Welfare Reform on the Web (June 2003): Child Welfare - Overseas

CHILD CARE: TOWARD WHAT KIND OF "SOCIAL EUROPE"?

R. Mahon

Social Politics, vol. 9, 2002, p. 343-379

Presents the three main methods of providing child care in the European Union. Examines the neofamiliar model in Finland and France, the 'third way' in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and the egalitarian model in Denmark and Sweden. Asks which model embodies best practice for Europe as a whole.

CHILD PROTECTION WORK: BEYOND THE RHETORIC

H. Buckley

London: Jessica Kingsley, 2003

By examining what professionals actually do, this book contrasts the relatively straightforward process illustrated in procedural guidance with the uncertainty of the 'real world' of child protection work in Ireland. The author looks at the practice frameworks used by child-care professionals and illustrates the importance of the cultural, political and organizational context in which the work is carried out.

FAMILY DAY CARE: INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVES ON POLICY, PRACTICE AND QUALITY

A. Mooney and J. Statham (eds.)

London: Jessica Kingsley, 2003

This book explores the international view of how family day care has developed in differing economic and social climates. It looks at 10 countries including the UK, US, Hungary, Germany, New Zealand, Israel, Canada, France, Australia. It examines:

• levels of government intervention;
• training and support for providers, including childminding networks;
• creating partnerships between parents and carers;
• defining and raising standards;
• the future of family day care.