Canadian Child Welfare Law: Children, Families, and the State (2nd edition) provides students in social work and law with an introduction to child welfare law. This complex, demanding and important area of law and social work practice receives relatively little attention in professional schools and academic journals. For practicing lawyers and social workers who have not had the opportunity to study child welfare law, this book provides a useful overview of a complex area, as well as serving as a reference work for busy practitioners in the child welfare field. This second edition substantially updates material in the 1991 edition, including consideration of the impact of new legislation and the Charter of Rights. It also includes new chapters on liability issues for child welfare workers and agencies, and on the perspectives of social workers with respect to the legal process. The final chapter offers the personal views of four judges on the challenges that they face in dealing with child welfare cases.

"Child and Youth Protection and Canadian Law, 2e is a thoroughly revised and updated revision of the Child Protection and Canadian Law 1e, and reflects the recent introduction of Ontario's new Child, Youth and Family Services Act, 2017"--

More than a quarter of a century has passed since Canada promised to recognize and respect the rights of children under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. Ratification of the Convention cannot, however, guarantee that everyone will abandon proprietary notions about children, or that all children will be free to enjoy the substance of their rights in every social and institutional context in which they find themselves, including—and perhaps especially—within families. This disconnect remains one of the most important challenges to the recognition of children’s rights in Canada. The authors argue that social toxins are as harmful to children’s independent welfare and developmental interests as environmental toxins, and that both must be eradicated if Canada is to fulfill its commitments under the Convention. They also argue that if Canada wishes to ensure the substance of the rights outlined in the Convention are socially guaranteed, an attitudinal or cultural shift is required concerning the moral and legal status of children. This revised, expanded, and updated edition of the bestselling Challenge of Children’s Rights for Canada will be of interest to academics, policymakers, parents, teachers, social workers, and human service professionals—indeed to anyone who cares about and for children.

Canada signed the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child over a decade ago, yet there is still a lack of awareness about and provision for children’s rights. What are Canada’s obligations to children? How has Canada fallen short? Why is it so important to the future of Canadian society that children’s rights be met? Prompted by the gap between the promise of children’s rights and the reality of their continuing denial, Katherine Covell and R. Brian Howe call for changes to existing laws, policies and practices. Using the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child as their framework, the authors examine the continuing problems of child poverty, child care, child protection, youth justice and the suppression of children’s voices. They challenge us to move from seeing children as parental property to seeing children as independent bearers of rights. In The Challenge of Children’s Rights for Canada, Canada’s obligations and the rights of children are examined from the perspectives of research and development in the fields of developmental psychology, developmental neuroscience, law and family policy. This timely and accessible book will be of interest to academics, policy-makers and anyone who cares about children and about taking children’s rights seriously.

'I think this book, in assembling the views of a distinguished group of professionals, can have a profound effect on child welfare theory and practice. These practitioners, critics and academics have much to say. I for one am grateful that their views are now conveniently available to all of us in this book.' -- from the foreword by Thomas R. Berger, Chairman, the British Columbia Royal Commission on Family and Children's Law The first Canadian text on child welfare, this work examines a number of issues which represent the state of the art of child welfare in Canada. Among the contributors are practitioners as well as academics from the fields of social work, child care, law and medicine. Important government studies and reports in the 1970's did much to define existing problems in child welfare and to provide directions for their solutions. The developments and research reported in this book add to their findings. Several main themes emerge in the book -- one being the lack of standardization of child welfare policy and practice in Canada since each province has its own regulations and policies. Other concerns common to many of the authors are the dismantling of social service programmes as a result of the current recession and the need for greater cooperation with the native Indian leadership in regard to the provision of child welfare services to the Indian community. Another important theme touched on by several authors concerns children in the care of welfare agencies. They discuss how adequate the range and quality of services are and how the effect of these services can be measured. The final theme centers on prevention and the early identification of families whose children may be at risk without certain support services. The point of view which transcends all the contributions supports an institutional approach, where a range of services is available to families to choose from, as opposed to the residual approach which regards government services as the last resort. While it is the latter view that is prevalent in Canda today, the authors argue that this represents a penny wise but pound foolish approach not only to child welfare but also to the broader field of social welfare.