Martin Davies is Professor Emeritus at the University of East Anglia, UK, where he was the founding Director of the Graduate Programme in Social Work. He is the author of seven books and more than a hundred scholarly papers. He is editor of The Blackwell Encyclopaedia of Social Work and The Blackwell Companion to Social Work, now in its third edition. His text, The Essential Social Worker, also in its third edition, was based on the UEA course on social work in society, which he taught for twenty years. His most recent authored text, Doing a Successful Research Project, has sold over 8,500 copies since publication in 2007.

• PrefaceAcknowledgementsIntroductionPART I: SOCIAL WORK AND THE PROVISION OF FAMILY SUPPORTIntroduction; N.FrostFamily Support: Policies for Practice; K.MorrisThe Legal Foundations of Family Support Work; L.JordanThe Theoretical Foundations of Family Support Work; N.Frost & P.DolanWhat Research Findings Tell Social Workers about Family Support; A.McLeodFamily Support Work in Practice; J.McCormackPART II: SOCIAL WORK AND CHILD PROTECTIONIntroduction; J.SmeetonSocial Policy and Child Protection: Using the Heart and the Head: M.Little; D.Jodrell & S.KarakurtLegal Perspectives on Social Work in Child Protection; C.BallThe Place that Theory Plays in Child Protection Social Work; S.HackettThe Challenging Nature of Research in Child Protection; H.SneddonChild Protection Social Work in Practice; J.SmeetonPART III: SOCIAL WORK IN THE FIELD OF ADOPTION AND FOSTERINGIntroduction; C.JonesAdoption: From the Preservation of the Moral Order to the Needs of the Child; J.SimmondsLegal Perspectives on Social Work in Adoption and Fostering; C.BallTwo Theoretical Fields Relevant to the Practice of Social Work in Adoption and Fostering; C.JonesMilestones in Adoption and Fostering Research; G.ClaptonAdoption and Fostering in Practice; S.Holland & C.LovePART IV: RESIDENTIAL CHILD CAREIntroduction; A.KendrickResidential Child Care Policy; J.StanleyResidential Child Care: The Legal Foundations and Requirements; R.SenTheory in Residential Child Care; M.SmithWhat Research Tells Us about Residential Child Care Practice; A.KendrickResidential Child Care in Practice; J.Bolger & J.MillarIndex.

'Where social work should be going.' - Trish Hafford-Letchfield, Senior Lecturer, Middlesex University, UK 'A thoughtful overview both for qualifying students and those with more expertise.' - Rachel Balen, Principal Lecturer in Social Work, University of Huddersfield, UK 'With its emphasis on the current, the critical and the creative, this book takes a fresh and often fascinating look at social work with children and families.' - Rona Woodward, Lecturer in Social Work, University of Stirling, UK '...the book is an easy, accessible read and will be an invaluable introductory text for social work students, as well as newly-qualified and more experienced practitioners.' - Professional Social Work