John Pinkerton is an established academic known for his research and writing in the area of family support. His work is heavily influenced by an international perspective. For the last 15 years he has been an international advisor to the Children's Institute, University of Cape Town. In preparation for legislative change in the 1990s he led a research team from Queen's University Belfast in producing a base line study of family support in Northern Ireland. He has advised government on family support in both the North and South of Ireland. His teaching covers both qualifying and post qualifying training in social work. He is Co-Editor of the British Journal of Social Work, leading on its family and child care content. Robbie Gilligan is Professor of Social Work and Social Policy at Trinity College Dublin and associate director of the Children's Research Centre. He has written extensively on child care and foster care.

• Introduction, Greg Kelly and Robbie Gilligan. 1. The survival of long-term foster care, Greg Kelly. 2. The importance of listening to the child in foster care, Robbie Gilligan. 3. Outcome studies of foster care, Greg Kelly. 4. Leaving care and fostering, John Pinkerton, The Queen's University of Belfast. 5. Promoting resilience in children in foster care, Robbie Gilligan. 6. Pathways to change: The application of solution-focused brief therapy to foster care, Stan Houston, The Queen's University of Belfast. 7. Managing children's behaviour in foster care, Ken Kerr, Learning and Behavioural Consultancy, Portstewart. 8. Safe care, abuse and allegations of abuse in foster care, Stephen Nixon, University of Birmingham. 9. Relative care: A different type of foster care - implications for practice, Valerie O'Brien, University College, Dublin. Index.

In spite of the predominance of foster care in the looked after system, there has been only a limited amount of recent research in this area and few dedicated publications. This volume is therefore to be welcomed. Edited by two experienced child-care academics who are in close touch with practice, the approach is generally accessible and the chapters cover a good range of issues... This is an important and useful contribution to the foster care literature and will be consulted by students, practitioners and academics alike.