Abstract

Neglect is now recognized as leading to significantly poor outcomes for children in the short and long term. It is a matter of concern for all professionals who work with children. Children who are neglected are not likely to seek help in their own right and are highly dependent on professionals such as health visitors and schoolteachers identifying and responding to their needs for support and protection.

In order to carry out the key tasks of prevention, recognition and response to neglect, practitioners require up-to-date evidence-based information about the aetiology and signs of neglect and what works in prevention and response. This book addresses the key themes in child neglect, draws on current research and practice knowledge and sets out the implications for practice. With a joint health and social work focus, this interdisciplinary book is an essential resource for practitioners, academics and policy makers working towards integrated and collaborative childcare services.

The language is clear and the concepts are supported by illuminating case studies. Useful work sheets are also provided as practical tools and the reader is left with a good overview of the context surrounding the issue.
Adoption & fostering
Another very successful chapter in this respect is that on parental substance misuse co-written by a researcher, Moira Walker, and a services manager, Mary Glasgow. Its "messages for practice" in relation to assessment, working with parents and working with primary-aged children is among the best I have read in this complex and under-researched area. Given the alarming prevalence or parental substance dependence, which now constitutes the single greatest challenge in the field of child protection, this chapter is most welcome. For the challenges facing us in relation to child neglect are enormous, but the comprehensive and cross - disciplinary approach of this book, with its strong emphasis on research and its respect for practice, is a source of hope.
British Journal of Social Work
This edited collection is to be welcomed as it attempts to provide an accessible and wide ranging coverage of this issue. This book is extremely useful for anyone studying or practicing in this area.
The Journal of Interprofessional Care
A thorough and practical manual on child neglect that will be invaluable for practitioners across disciplines.
Professional Social Work
This book is a very welcome addition to the Best Practice in Working with Children series. It is a mine of information and importantly draws on the most up to date research as well as practice knowledge... The sequence of the chapters allows the reader to cover the general issues, the theoretical and evidential grounding, the implications for health and social care and finally messages for practice. It is the capacity of the contributors to illustrate their text with both complex research information and case studies that makes this book for me so valuable and accessible. It would be invidious to select any one chapter as the best, there are so many! I really enjoyed them all and the topical issue of whether children from substance abusing families should be removed from home will benefit from the debates within this book. It provides a measured approach to what has become a very emotive topic... Certainly a book well worth reading and referring back to time and time again.
Rostrum
Overall this is a welcome book on an often overlooked subject area and it is a good resource for all those working towards integrated and collaborative child care services.
Community Care
This text brings together an abundance of evidence on neglect, both from an empirical and policy perspective, and intertwines this with issues of implementation. It neatly captures the salient issues for those working from a health or social care background, while not focusing on any one discipline. The chapters range from general aspects to more specialised issues and adopt a multi-agency perspective, reflecting current policy. An essential read.
Nursing Standard