1st Edition
Children's Rights in Social Work Practice Theory, Protection, Participation, and Provision
List of tables
List of boxes
About the editors
List of contributors
Preface
Acknowledgements
List of abbreviations
Introduction
Paul McCafferty
Section I: Critical Social Theory Regarding Children’s Rights in Social Work
Chapter 1: Children’s Participation in Child Protection Decision-Making: A Framework Based on Honneth’s Recognition Theory
Paul McCafferty
Chapter 2: Bourdieu’s Application to Children’s Rights in Social Work with Children and Young People: Common Sense, Clarity, and a Feel for the Game
Jo Dillon
Chapter 3: Empowering Agency: The Role of Childhood Sociology in Child Welfare and Protection Systems
Paul McCafferty
Section II: Children’s Rights to Protection from Harm
Chapter 4: Protecting Children by Supporting Families
Davy Hayes
Chapter 5: Balancing Protective Legislation and Children’s Rights
Ravit Alfandari and Shiran Reichenberg
Chapter 6: Adoption with Children’s Rights at the Centre: Safeguarding Children’s Welfare, Identity, and Family Relationships
Mandi MacDonald and Simone McCaughren
Section III: Children’s Rights to Participate in Social Work Decisions About Their Lives
Chapter 7: Navigating the Quandary of Article 12: A Comprehensive Review of Children’s Participation in Child Welfare Agencies
Esther Mercado García and Paul McCafferty
Chapter 8: Facilitating and Responding to Children’s Participation in Social Work Decision-Making Processes
Kristina Edman and Paul McCafferty
Chapter 9: In Their Own Words: Adolescent Participation in Group Social Intervention Programs in Madrid
Linda Ducca Cisneros and Andrés Arias Astray
Section IV: Children’s Rights to the Provision of Services in Social Work
Chapter 10: Rights, Recognition, and Residential Childcare: An Exploration of Identity Formation Using Honneth’s Recognition Theory
Gerry Marshall and Paul McCafferty
Chapter 11: Upholding Children’s Rights to Services in the Face of Structural Inequality: Social Work, Poverty, and Global Declarations
Mary McColgan and Paul McCafferty
Chapter 12: Keeping the Promise: Workforce Retention as a Children’s Rights Obligation
Liz Tanner, Paul McCafferty, and Davy Hayes
Conclusion: A Call to Conscience—Reclaiming Children’s Rights in Social Work
Paul McCafferty
Index
Biography
Paul McCafferty is Reader of Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. Paul has expertise in child welfare, with a strong focus on risk, assessment, and decision-making in social work. His interests extend to evidence-based and informed practices, as well as the acquisition and utilisation of knowledge in the field. He is particularly passionate about children's rights, especially their participation rights within the child welfare system.
Esther Mercado García is a Reader Professor at Complutense University of Madrid in Spain. Her research focuses on social work practice and family welfare, with a particular interest in children´s rights in people with intellectual and learning disabilities and qualitative methods. She has published work on children’s rights and participation, contributing to the development of child-centred approaches in social work, and is involved as deputy-director for the special interest group Children´s Rights in Practice.
Davy Hayes is Professor of Child Protection and Safeguarding at Queen’s University Belfast in Northern Ireland. His research focuses on service user experiences of child protection, involving children and family members in child protection processes, and the practice and experiences of professionals operating in the child protection system. He is Chair of the Northern Ireland branch of the British Association of Social Workers, and a Board member of the Northern Ireland Social Care Council.
Gerry Marshall is a Lecturer in Social Work at Queen’s University Belfast in the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work. His research focuses on children and young people who are looked after, particularly in the context of residential child care, and on identity formation for those growing up in care. Gerry’s work also extends to exploring the use of immersive virtual reality technology as a tool for social work education and training.
“This excellent and accessible book shows us why a focus on children’s rights is both necessary and achievable, through a close examination of the discourses and practices around this issue. The prominence given to children’s voices in the book is to be welcomed and demonstrates the commitment of the authors to put children at the centre of practice, policy making and research.”
Professor John Devaney, University of Edinburgh, UK
"This timely and authoritative volume offers a compelling, rights-based framework for contemporary social work practice. Bringing together critical theory, legal analysis, and practice wisdom, it powerfully centres children’s voices, while engaging seriously with protection, participation, and provision. It offers an invaluable resource for practitioners, educators, and students seeking to embed children’s rights meaningfully and ethically within everyday social work decision-making and service delivery."
Lisa Bunting, Professor of Child and Family Social Work, Queen's University, Belfast
"This book offers a comprehensive exploration of children’s rights within social work, emphasising theory, protection, participation, and provision. It centres children’s voices and experiences to inform social work practice and promote children's well-being and does so from a strong research-based perspective. As such this work is invaluable not just for social work professionals and researchers, but for everyone working with children across education and children’s services."
Daniel Muijs, Professor of Education and Head of the School of Social Sciences, Education and Social Work, Queen’s University, Belfast
