Children’s rights and child protection

Kenneth Burns is deputy course director of the Master of Social Work and a research associate with the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century at University College Cork. Deborah Lynch is course director of the Master of Social Work and a research associate with the Institute for Social Science in the 21st Century at University College Cork.

• 1. Politics, democracy and protecting children – Kenneth Burns and Deborah Lynch2. Child outcasts: the Ryan Report into industrial and reformatory schools – Fred Powell, Martin Geoghegan, Margaret Scanlon and Katharina Swirak3. Children’s rights in child protection: Identifying the bottom line in critical times – Ursula Kilkelly4. It is a long way from Kilkenny to here: Reflections on legal and policy developments before and since the publication of the Kilkenny Incest Investigation – Catherine McGuinness5. Safeguarding children in the Catholic Church in critical times: Some reflections on the Irish experience – Ian Elliott6. White Children First? Whiteness, child protection policies and the politics of ‘race’ – Alastair Christie7. Making ‘new connections’: The development of a differential response to child protection and welfare – Mark Yalloway, Mary Hargaden and Eilidh MacNab8. Social work and the media in Ireland: A journalist’s perspective – Carl O’Brien9. Two countries, one border: The challenges and opportunities for protecting children on an all island basis – A critical turning point – John Devaney and Colin Reid10. Why is child protection so difficult? – Harry Ferguson11. A serious (suspected non-accidental) injury to a child: Critical issues for assessment and analysis – Pat Kelleher and Deborah Lynch12. Putting research evidence to work in child and family social work – Helen Buckley and Sadhbh Whelan13. Young people exiting homelessness: The role of family support – Paula Mayock, Mary Louise Corr and Eoin O’Sullivan14. Aftercare not afterthought: Supporting children in care’s transition to adulthood – Ann Doyle and Paula Mayock and Kenneth Burns15. Moving beyond ‘case-management’: Social workers’ perspectives on professional supervision in child protection and welfare – Kenneth BurnsReferencesIndex

In the context of the recent Children's Rights referendum in Ireland and the debate, which surrounded it, this is a seminal book for the social work profession. It is an eclectic book, that looks at the various challenges that exist in the provision of children's and in particular child protection services in Ireland.""In summary, this was a very good book; it is interesting, insightful and educational as well as of practical significance and one that I have no hesitation in recommending it to social work practitioners and students of social work practice.