Defining and Classifying Children in Need / Edition 1

by Nick Axford

Overview

Need is a popular but controversial concept in social policy. 'Needs-led' has become a mantra in children's services in recent years, yet theorists still argue about the meaning and value of the concept of 'need'. There are lots of needs assessment at the individual child and population levels, but case files vary enormously in quality and reports of need analyses frequently gather dust on shelves. How, then, should we define and measure children's needs, and how should this influence the design of services? This edited collection answers these questions in order to help policy makers, managers, practitioners and researchers with identifying and serving children in need. It offers a critical appraisal of the state of play regarding the theory of need, the needs that children have, methods for assessing children's needs at the individual and group levels, and approaches to designing services to meet identified needs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780754625568
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	01/15/2009
Series:	The Library of Essays in Child Welfare and Development
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	436
Product dimensions:	6.62(w) x 9.62(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dr Nick Axford is Research Fellow and Activity Director, Social Research Unit at Dartington, UK.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Part I The Theory of Need: Welfare and the value of liberty, Raymond Plant; The priority of needs, Robert E. Goodin; A theory of human need, Len Doyal and Ian Gough; A theory of human need, Kate Soper; Need; the idea won't do - but we still need it, A.J. Culyer; A taxonomy of social need, Jonathan Bradshaw. Part II The Needs of Children: A theory of human motivation, A.H. Maslow; What do children need from parents?, Dora Black; Pathways from childhood to adult life, Michael Rutter; An ecological approach to social work with children and families, Gordon Jack. Part III Assessing the Needs of Individual Children: The strengths and difficulties questionnaire: a research note, Robert Goodman; Classification of child and adolescent psychopathology, Dennis P. Cantwell; Reflections on the assessment of outcomes in child care, Roy Parker; Single case evaluation methods: review and prospects, Brian Sheldon. Part IV Measuring the Needs of Child Populations: Why do levels of human welfare vary across nations?, Ian Gough and Theo Thomas; Auditing social needs, Janie Percy-Smith; Mapping the needs of children in need, Michael Preston-Shoot and Veronica Wigley; The background of children who enter local authority care, Andrew Bebbington and John Miles; Child poverty and needs based budget allocation, D. Gordon and F. Loughran; Mapping the data needed to plan integrated services: a case study of children's'services in one locality, Nick Axford, Jill Madge, Louise Morpeth and Jo Pring. Part V Towards Meeting Children's Needs: Needs, numbers, resources: informed planning for looked after children, Karin Janzon and Ruth Sinclair; A developmental and clinical model for the prevention of conduct orders: the FAST Track Program, Conduct Problems Prevention Research Group; Prevention and early intervention with children in need: definitions, principles and examples of good practice, Michael Little; Measuring outcomes in the 'new' children's services, Nick Axford

Editorial Reviews

'...a significant series... a must for any library where childhood studies, children's rights, childcare policy or research into children generally is the focus.' International Journal of Children's Rights '...an excellent volume, a resource for study and research..' International Journal of Children's Rights

From the Publisher