Child and Family Welfare

Child and Family Welfare: A Casebook provides readers with informative and valuable cases to help them improve their engagement, assessment, diagnostic, and treatment planning skills. The cases also serve to enhance the way readers think about their clients and practice in child and family welfare.

The opening chapter presents the Advanced Multiple Systems (AMS) approach, which provides readers with a series of guiding practice principles to use while reading the evaluating cases. In proceeding chapters, readers learn about a Children’s Protective Services worker managing multiple cases, investigating abuse and neglect, and dealing with the challenges of assessment and placement. Additional cases chronicle the journey of two boys moving through the foster care system and a teenage girl and her little brother waiting to see if an agency can place them together in an adoptive home. Another case shares the story of a teenager who grew up in foster care while still connected to her biological family and who is now attending college. The closing chapter reviews best practice methods in child and family welfare.

Child and Family Welfare is part of the Cognella Casebook Series for the Human Services, a collection of textbooks that challenge students to learn through example, build critical competencies, and prepare for effective, vibrant practice.

Jerry L. Johnson is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at Grand Valley State University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Western Michigan University. Johnson has been in the human services field since 1983, serving as a family therapist, clinical supervisor, administrator, consultant, teacher, trainer, and author.

George Grant, Jr. is the dean of the College of Community and Public Service and a professor in the School of Social Work at Grand Valley State University. He received his Ph.D. in sociology from Western Michigan University. Grant, Jr. is a professor, administrator, evaluator, practitioner, and consultant.