Uses the idea of children's agency to survey the main issues in childhood studies.

Combining social, psychological and child development aspects, this book provides a holistic view of how children develop agency.

Incorporating previously unpublished HCP 928-i, -ii, -iii, session 2003-04

A report that discusses the problems experienced in the child maintenance system since the establishment of the Child Support Agency in 1993. It covers the changes in legislation; the introduction of a 'twin-track' approach with the three year Operational Improvement Plan and the establishment of the Child Maintenance and Enforcement Commission.

A new system for child support was introduced for new cases and those with links to new cases from 3 March 2003. There were new rules for child support and a simplified calculation of maintenance. In addition the Child Support Agency underwent substantial restructuring and introduced a new IT system. This was necessary because the Agency had been previously missing its targets, suffered from a large backlog of unprocessed cases and there was a low level of compliance from non-resident parents. However there have been problems implementing the reforms. This report provides an assessment of: what caused the problems; the impact on the quality of service provided to the customers; and actions taken by the Agency in response to the problems and the lessons learnt.