of public provision of child care, especially for toddlers. This may have led young women to decide not to have children in order to pursue careers.